What is the end goal of life? “Happiness” Captain Obvious may say and indeed, the idea of feeling constantly happy sounds great. However, science has come to question again what can be characterized as “common knowledge”, by proving that feeling a variety of emotions is much more beneficial than feeling only positive emotions.
The association of positive emotions with both mental and physical health is not big news; We already know that happier people, not only tend to be more productive, but also live longer, and that stress can have adverse effects on our health. For instance, feeling joy will probably lead someone to feel that they had a better day than someone who experienced joy and stress.
However, studies of the last few years have shown that what can be considered as “bad” feelings are also beneficial for making us feel more fulfilled human beings, and that experiencing an abundance of emotions is a better predictor of mental and physical health. Described as ‘emotional diversity’ or ‘emodiversity’, this concept is gaining attention for balancing mental state and improving quality of life.
What is emodiversity?
As the name suggests, emodiversity describes the experience of a variety of emotions, both positive and negative. Humans have the unique ability to experience 34,000 different emotions; happiness, joy, pride, gratitude, amusement, admiration, satisfaction, excitement, surprise, nostalgia, sadness, anxiety, embarrassment, fear, guilt, disgust, anger, boredom and horror are only a few of them.
Anthony Ong, professor of human development, has associated the concept of emodiversity with biodiversity; in the same way that each and every species in the world serves a particular cause for the world to keep existing, each and every emotion serves a role for people to be able to adapt in different conditions of life. Accordingly, in the same way that the environment loses its balance when one species becomes overabundant, an individual may be more challenged to regulate their behavior when limited feelings dominate their everyday life.
Why is it important?
A great deal of research has proven the importance of emodiversity for mental and physical health. Α 2015 study to over 35,000 participants in France revealed that those with greater emodiversity—i.e., those who experienced a broader range of emotions—were less likely to experience symptoms of depression. Meanwhile, low emodiversity — even if it is on the positive spectrum — might actually be damaging. The example is classic, we have all seen it or discussed it at some point of our lives: “They have everything, why can’t they be content?”
Furthermore, a study led by Ong asked 175 participants aged 40-65 to keep a log of their daily emotions for 30 days, rating the extent to which they had experienced 16 positive and 16 negative emotions that day. Participants also had their blood tested twice; one at the beginning of the study and another six months later. Results showed that the people with the lowest rates of inflammation were the same ones who reported a wide range of positive emotions.
And while these two studies proved the significance of only positive diverse emotions, a study by Harvard Business School to over 37,000 respondents revealed that either positive or negative, emodiversity is associated with better mental and physical health.
What does emodiversity contribute to the workplace?
#1 Progress: When diving deeper into the concept, it makes more sense. Have you thought about it? When feeling happy, the last thing you want is to do something that could change things, but this is where scholars come again to show that people may be less likely to get creative or innovate when happy. For instance, research from the University of Hong Kong to 400 Filipino high school students showed that emotional diversity was linked to better students’ engagement. And this is where the association of emodiversity with personal development enters the game. Ashamed because you failed at something? This embarrassment is probably fruitful for you, especially when it results from trying something new.
#2 More efficient interactions: There have only been a few decades that the importance of human emotions has found its way in today’s business world vastly dependent on negotiation, compromise, collaboration and mutual understanding for efficient outcomes. Describing the ability to monitor and recognize our own and other people’s emotions, the concept of emotional intelligence (EQ) has emerged as an equally vital skill to the conventional measurement of cognitive intelligence (IQ) and paved the way for people to conceive how empathy can make a difference in corporate life. But being able to spot reactions and triggers to other people requires that you are in tune with your own reactions and triggers first.
#3 Self-awareness and appreciation: Cheesy social media memes makers say, “you can’t have a rainbow without a little rain first” and we have to agree. When we are open to feelings like sadness and anger, we are more likely to appreciate and make the most of the happy moments. In addition, when we pay attention to our full range of emotions, and what causes them, we actually learn more about ourselves.
So, the next time you will feel frustrated for having bad feedback from your manager or for exchanging heavy words with that colleague, take your time and think better. Change is mother of progress, nothing exciting has ever come from leaving things as they are. Stop trying to be happier -toxic positivity left the chat- and start focusing on becoming more emodiverse. Unless your workplace is toxic, where you have a different guide to follow.
