In her book, Positivity, Barbara Fredrickson specifies the ten most frequently experienced positive emotions. In this article we’ll introduce you to these ten to help you explore the wide spectrum of your potential to feel positive.

1. Joy

Fredrickson describes joy as “a spring in your step”, something we have all felt at one time or another. Joy feels “bright and light” and is often brought about when “things are going your way.” Joy might be time spent with friends, special occasions, receiving a gift, or getting some unexpected good news.

2. Pride

Pride has somewhat of a bad reputation as an emotion, too often linked with arrogance or big-headedness. However, when “tempered with appropriate humility,” pride is undoubtedly a positive emotion. Pride tends to be felt when you have “invested your effort and skills and succeeded.”

3. Amusement

We’ve written before on the blog about how humour and playfulness are good for you. As Fredrickson states, “amusement is social” and is central to many of our close relationships. She further comments that “although at times we laugh alone, those laughs are only pale renditions of the laughter we share with another.”

4. Serenity

Serenity is “a mindful state that carries the urge to savour your current circumstances.” It might be described as a kind of relaxed contentment or, as Fredrickson states, “it’s when you lie back in a shaded hammock after a day of strenuous and rewarding work in your garden.”

5. Gratitude

Fredrickson writes that the emotion of gratitude occurs “when we appreciate something that has come our way as a gift to be treasured.” It is not simply a sense of “indebtedness” or a forced politeness when receiving something; rather it is “a truly pleasant feeling intermixed with joy and heartfelt appreciation.”

6. Hope

Hope is the feeling that “no matter how awful or uncertain” a situation, “things can turn out better.” It is an exception amongst most positive emotions as it does not tend to arise from positive circumstances, but instead buffers us during negative circumstances.

7. Interest

Fredrickson describes interest as the feeling when “something new or different draws your attention, filling you with a sense of possibility.” She describes it as the pull “to explore” and the sensation of being “utterly fascinated.” It is the emotion we feel when learning and discovering.

8. Awe

Fredrickson writes that “awe happens when you come across goodness on a grand scale.” It can be likened with a feeling of transcendence as it often encourages you to “feel part of something larger than yourself.” We can feel awe in nature, when we witness a beautiful sunrise for example, but also by humanity, perhaps when we witness acts of great kindness or bravery.

9. Inspiration

Inspiration “doesn’t simply feel good, it makes you want to express what’s good and do good yourself” and is “a form of positivity that pulls us out of our shell of self-absorption.” We might find inspiration when we see great creative works of art or literature, or when we witness talents or strengths in another person which we might want to emulate.

10. Love

Perhaps the most widely experienced positive emotion, Fredrickson states that love is “not a single kind of positivity” because it links with all the others. Love is the emotion that bonds us with others – our partners, parents, siblings and children. Fredrickson comments that love is often felt as a brief “surge” of emotion, and that our most intimate relationships tend to be “the products of recurrent surges of love.”

Positive emotions can often be fleeting, and are therefore easily quashed. That’s why it is so vital that we invest in our positivity. As Fredrickson states:

“Positive emotions – like all emotions – arise from how you interpret events and ideas as they unfold. They depend on whether you allow yourself to take a moment to find the good – and on whether, once you’ve found it, you pump that goodness and let it grow. This dependence on thinking is what makes positivity so fragile.”

Fredrickson suggests that, for each of the ten positive emotions, you ask yourself or write in a journal:

• When was the last time I felt this feeling?
• Where was I?
• What was I doing?
• What else gives me that feeling?
• Can I think of still more triggers?
• What can I do now to cultivate this feeling?

If you want to take Fredrickson’s Positivity Self Test, you can do so at www.positivityratio.com

Hello and Happy Saturday to you! We’ve gathered another bright, bountiful bunch of links for you to enjoy this weekend.

• Here’s a great article on building character strengths from Brain Blogger.
• If you’re looking to get moving now summer is on the horizon, here is a Former Couch Potato’s Guide to Embracing Exercise.
• Good for a laugh, sharks with people teeth from The Huffington Post.

• In this video filmmaker Marc Isaacs sets himself up in a London tower block lift. The residents come to trust him and reveal the things that matter to them creating a humorous and moving portrait of a vertical community.
• Hungry Trees documents the power of tremendous tree roots.
• Here are 7 ways  to be mindful every day.

Did you find something interesting in this week’s pick? Please share it around, it will make us smile.

Blind Drawn Light Switch

Now, to quote the hypnotist from Little Britain, I am “back in the room”.  In that minute of paying attention to my sensory experience in this moment, I feel a lot better.  My mind has calmed, fog of worry has eased and I feel reconnected to myself. This really is a mindful intervention in action, chaps, and one that has not been manufactured for your benefit, I can assure you.

