Susan David: The Art of Emotional Agility

All of us want to be happy. Many of us pursue happiness in different ways, and sometimes that includes trying to block out “less than happy” emotions.
You might have noticed that becoming obsessed with this pursuit can actually make you less happy in the long run.
That’s because all emotions are meant to be experienced. They are meant to pass through you, and when you suppress them or try to pretend they aren’t there they will just come back to you with a vengeance.
So how do we be truly happy?
That’s exactly what Susan David has spent her career studying.

Susan David is a psychologist, originally from South Africa, that has been learning about emotions and people’s pursuit of happiness since she lost her father in high school.
She has recently written a best selling book, Emotional Agility, about the importance of every emotion we go through.
Susan also recently gave a Ted Talk that was one of the most successful campaigns to date. It received over a million views within the first week.
I like to think that things come into our lives at the perfect time and for the right reasons. Lately I’ve been going through some emotional challenges, which I open up about on this episode, and I took so much away from Susan’s advice.
I feel privileged to have Susan on this episode and I know you will learn a lot, on Episode 604.

Some questions I ask:
How did you handle the passing of your dad at a young age? (2:13)
What does disability mean? (5:06)
How should we approach situations in life we’re unhappy about? (7:12)
What are your range of emotions like on a daily basis? (11:24)
How do we evaluate our emotions? (19:05)Would you say that to make a greater impact in the world that you need to take on more stress? (24:05)
How should we approach people going through a difficult time but won’t admit it? (29:33)
What advice do you have for me if I lose my father? (38:40)

In this episode you will learn:
What it was like losing her father in high school (00:58)
The importance of journaling (56:15)
Are we trying to become resilient with our emotions? (4:41)
How do we learn from our emotions? (8:28)
As a trained psychologist, how do you just allow your emotion to be? (14:20)
Are all emotions valuable? (23:09)
What does a healthy relationship with our emotions look like? (27:04)
What should people do when they lose their job? (37:00)
What advice do you have for men who hold in their emotions? (50:03)