How to Bring More Positive Emotions Into Your Life
God designed us to experience all kinds of emotions and He himself experiences most of them. He feels love, compassion, joy, anger, sorrow. Other emotions, like feeling defeated, ashamed, guilty are just human concerns.
Emotions in themselves, however, no matter how unpleasant, do not have a moral value of their own. They are simply the subjective, felt, effects of our attitudes, beliefs, actions, and where we choose to focus our attention. That’s why, when I’m talking about positive emotions, what I mean is pleasant emotions. I’m not making a value judgement: I’m merely describing how they feel to us.
Although emotions are simply feelings, their importance is not to be underestimated. After all, emotion is what puts us in motion. Our feelings are the powerful motivator for our actions, they are what reinforce or discourage our various behaviors.
Positive emotions can give us the focus and energy we need to pursue our goals, to invest in relationships, and experience a state of wellbeing.
What are some of these pleasant emotions? The list is long (longer than we might think) but here I’ll mention: joy, satisfaction, enjoyment, happiness, contentment, gratitude, harmony, peace, hope, love, friendliness, curiosity, wonder, enthusiasm, awe.
The fact that we want to bring positive emotions into our life doesn’t mean that the uncomfortable ones don’t have their own important role.
And also, it doesn’t mean that when we experience positive feelings we can’t experience unpleasant ones at the same time. Emotions coexist. Pleasant and unpleasant ones.
So, how can you bring more positive emotions into your life?
The possibilities are endless, but I am going to share ten simple and healthy ways to encourage refreshing and enjoyable feelings in our day-to-day life.
1. Deepen your relationship with God
In a close relationship with God, we experience the positive feelings of being loved, grateful, forgiven. We experience the precious feeling of belonging.
When we trust God, we have joy and peace (Romans 15:13).
Bringing our worries to God, with thanksgiving, helps us have Christ’s peace (Philippians 4:6).
Many people like to have a disciplined approach regarding their time with God, and establish a routine either in the morning or evening. What is even more important, though, is to maintain a keen awareness of God’s presence with us at every moment. I encourage you to remember to stop and take time for conversations with Him throughout the day.
2. Talk to a person who knows you well and cares about you
Cultivate good relationships - God is a relational being and He has made us for relationships too. There are amazing longitudinal studies that show that good relationships help people live longer, healthier and happier lives.
Whenever someone takes the time to listen to us, to understand, normalize, and encourage us, we experience it as a huge blessing. Still, we often tend to hold back from taking the initiative in calling a friend and asking for the support we need. Let’s not wait for that precious connection to happen, let’s initiate it!
We might even find that, as we courageously ask for emotional help and support, we are given the opportunity to also listen to our friend in turn, thus multiplying the positive feelings. Which brings me to my next point:
3. Practice generosity
It is good to receive (with gratitude) and, the Bible says, it’s even better to give.
Helping others can take different forms: offering words of wisdom, taking time to listen to people, brainstorming solutions with others (if we are invited to help in this way), offering encouragement and words of appreciation, doing acts of service, offering gifts.
When we are open to giving others things that they really need, we experience the pure joy of doing God’s will and partnering with God in encouraging, supporting and empowering people. Not only that, but our confidence increases while we realize we are blessed to have much more than we thought: knowledge, skills, kindness, empowering words, material things.
4. Bring realism into your to-do list
Do you feel overwhelmed sometimes, by how many things you feel you have to do every day, or by how difficult some of them are? Set aside some time and take a proper look at the items on your to-do list. Especially those that take up bigger chunks of your day. Can you truthfully say that each of those is a non-negotiable? Something that you know God wants you to do? That you’re not doing simply out of the need to please others or yourself, or out of the fear that you will be rejected or criticized?
We can create space and rest in our day simply by eliminating unnecessary tasks, and by lowering any unrealistic standards. Aim not for perfection, simply for as good as you can at the time.
Being realistic about your to-do list and your standards will bring you increased peace of mind, hope that you can actually finish off what you set out to do, and freedom from anxiety and feeling overwhelmed.