Humans are creatures of habit, we love patterns and routine in various forms which help us to go about out daily tasks with ease.  This autopilot of action and thought certainly has it’s purpose, but the tricky thing can be not getting too swept up in it for too long.  Can you relate to feeling disconnected, or dazed at times, like you are simply being pulled along by life’s momentum?  Perhaps you have walked or driven a journey and can’t quite remember making it?  For our mental health, wellbeing and happiness actively and mindfully bringing ourselves back to present for as little as a couple of minutes a day can have a huge, positive knock on effect. Even during a busy day we all have a minute to take a deep breath and reconnect to our bodies in the present moment as we go about our lives.

At Light Box, we have found Mindfulness becoming part of all of workshops, in one way or another, and next week we shall be returning to our special Mindfulness week of 4 workshops.  In a session we explore savouring experiences and why this is so great for our wellbeing.  Why don’t you try it for yourselves today;  when you are eating breakfast, having a cup of tea, brushing your teeth, walking to the shop, having a conversation or any other activity, take a moment to listen to all of your senses -

• What can you smell?
• What sounds can you hear?
• What colours, shapes, textures, movements can you see?
• What sensations can you feel in your body?
• What tastes are present in your mouth?

Really get in to experiencing your experience here, and simply notice what the mind begins to do here and let those thoughts pass like clouds .  It may feel like flying through turbulence in April showers to begin with, but in time this will begin to fade. Frustratingly for our NOW! MORE!  SOONER! culture, mindfulness will not be hurried.

“Any exploratory journey will take us out of the arena we know, this is surely the point, and then the desire to know all can be replaced with a celebration of noticing any small detail that brings a sense of connection.” The Natural Explorer by Tristan Gooley. Pg 35.

Found Doorbells

With our mind’s constant dialogue about things, events, feelings and people we can often feel it ruling our lives.  We like to know. The mind likes to know what is going on. We get stuck in our thoughts, working things out and responding to all of that daily stimulation.  We don’t have the time to relax, we worry we’re not doing enough, we worry we don’t deserve to take a moments break/enjoy ourselves/please ourselves because it’s just, quite simply, not the way we do things! However with practicing mindfulness we are reconnecting to a sort of physical, intuitive knowledge that can give our mind a break and with practice can turn it’s volume down.  The thoughts become the softly warbled backing track, rather than the howling lead singer.  This is not to say we become slow, mindless or vacant.  Far from it.

Blue Book Spines

Through practicing mindfulness (and if you would like to know more come along to a workshop or see below for great, online links) a miraculous thing can happen; we really tune in to what is important to us, reduce our stress levels, connect better with ourselves and other people, develop greater resilience and feel happy. When we allow ourselves to listen to what is really going on in the present, and re-root our feet to the floor we are able to reconnect to what is really important to us and feel all of those juicy positive emotions that boost our wellbeing.  Who knows… we may decide that some of those things on our to do lists can be quietly rubbed off making way for more enjoyable activities or just a nice cup of tea.

So here’s to taking time to experience the curious wonder that is the present moment.  It is an adventure, after all.

Thank you for reading and see you again for some more soon.

Kathryn

Great information and resources on Mindfulness from Action for Happiness: ‘Bring Mindfulness in to Your Day‘ and ‘Notice The World Around You’

A new term has just started up here at Light Box HQ and we’ve come to the end of our week of gratitude workshops – we hope you were able to join us. Here are our links for your weekend.

• 60 ways to simplify your life.
• Did you know Bristol’s interesting games festival Igfest is coming up this September?

• Here’s  helpful guide to the health benefits of humour and laughter.
• Lose yourself in these addictive 5 second films.
• This is the one place you must see before you die. A lovely article on savouring.
• After some good mood food? We love this article on ingredients to improve mental health.

Thanks for reading, and happy clicking! If you’ve found something you like then please share, we always appreciate it.

Did you catch this article from Positive News?  It is an interview with Hannah Brencher, creator of The World Needs More Love Letters, a project of over 13,000 members leaving love letters and surprise kind words for others to find. As is said on the project’s About page:

“…we write and mail love letters, handwritten love letters, to strangers in need all over the world.”

The project is based on the principles of kindness and connection – two central components to wellbeing, which we promote at Light Box. It is also about transcendence, that is, feeling a part of something bigger, which is fundamental for all of us. As Hannah comments in the article, reflecting on how the project began, with her leaving her own letters in New York City:

“My hope was that people would feel like they would be given a proactive recipe: that they could become folded into something larger than themselves – something that blesses the days of others. My letters were filled with honesty and encouragement and words of love. I wanted the recipients to know love wherever they were standing.”

