The Gift and Power of Emotional Courage
Emotional Agility: Get Unstuck, Embrace Change, and Thrive in Work and Life by Susan David
Susan David presents a very thought-provoking talk.
She begins with a profound statement:
"..how we deal with our inner world drives everything. Every aspect of how we love, how we live, how we parent and how we lead. The conventional view of emotions as good or bad, positive or negative, is rigid. And rigidity in the face of complexity is toxic. We need greater levels of emotional agility for true resilience and thriving."
David goes on to talk about dead man goals- goals to not feel, not be stressed....Her answer to this is
"Tough emotions are part of our contract with life. You don't get to have a meaningful career or raise a family or leave the world a better place without stress and discomfort. Discomfort is the price of admission to a meaningful life."
The cornerstone to resilience, thriving, and true, authentic happiness is the practice of Radical Acceptance, however the acceptance/ voicing of our emotions alone is not enough. Emotional agility key lies in the accuracy of that emotion.
"We often use quick and easy labels to describe our feelings. "I'm stressed" is the most common one I hear. But there's a world of difference between stress and disappointment or stress and that knowing dread of "I'm in the wrong career." When we label our emotions accurately, we are more able to discern the precise cause of our feelings.And what scientists call the readiness potential in our brain is activated, allowing us to take concrete steps. But not just any steps -- the right steps for us.goes beyond just the acceptance of emotions it."
She goes on to explain that emotions are data to be mined and analyzed
"We own our emotions, they don't own us. When we internalize the difference between how I feel in all my wisdom and what I do in a values-aligned action, we generate the pathway to our best selves via our emotions."
She ends with how this works in real life and gives some key advice that I let her tell you about in the link below.
Watch Dr S. David's TED Talk on YouTube here:
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/NDQ1Mi5I4rg?Wsi=KG4X2tKM_SC-sjXI" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe> or link here https://youtu.be/NDQ1Mi5I4rg?si=oCoWtfM6IElTX88d
tedtalk.com summary
Why you should listen
David explains-What does it take internally, in the way we deal with our thoughts, emotions and stories, for us to thrive in a complex and changing world? How we respond to these inner experiences drives our actions, careers, relationships, happiness, health -- everything that matters in our lives. Susan David became fascinated by this question through first-hand experience of loss and resilience, while growing up in a country in which hate was legislated: apartheid South Africa.
David holds a PhD in the psychology of emotions, is an award-winning Harvard Medical School psychologist, and is ranked as one of the world's leading management thinkers. Want to delve a little deeper, check out her book #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling book, Emotional Agility, (linked to Amazon for easy purchase) describes the psychological skills critical to thriving in times of complexity and change.
How is your emotional agility
"What is your emotions telling you?"
"Which action will bring you closure to your values?"
"Which will take you further away from your values?"
Let me know what you think....
Related posts:
My Reflection
Radical Acceptance (coming soon)
Song "Man in the Mirror" by Michael Jackson
<iframe width="854" height="480" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Zqe5NP86OCc" title="Michael Jackson - Man in the Mirror LYRICS HQ" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe> or link https://youtu.be/Zqe5NP86OCc?si=VSIZUkEdWopNnHG9
Comments