Hello Reader,
What’s the point of positive emotions?
Barbara Fredrickson's Broaden-and-Build Theory explains how positive emotions expand our thinking and enhance our ability to build lasting psychological, social, and intellectual resources. Unlike negative emotions, which narrow our focus in response to perceived threats, positive emotions broaden our awareness, making us more open to possibilities, creative solutions, and meaningful connections. Over time, this expanded mindset helps us build enduring personal strengths, such as resilience, social bonds, and problem-solving abilities, which support long-term well-being.
Research supports this idea by showing that positive emotions like joy, love, and gratitude widen our perceptual field and improve cognitive flexibility. In experiments using visual processing tasks, participants experiencing positive emotions were better at seeing the bigger picture, while those in neutral or negative states focused more narrowly. Other studies suggest that people in positive moods generate more ideas, think more creatively, and make better decisions: they consider more options, weigh risks more accurately, and collaborate more effectively.
Applying This in Business
Entrepreneurs are especially at risk of being consumed by negativity bias. Many business owners spend much of their time putting out fires and solving problems. In the early years of starting a business, this is even more pronounced, as we create new systems and inevitably encounter failures and setbacks. In many ways, the entrepreneur's role is to act as the chief problem solver, constantly focusing on what needs fixing.
The downside of this is that we can develop tunnel vision, where all we see are problems, and our mind becomes dominated by negative emotions. This limits us when it's time to grow because we become less able to see new opportunities and think creatively.
It's essential to recognize when negativity bias hijacks our thinking and develop tools to counter it. If your business requires you to spend a lot of time problem-solving, it's important to build routines that help you reset and return to a more positive state. Knowing when problem-focused thinking is useful and when it becomes limiting is key. For example, if you're reviewing a new product and looking for errors, it makes sense to focus on what's going wrong. But when it's time to set new goals and strategize, positive emotions enhance creativity and big-picture thinking.
Building Emotional Mastery
To counteract negativity bias, it's important to develop emotional mastery:the ability to regulate your emotions and shift into a more positive state when needed. This involves two key skills:
Awareness – Regularly checking in with yourself to recognize your emotional state throughout the day.
State Shifting – Equipping yourself with tools to shift into a positive emotional state when necessary.
Simple strategies can help. Watching five minutes of stand-up comedy, going for a short walk, or engaging in a favorite hobby can help reset your mood. Through memory and imagination, you can learn to intentionally generate positive emotions, giving you greater control over your mindset.
By cultivating these skills, you can become more intentional in shaping your emotional experience and maintaining a more balanced, resilient mindset.
To your success,
Bill