This also allows us to feel energized for the next point:
5. Do what you are called by God to do, even when you don’t feel like it
We know from experience that sticking with a task, being consistent and persevering with any job, brings about progress and good results, and, with those, joy, satisfaction and hope for the future.
The secret of perseverance is “just do it” - taking another step forward, even when you don’t feel like it. Positive emotions will follow your small step.
In Romania, when children say they don’t want to eat because they don’t have an appetite, parents tell them: “The appetite comes while eating”. So, make a start on what you need to do: you will feel more like it while you are actually doing it!
6. Develop your interests and passions
We have different interests and passions – they are part of the unique way God designed us to be.
We experience awe, enjoyment, excitement, joy when we pursue our interests and passions. This can be done in different ways:
as a spectator or participant, by surrounding ourselves with things and people connected to our special area of interest;
as a learner of the particular art or skills involved;
as a creator.
Do you have an interest in or even a passion for cooking, painting, writing, photography, hiking, gardening, music, etc? Set aside some time to learn more about your interest, join a community of like-minded people, and dare to bring out your own creativity.
7. Take time to express gratitude – to God and to people who encourage, inspire, support, and love you.
There is a large number of scientific studies showing the correlation between gratitude and subjective wellbeing. Regardless of cultural background and age, all people can enjoy the benefits of gratitude.
If you are the kind of person who likes structure, schedule a time in your calendar to express gratitude, either in the morning or in the evening... or both. :) If you prefer spontaneity over routine, take some time during the day and thank God for His blessings and other people for their help.
8. Use body posture to your advantage
In her TED talk, “Your Body Language Shapes Who You Are”, Amy Cuddy explains how our posture affects our emotions. She shares some “power poses” to quickly build confidence.
A straight back, looking up, putting your arms up in the air or your hands on your hips — they are all simple things you can do to elevate your mood.
Too simple? Indeed!
Like Naaman, the Syrian (2 Kings 5), we are sometimes reluctant to believe that simple things can have great results, but I hope that, just like him, you will be willing to give it a try and discover better health and hope.
9. Smile
When we smile, the brain secretes neurotransmitters that make us feel better.
There are some studies that suggest that even forcing a smile (by keeping chopsticks or a pen in the mouth) can bring a boost in our mood.
Why force a smile, though? We have plenty of reasons for a genuine one. Even when you are by yourself, allow smiles to light up your face whenever you think about or experience something you like. Whenever you are enjoying pleasant emotions, enhance and amplify them by letting your face express your joy, wonder, and gratitude.
When you are out and about, smile even if you have to wear a mask! People can see the smile in your eyes and sense it in your voice.
Let’s not come out of the pandemic having forgotten the wonderful habit of smiling at people we meet outside our homes!
10. Live a life of integrity
When we habitually make choices which are aligned with our values, we experience a sense of wholeness, peace, stability and joy.
Often the right choice is also the difficult or costly one: forgiving someone who has wronged us, giving up on an opportunity which looks like it could bring profit but it involves compromise, standing up for truth with grace and kindness but without fear of what others might think of us. Even though in the moment doing that might cause us feelings of anxiety, discomfort, or a sense of loss, in the long run we will experience a much greater joy. Acting according to God’s will, or ‘walking in the Spirit’, as the Apostle Paul calls it in Galatians 5, will bring about the fruit of the Spirit in our lives: love, joy, peace.
Occasional wrong choices, that we make either by mistake or because of our sinful nature, will still be part of our reality until we die. What do we do when we realize we have acted in opposition with the will of God and our cherished values? Let our very next steps be to come before our Father God in repentance, and to do whatever is in our power to repair any damaged relationships! Don’t let any emotion of guilt and shame keep you away from God for even one more second.
Reconnecting to Him right away is how we can prevent sin from taking hold in our character and rupturing our integrity. Renewing our awareness of God’s love and forgiveness, and our dedication to Him, brings with it feelings of relief, gratitude, peace and assurance.
Did you enjoy the article?
If so, I hope you are smiling! :)
Please comment and let everyone know which of these ideas you’ll start (or continue) implementing. I appreciate your feedback!