Positive emotions are so important, not only because emotions are contagious which means we are infecting others with our emotions, (and as a leader the last thing you will want to do is infect your team with negative emotions!), they are also important as they have a knock on effect, or rather, an effect that both broadens and builds.
Professor Barbara Fredrickson’s Broaden and Build theory proposes that positive emotions help strengthen our intellectual, physical, social and psychological resources, all of which enhance our overall wellbeing.
Positive emotions have a strengthening effect on our bodies and our brains. They improve our immune system, calm our systems from negative impacts, allow our brains to function well, and strengthen relationships. There is both a healing and a bonding element to positive emotions.
Positive emotions not only broaden the way we think and improve our cognitive skills, they also reduce physical symptoms from illness or stress. Fredrickson explains, ‘positive emotions do more than make us feel good, they also expand our thinking, help us generate new ideas and encourage us to consider other possibilities.’
The science is clear – positive emotions are more than just feeling good – so why can it be so challenging to not be derailed by negative emotions?
A great analogy to help in these circumstances is if we think of our feelings like ocean waves, where they rise, crest and recede all day long, we can then use this to activate the ’90 Second Pause.’
According to Harvard Neuroscientist Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor, ninety seconds is all it takes to identify an emotion and allow it to dissipate while you simply notice it. When you’re stressed, pausing ninety seconds and labelling what you’re feeling (eg., I’m getting angry), helps you regain control of what you’re feeling.
During the day, if you notice your emotions are starting to take over in a negative way, do the 90 second pause. Recognise the feeling, identify it, label it, and accept it as you breathe it out. We have the ability to choose to not stay in that emotional loop and the more we practice this, the more aware we become of our feelings and how to manage them.
Having a list of positive and productive emotions to choose to feel instead can also help us be more aware of what state we’re operating in.
As a leader, why not check in with your team to clarify which feelings work best for them to work as optimally as possible, and help create the conditions for those positive emotions to grow, while ensuring that you lead with these emotions too?
Deb is a Senior Consultant who is passionate about Positive Leadership and brings with her a wealth of experience in applying Positive Psychology and the Neuroscience of Leadership to excel in leadership and performance. Book here for a conversation to learn more about our leadership and capability programmes.
