10. How Positive Emotions Make You More Resilient

Redefining Happiness

What if the way you respond to stress could actually make you stronger?

In this episode of Redefining Happiness, we’re continuing our look at the Broaden-and-Build Theory with a focus on resilience. You’ll learn how positive emotions like joy, amusement, and curiosity can help you bounce back from adversity, not by pretending everything’s fine, but by expanding your capacity to cope with clarity and creativity.

We’ll talk about how resilient people use emotional range (not toxic positivity), and why finding small moments of connection or meaning during tough times isn’t a distraction, it’s part of recovery.

This Week’s Happiness Challenge: Pause and Reframe
When something hard, frustrating, or overwhelming happens this week, take a moment to acknowledge it fully, don’t brush it aside. Then ask yourself, “Is there something small and positive I can notice or create alongside this?” or just "What's Good?"

Some ideas include:

• Try reframing “I have to do this” with “I get to do this” if what you’re doing is hard but something you want to do
• A hopeful thought or daydream about when the hard time passes
• Focus on something that made you laugh, or find something to laugh about
• Even leaning into the hard thing and recognizing your own effort to keep going

If you’d like help with this practice, I’ve created a FREE Expanded Worksheet in the Podcast Resources Hub. It includes a journaling space to reflect on both the difficult moments and the positivity you notice. The free Resources Hub is your go-to library for exercises, templates, and exclusive content to help you apply what you’re learning each week. Use THIS LINK to get started!

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Music: "Be Happy" by danamusic