Notes on: Practising Positive Emotions

'Practising Positive Emotions' is taken from the course 'Managing Happiness' by Arthur Brooks on edX.org.

Can people study and practice positive emotions, or are emotions things that just naturally happen to us?

Emotions are automatic responses to certain experiences, and they happen to us to give us information and cause us to react.

Some of our negative emotions, for example, signal that something is wrong, and we need to address it. When we feel sad, that is often a signal that something is missing. When we feel anxious, that is often a signal that there is a threat we perceive.

Positive emotions, on the other hand, signal things are going well, and that is also important to know. When we feel happy, there is something that is causing that feeling inside us, and we may want to pursue more of it.

However, emotions do not just happen to us, we can also do things to bring about more emotions. As an example, watching a movie of a certain genre may cause us to feel happy, sad, or scared.

With so much negativity in the world, there are a lot of external factors that may cause negative emotions in us. The pandemic, war, we can turn on the news and by far the bad outweighs the good. We are prone to see the negative and it can be hard to avoid, however, there are things we can do to actively bring about more positive emotions and help us feel better.

What is the most harmful habit that people have who don't have the level of happiness they should and could have?

The answer depends on the individual, but one of the biggest harmful habits is undermining the importance of healthy relationships. Having good, positive relationships with others is one of the most important factors in fostering happiness.

Smart phones and social media are pseudo relationships, but unfortunately a lot of people spend more time with these online relationships than they do with real ones that would actually make them happy.

Another harmful habit is when people do not prioritize mental health and wellbeing, and they just kind of expect it to happen for them. If we are not doing anything to counteract all the negativity we are exposed to throughout the day, it can build up overtime and undermine our wellbeing.

Happiness does not just happen. As a matter of fact, if you sit around waiting, you are setting yourself up for disappointment, which can foster more negative feelings as opposed to positive ones. The act of pursuing happiness is what can actually make us happier.