Pillar 2 - Positive emotions

How to have more of positive emotions?

Build more joy, hope or awe with these 5 practical tips.

How would you like to have a life with more joy, awe, hope, gratitude, fun, and all the other positive emotions?

 

This article will hopefully be the first step in that direction – today, I am bringing you 5 practical tools to boost your positive emotions. 

 

Checking out the list – and do choose one that you will try straight away!

Tip 1: Create a Happiness Boosters list. And act on it.

The challenge with creating positive emotions when we feel “low” is that in negative emotions our mind is in “survival mode”. 

 

This makes us less creative and innovative.  We have fewer ideas, and less motivation to look for ”the good stuff” around us.

 

Hence, it’s harder for us to think of an activity that would help to shift us into a more positive mood. 

 

That is why having a simple Happiness Boosters list can be immensely helpful! 

How do you create a Happiness Boosters list?

  • Boost your mood by listening to a good song, doing a quick stretch, or anything else that works for you – this is not a mandatory step but it will help you be creative

  • Choose an emotion you wanna have more of – you can also write it for happiness or positive emotions in general

  • Brainstorm and write down a list of all possible actions and thoughts, people, environments etc. that give you that emotion – don’t overthink! make a quick list and you can always upgrade it later 

  • Do something from the list straight away, and put list somewhere where you look often, to serve as a reminder – a fridge or a mirror are common places 🙂

  • Keep on adding ideas to the list as you get new ideas

For more ideas and inspiration, grab our Happiness Boosters list here

Tip 2: Boost your gratitude with 3-minute-journal.

Gratitude is the basis for most of other positive emotions.

 

Yet, what people get wrong about gratitude is to think that it’s a “quick boost.”

 

The point of gratitude exercises (unlike Happiness Boosters) is NOT to quickly shift your mood and emotion into a more positive. 

 

Instead, what you wanna do with gratitude is “train your mind” into more gratitude.

 

When you do that, gratitude gradually becomes a source of so many other positive emotions: joy, pride, hope, connection, love and many others. 

 

How do you do train your mind for gratitude? 

The simplest way is to ask yourself often “What can I be grateful for and appreciate about my life right now?

 

To make it truly powerful, add consistency: a great exercise is to ask yourself each evening before bed what are 3-5 things that you can be grateful for today. 

 

Do that for a couple of weeks, until your brain gets into the habit of noticing these “little things”. 

Tip 3: Savour.

To savour means to enjoy mindfully. 

To full-heartedly engage your senses & mind in the current experience. 

You can savour food or a drink, but you can also savour a conversation, a moment, a beautiful view, movement or a creative endeavour. 

You can focus on savouring towards past (savour a joyful memory by reflecting about it), 

present (engage your senses in an enjoyable way – eyes, taste, smell, touch or body awareness) or future (look forward and joyfully anticipate events, or make exciting plans). 

Tip 4: Connect.

One of the most impactful origins of our emotions (both positive and negative) are other people and our connections and interactions with them.

 

Ask,

  • Which people and what kind of conversations give me a sense of joy? 

  • Which conversations and connections create positive emotions for me?

  • Which person is always a source of joy and spark in my life? 

Re-connect with these people already today. Cherish them, and create more space for them in your everyday life. 

Tip 5: Move your body in a way that gives you joy.

Our body can be one of the greatest catalysts of enjoyment. Movement and physical activity are the fastest and often easiest ways of shifting our mental and emotional states for the better!

 

So, let’s leverage them!

 

Stretch our body, challenge it with a run or jump, take a mindful shower, or explore your sense of touch or taste. 

Notice how these can all be a great source of positive emotions.

 

Ask: what kind of movement gives me joy? And then do it. (don’t be lazy now ;)). 

Action time:

Don’t leave these topics just on the level of ideas! 

Instead, choose one of these 5 and put it in practice right now. 

 

Positive emotions are just one small action away!

Are you looking to learn more about enriching your life with positive emotions? Or to teach others how to do that – in a comprehensive, practical, science-based way?

Then you will be excited to hear about Happiness Academy email course about positive emotions!

In this course we explore the topic of positive emotions in 24 very comprehensive, content-rich email lessons. 

At the course, you will:

  • discover how emotions came to be – understand the emotions and their sources better, 

  • learn how positive emotions impact our thinking and our wellbeing

  • dive into 10 most common positive emotions, one by one, and get tons of tips and ideas on how these can be build 

  • explore a broad range of other emotions and get creative about how to have more of these 

  • get many ideas on how to build more of positive emotions in your own life, as well as how to support others in building them 

The topics are presented in a practical and easygoing way, with many tools and tips you can use straight away, and build from science-based content.

The course pricing is 24 euros. 

Does this sound like something you would love to discover? Check the details by clicking the button below!

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