243: Susan David - Emotional Agility • The Tyranny Of Positivity • Understanding Guilt & Shame

Susan David, Ph.D. (IG: @susandavid_phd), is an award-winning Psychologist on the faculty of Harvard Medical School; co-founder and co-director of the Institute of Coaching at McLean Hospital; and CEO of Evidence Based Psychology, a boutique business consultancy. She is the author of the new #1 Wall Street Journal best-selling book Emotional Agility.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Growing up in Apartheid South Africa
• Being the master of being ok
• Writing/journaling like nobody's reading it
• Are you bottling emotions?
• Stop brooding
• Showing up to our emotions
• Difficult emotions serve a purpose
• Understanding the difference between guilt & shame
• Anger often comes about when something important to you is being blocked
• Acceptance is the prerequisite of change
• Creating space between the thinker and the thought
• Stop identifying your whole self with an emotion
• Emotion granularity
• Our stories don't always serve us
• Human beings are drawn to stories, familiarity, & coherence
• Values are qualities of action
• The most fundamental protector of our health and wellbeing
• Social contagion and how to protect yourself from it
• The problem with "have to" goals
• The tyranny of positivity
• Depression is the single leading cause of disability, globally
• People with goals around happiness become less happy and less resilient over time
• There's a time to grit and a time to quit
• Raising emotionally agile children
• 4 key ideas of emotional agility
• All emotions are transient

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Related links:

Susan David - Emotional Agility (book)

Susan David's website

The Emotional Agility Quiz

Follow Susan David on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter

The New York Times - Teaching Your Child Emotional Agility featuring Susan David

James Pennebaker (books)

Viktor Frankl (books)

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321: Neil Pasricha – You Are Awesome, Intentional Living, Becoming Anti-Fragile

293: Mark Manson – We All Need Hope • Meditation Makes You Stronger • Happiness Is Overrated

263: Jonathan Fields – Uncovering The Work That Sparks You

240: Bruce Lipton – The Honeymoon Effect • Conscious Parenting • You Have 2 Minds

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