Tom Bilyeu's Impact Theory

Stop Surviving and Start Thriving Now | Susan David (Archived Episode)

Dec 19, 2024

Susan David, a Harvard Medical School psychologist and author of "Emotional Agility," shares powerful insights on managing emotions. She discusses the importance of viewing emotions as data points rather than directives, crucial for personal growth. David emphasizes embracing negative emotions as vital signals and navigating them for resilience, especially in challenging times like the pandemic. She advocates for emotional literacy and granularity, urging listeners to accurately label their feelings to enhance well-being and relationships.

01:47:26

Episode guests

Susan David, Ph.D

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Quick takeaways

Susan David emphasizes that emotions should be viewed as data rather than directives to foster healthier emotional processing.

Acknowledging the full spectrum of emotions, including negative ones, is essential for authentic emotional health and personal growth.

Adopting emotional agility allows individuals to create space between stimulus and response, promoting thoughtful reflection over impulsive reactions.

Deep dives

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Emotional Literacy and Its Importance

03:51

Intro

2min

Embracing Negative Emotions

19min

Embracing Emotions During the Holidays

6min

Emotional Agility and Personal Growth

16min

Safeguarding Wealth and Values in Uncertain Times

4min

Navigating Values and Emotions

31min

Emotional Literacy and Its Importance

4min

Understanding Emotion Granularity

27min

Maximizing Health and Embracing Entrepreneurship

2min

If you’re in the middle of emotionally trying times, lost your job, death and grief over loved ones and failing relationships, we know emotional pain f*cking sucks! But what now? Sitting in these emotions forever isn’t practical or healthy.

So, what are the options?

Bottle it up, push those feelings aside, and push through! You’re hardcore, you’re badass, nothing is going take you out. Just don’t think about it, move on and get gritty.

OR…

Let the pain take over until you feel like a puddle of nothing. Everything feels hopeless, the pain is unbearable, and how could you ever smile again?

Neither of these extremes are healthy ways to cope with your emotions, and as adults, if we’re honest, the majority of us suck at processing emotions. We get angry and take it out on the people closest to us. We go to work sad and hurt over a fight with our partner, now we can’t focus, productivity is low, and the quality of our work sucks.

Susan David, Harvard medical school psychologist and author of the #1 WSJ bestseller, Emotional Agility, has some strategies we can all start implementing today to learn how to process our emotions in an effective and healthier way. Her core message is that “emotions are data, not directives.”

We’re facing some really challenging times ahead and we’ve been fighting and hoping for better days since pre-Covid. This conversation answers how to deal with the difficult thoughts and use emotions as data instead of allowing them to direct a story of you starring as the victim.

You can have every valid reason to fuse with painful emotions, it doesn’t mean they’re helpful in the moment. Create space, observe what you're feeling, and identify the signpost.

[Original air date: 7-19-22]

Check out Susan David’s book, Emotional Agility: Get Unstuck, Embrace Change, and Thrive in Work and Life: https://amzn.to/3aHKw25

Check out Susan David’s first Impact Theory Interview, Make Your Negative Thoughts Serve You: https://youtu.be/y8bwEgCcOXs

SHOW NOTES:

0:00 | Introduction to Negative Thinking

4:06 | Unhealthy Ways We Face Emotions

13:30 | Identify Your Emotional Signposts

24:38 | Make Space for Emotional Confusion

39:15 | The Secret Weapon Against Tragedy

50:35 | Don’t Allow Emotions to Write Your Story

1:11:01 | Strategies to Avoid Emotional Fusion

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