Happiness is MORE than “feeling happy”
I want to share something that happened a few weeks ago. I was by myself doing the dishes while listening to one of the psychology podcasts that I follow. And I had a moment of deeply appreciating the work I'm focusing on as a well-being practitioner. I just felt so happy that I get to work on what I'm most passionate about! I experienced a warm feeling that spread in my chest. I felt energized, like I wanted to jump or dance around the kitchen (so I did!) And I couldn't help but smile widely.
I experienced joy! This is the emotion that first comes to mind for most of us when we think about “feeling happy.” And joy is a beautiful feeling! In this blog post, I do want to highlight that there is more to "feeling happy” than feeling joy. My invitation is that we get more specific and open-minded with our positive emotions. Because we actually have a wide array of positive emotions!
In addition to joy, positive emotions also include feeling:
✨ calm & serene…
✨ interested & curious…
✨ inspired…
✨ grateful & appreciative…
✨ love & compassion…
✨ deep connection…
✨ amused…
✨ awe…
✨ pleasure…
✨ content…
✨ hopeful… and more!
When we become aware about the vide array of emotions we have and better at differentiating and labeling our emotions with specificity, we develop “emotional granularity”. This helps us better understand and regulate our emotions, communicate our needs and wants more effectively, and improve our interpersonal relationships
Another important point I want to make is that we can hold multiple emotions at the same time. We can feel joy and grief simultaneously. We can feel grateful and frustration. We can feel inspired and nervous. And so on…
We need to give ourselves permission to feel "all the feels”. They are all part of being human. AND we can take intentional action to cultivate more positive emotions in our life for greater well-being & life satisfaction.
👉👉 I invite you to get curious about the wide variety of positive emotions that you experience. When looking at the list above, is there maybe one emotion that stands out to you as something you want more of? I invite you to reflect on what activities might bring you that emotion. Give yourself permission to cultivate that emotion. Schedule those activities throughout the next few weeks and notice what happens!
For example: I been wanting to feel more inspiration and I know that I get inspired when I'm having new experiences. So I'm intentional checking out spots in my city where I haven't been before, seeking out experiences that are novel to me, and signing up for events & workshops.
One more example for you: one of my closest friends recently shared with me that she wants to feel more calm and grounded. She is cultivating calmness by intentionally slowing down and doing less activities in general. She's also prioritizing grounding activities like gentle yoga classes and going for walks in nature.
We all have unique needs when it comes to our well-being. I hope this blog post inspired you to get curious, explore, and be intentional about how to cultivate more positive emotions in your life! 💛
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