See someone you love and you get that warm fuzzy feeling inside. Wonder-ful isn’t it?! But actually, there’s nothing namby pamby about it at all, instead it’s true science. Andrew Newberg, M.D. and Mark Robert Waldman wrote in their book ‘Words Can Change Your Brain,’ : ‘a single word has the power to influence the expression of genes that regulate physical and emotional stress’.

So a positive word, like ‘love’ can alter the expression of genes, strengthening areas in our frontal lobes and promoting the cognitive functioning of our brain, building resilience. This is so crucial to our every day happiness. Words can literally frame the outcome of our day.

But it works with both positive and negative words and as humans we’re programmed to survive against potential threats - every day we might evaluate hundreds of potential mini threats, making it easy for negative thoughts to jump into our minds and run away with our thoughts. We spiral. We get anxious.

Just one single negative word can release dozens of stress-producing hormones and neurotransmitters which attempt to fry our brain’s ability to deal with life. 

So you need to get good at recognising when too many negative words plague your mind. Instead, fight them away with some soothing words of poetic beauty. Let love and nature fill your mind. Take a moment to breathe, because in total contrast, by holding a positive word in your mind, you physically trigger the release of happy chemicals and endorphins in the brain. In fact, the longer you concentrate on positive words, the more you begin to affect other areas of the brain which respond positively too. 

But what happens if you’re happy and someone else makes you sad?

Well the Harvard Business Review sought to see how many positive words it would take to cancel out a negative one. After extensive research which you can read up on here The Ideal Praise-to-Criticism Ratio, they essentially found that the optimal ratio was five positive comments for every negative one.

My aim with Golden Birdie is to displace the negative thoughts by replacing them with positive and wonder evoking ones. These positive vibes when shared will grow and I believe fully that we can make this world a happier place by using them to bolster belief in our friends and family. Let’s trigger those powerful chemical reactions in the brain which bring about a state of true happiness and calm.

I really hope you’ll join me in growing the #circleofwonder in the world - here’s how you can …