Exploring Our Positive Emotions

 

We all hope that our children will live lives that are full of Positive Emotions. In Autahi, we've been exploring feelings like joy, awe and excitement. How will we recognise them in ourselves and others? What experiences and people trigger these feelings for us? 

We know that the benefits of experiencing Positive Emotions are more far-reaching that simply feeling good for a while. Research tells us that frequently experiencing Positive Emotions contributes to a lasting sense of well-being: 'things are generally going well for me'. This is associated with being more socially connected, productive and physically healthy, too. This may be due to the 'broaden and build' theory (Fredrickson, 2002, 2004). This is based on the idea that negative experiences carry a perceived threat, causing us to narrow our focus, close down our attention and behave more defensively. Conversely, positive experiences cause us to engage in a more expansive and open way with our environment, allowing more curious, creative and flexible thinking.

As ever in Autahi, picture books have helped us to begin to tease apart the different kinds of Positive Emotions so that we can better identify and name what we're feeling. How Do I Feel?, with it's beautiful illustrations, is a great resource for this.

We also shared some stories in which characters experience Positive Emotions. In both cases, these feeling are prompted by doing something they love.

We asked our Autahi children to reflect on times when they experience Positive Emotions. Knowing what prompts Positive Emotions for us gives us the ability to seek out more of these experiences. Here are some of their ideas.

It is exciting to see them beginning to grapple with more nuanced vocabulary to describe their emotions, such as proud, calm, joyful and peaceful. It is also clear that they are able to recall moments when they have experienced Positive Emotions. Family, favourite toys and time spent in the natural world are themes. There is lots of inspiration here for how we can foster more Positive Emotions in our days.