Every morning my dogs wake me at 5:00am by licking my face energetically. We then walk one mile before the chaos of the day begins. To me, it’s joyful.
But does joy matter to our success?
According to Professor Barbara Fredrickson, a leading positive psychology scholar and researcher, it does.
Her Broaden and Build Theory argues that experiencing positive emotions (joy, interest, contentment, pride, and love):
- Broadens our perspective, allowing us to see possibilities
- Builds our resources and resilience needed to handle future challenges
Conversely, when we experience negative emotions (anxiety, sadness, anger, despair), our focus narrows, potential darkens, and we resort to habitual thinking, acting, judging, criticizing, and blaming.
Makes sense. If we’re worried or upset, we’re not looking for what’s possible. We’re shutting down, focused entirely on surviving the moment.
But when we’re feeling positive, we’re eager to learn, explore, and expand.
- From joy, we play, push the limits, act creatively, innovate
- From interest, we inquire, discuss, seek new information and experiences, grow and develop, collaborate
- From contentment, we appreciate life’s circumstances, incorporating them into our world-view
- From pride, we share about our achievements and then envision future achievements
- From love, we seek social connections
But it’s not about being positive or thinking positively. It’s about intentionally cultivating positive emotions in order to flourish at work and in life.
How? By doing that which brings us joy, interest, contentment, pride, and love
- for Joy: hobbies, games, adventures, sports, music, animals
- for Interest: books, classes, museums, travel, volunteering, mentoring
- for Contentment: a gratitude journal, meditation, yoga
- for Pride: talk about achievements, awards, and future plans
- for Love: spend time with family, friends, colleagues doing any of the above
Ultimately, positivity is a strength, a skill we can develop and prioritize, like a leadership competency.