On the website you’ll see a ‘found letters’ section, which makes inspiring reading, like this message left by one recipient:

“I saw the corner of an envelope sticking out from between the cushions of the library chair I was curled up in studying. I pulled it out, thinking it must have been lost or left behind, and found this note:

Dear beautiful stranger,
This is for you! You may or may not be having a nice day. Regardless, you are beautiful, smart, daring, and so much more. “To love yourself is to begin a lifelong romance” – Oscar Wilde. I hope this brightens your day!

It did.”

You can even use the project’s website to request a letter for someone in your life who you feel might need one. We think this makes a brilliant kind act.

So, will you join this growing community of love-letter writers? Or might you be able to just write a few kind words and leave them for someone in your community to find – in the library, at the gym, or at a local cafe? Let us know what you decide to do!

It’s time for another  captivating collection of links to click. We hope you find something interesting.

• We love this video about the inspirational Nick Vujicic.
• Here are 174,203 things to do instead of watching TV.
• We are lucky aims to “pass luck and responsibility to others and record the outcome” by giving away £1,000 every day: a sincere documentation of the memorable characters the person has encountered, the impact of the money and the remarkable stories collected along the way.

Miler Lagos www.milerlagos.com

• Ever wondered what an igloo made of books might look like? Now you know. More pics on Miler’s website. 
• A dog called Maddie, on things.
• This image by Martin Creed inspired the renovation of the Happiness Project’s shop: stripes, bold colours and cactii.

That’s all for this week’s pick, we hope it keeps you busy and we’ll see you here for more next Saturday.

We were so delighted to have Nicole here on her internship. We asked her to write a blog post for us about her experience here, and have so enjoyed reading about her experience, and we’re also so flattered by the lovely things she says about us as a staff team. Thank you Nicole and please come back soon!

Wandering around the city – Park Street

I’m back home in Germany now and I would like to share some experiences with you from my time at Light Box where I stayed for one month in February/March to do an internship.

Maybe it’s interesting for you to know how I came up with this idea and how I finally landed in Bristol, so I will start with this…

My occupational background lies in the field of social and behavioural sciences. I studied psychology and after that I worked in different hospitals. Over these years of work I felt more and more unhappy with my job and when it reached a peak and I recognised that I couldn’t do this job in this context any longer I decided to take a time-out. And now I can see that this was the best decision!

But at the time, it was really hard. I was confused, aimless and didn’t know what to do. I wanted to change my occupation but I didn’t know in which direction and how exactly that could go. I felt really depressed at this time and to help this, I tried to experiment with new ways of self-care. I’m a very top-heavy person. I tend to overthink things too much and sometimes it’s difficult for me to clear my mind.  I wanted to change this because it drained me and so I tried different things out where I could find some distraction from my thinking in some way and find some rest.

Amazed by the view of the houses in Knowle – it looks so different to German streets

I engaged more in creative activities and did things just for the sake of it. I noticed how I could do things and forget the time. It wasn’t so much about the outcome. It was more about the time when I was lost in the activity what made me feel so good. I think the starting point was just a little origami folding… that captured me. I was so focused on this thing and from there I was curious about all the different possibilities to engage in creative activities and discover new ones.

This made a huge difference to my life. I began to take this approach over to my everyday life and do things in a more playful way. It’s even a difference when I cook now. I think about how I can prepare the meal in a special way, and how it can look nice on the table. Before I was very much oriented on the outcome, I did things really goal-oriented and practical with my inner critic pushing me forward and let no room for “being” and trying. Now when I can look back this seems so insipid and joyless.

I’m so thankful for this difficult time in my life because through this I could discover a whole new attitude to life. I believe that most things happen for a reason. Sometimes it is not obvious at first and it takes a while until it makes sense.

At this time during my time-out I was still searching for a new path in terms of my occupational future. I always wanted to help people to feel well and improve their quality of life. But I felt so unwell in the context of the clinical setting and how things go there.

Cranes at the harbour – I love harbour cranes!

At some point I asked myself if I could combine psychology with creative aspects. These are both things I’m really interested in and I thought when it helped me it could maybe be helpful for other people, too.

And this was where my journey to Bristol started. Not really…but this was the first step how I came to Light Box. I began with a quite extensive search on the internet for organisations who work on a community base and aim to improve the wellbeing of people through the use of creative techniques as well as a psychological framework. I wanted to gain practical work experiences in this field. But I couldn’t make out anything in this direction in Germany. So I decided to look in an English speaking country and chose the UK for further research.

