When I am having a bad moment or day, I like to play a game called Flip it 5:1.

I share this in many of my programs, and I want to share it with you today too.

“Flip it 5 to 1” is a great exercise to build resilience because it helps individuals shift their focus from negative thoughts and challenges to more positive, empowering perspectives.

Here’s why it’s effective:

🚀 Encourages a Positive Mindset

The core idea of “Flip it 5 to 1” is to counterbalance each negative thought or situation with five positive aspects. This ratio encourages individuals to actively look for the good, which promotes a growth mindset and helps to reframe difficult situations. Over time, this can retrain the brain to focus more on solutions than problems, fostering greater resilience.

🚀 Reinforces Optimism

Optimism is a key component of resilience. By practicing this exercise, you train yourself to recognize positive outcomes or learnings, even in tough situations. This mental shift can reduce the impact of stressors and boost your overall sense of well-being, making it easier to bounce back from setbacks.

🚀 Balances Negative Bias

Humans are naturally wired to focus more on negative experiences (a concept known as negativity bias). “Flip it 5 to 1” helps to override this tendency by encouraging people to intentionally search for positive aspects, which creates a more balanced perspective and reduces the intensity of negative emotions.

🚀 Improves Emotional Regulation

This exercise forces individuals to pause, reflect, and intentionally shift their thoughts. By regularly practicing this, you strengthen your ability to regulate emotions, which is critical for staying composed and resilient in stressful situations.

🚀 Builds a Habit of Gratitude

Finding five positive elements requires you to be grateful and mindful of small wins, progress, or strengths. Gratitude has been shown to increase mental resilience by improving mood, lowering stress, and enhancing emotional resilience.

🚀 Promotes Problem-Solving

When faced with adversity, flipping the negative situation helps shift your mindset towards finding solutions instead of dwelling on the issue. By identifying positive outcomes or lessons, you’re training yourself to be proactive and adaptable, key traits of resilient people.

🚀 Creates a Sense of Control

Resilience grows when individuals feel in control of their responses to challenges. “Flip it 5 to 1” empowers you to take control of how you interpret and respond to negative situations, which reduces feelings of helplessness and increases self-efficacy.

I find that “Flip it 5 to 1” is an effective way to cultivate resilience because it promotes a mindset that is solution-oriented, balanced, and focused on growth—helping individuals recover from setbacks faster and with more strength.

Have a go and let me know what impact this has on you.

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