I once heard that it takes something like 20 positive comments to counterbalance the effects on our mood of just one criticism.

In the past decade, some remarkable social science research has corrected the ratio even while affirming that negativity, per incident, holds a more powerful sway upon us than the things that make us feel good. This offers us great rationale and motivation to pay attention to our balance of experience. 

Dramatic as it may sound, our personal attitude and fate and even that of the world might hang in this balance.