And I was so happy when I discovered Light Box. I wrote an email immediately and hoped for a positive answer. And this first email was already so friendly that I knew I wanted to realise this internship abroad.

It took some months until it really worked out and I could finally come to Light Box because I had to apply for a grant and needed to find an affordable accommodation. But Kathryn and the two Lucys’ stayed patient with me and supported me on this way.

Walking through Totterdown on my way to the afternoon tea at Zoe’s house – such a great view

The first thing I noticed when I arrived in Bristol was the friendliness and helpfulness of people there. The city felt for me so welcoming and open that it was a lot easier to be in a foreign country. Now when I do my food shopping in Germany I sometimes wish me back some of this considerateness and kindness.

In my first week at Light Box there was an intake-training for the new volunteers. I was happy that I could attend because it was a really good starting point for me and prepared me for the work at Light Box. During the next four weeks I got so multifarious insights and learned so many new things.

There was the creative side of the project with so many different aspects, the research, the inspiration and the planning. Then the framework of Positive Psychology where I got so many new impulses from – to work in a less deficit orientated way but in a more resourceful and strengthening way feels so much better to me. And it was so helpful to see how to run a community interest company, what the administrational side of the project is like and what are all the processes behind.

Reflection at the Light Box reception

But the most impressive thing about my internship at Light Box were the people. It was amazing to see how enthusiastic and passionate Lucy, Kathryn and Lucy are about their work. Behind the scenes I could see that they really stand behind the project and not just tell but live the way what the workshops are about.

I have never had such a pleasurable, esteeming atmosphere in the work context. That was a really new experience for me.  I think it was the mix of professionalism and ease which made it so outstanding. And I have to say I have rarely laughed this much at work and had so much fun. It’s hard to believe that there is a place like this in the world and I’m so glad I found it and that I had the chance to be there for a while. This project makes such a difference in the health care system and it feels so important and meaningful to me and like a step in the right direction.

Personal rating scale :)

Thank you Lucy, Lucy and Kathryn for letting me join you at the project, for sharing your knowledge and experience with me, for always being so supportive and making the best out of my time in Bristol.

A great side benefit of my time at Light Box was that I met so many different people there who worked as volunteers in the project and contributed to the fact that this was such an amazing time for me. Thanks to all the people who were around, who were so kind and welcoming and who shared their time with me. It is not often that so many nice people are in one place! I miss you and the time in the shop and hope we stay in touch until I will come back some time. And I will come back…that’s for sure!  I’m a huge Bristol-Fan now:)

This rubbish bin in Totterdown expresses it well – So sad to leave…

My time at Light Box was some of my most important and pleasurable experiences in my life and I got back home with so much inspiration and motivation. And now with all these experiences in my mind I want to try to realise a similar project in Germany. That is a great goal to work on and gives me so much energy and encouragement.

If someone wants to join me, I’m searching for a like-minded partner :)

I could write so much more about my time at Light Box and in Bristol but I told you already so much that I will just leave you with some interesting links you might like.

1. If you are now interested in the German way of doing things I can recommend  the funny collection of the particular behavior of Germans written down here: How to be German
2. If you talked to me when I was at the Light Box Shop and I said “she” to the cup – that’s because the cup is a woman in German. In the German language you use three different forms of “the” (feminine, masculine and neuter). If you would like to know more about that language thing here is something you will like: The 8 stages of Learning German
3. And for those of you who would like to do an internship abroad and need some financial support, I can really recommend the Leonardo da Vinci programme. Without this opportunity it wouldn’t have been possible for me to do this internship. 
   

And now I will say goodbye for now and enjoy a cup of Earl Grey with soy milk and think back with a smile :)

Another bunch of lovely links picked just for you, faithful Light Box blog-reader! Whether you’ve come along to one of our workshops, or are thinking about it, we hope you find something intriguing here.

• Fip radio is a French radio station playing a variety of music to jazz up your day.

• If you enjoy dabbling in photography and would like to develop your skills and creativity then give 365project a whirl. The idea is simple: capture your life with one photo every day – all you need is a camera.

• Musicians and aspiring-musicians alike might enjoy this guitar display from the Things Organized Neatly blog.

• We’ve really enjoyed Keri Smith’s free Artist’s Survival Kit:

“For the really bad days, for the days when you want to quit, when you feel like everything you do is shit, when you feel your self-esteem plummet, when you decide that you would rather wait tables for a living, when you start to think you will never make a living making art, when you are working on something and feel like you hate it more than you’ve ever hated anything in your life, when someone makes an offhand remark about your work and afterwards you feel dejected, when you wish you had gone to school for accounting, when you start to believe that maybe your family was right, when you want to lie in bed for a month and eat chips.” (Keri Smith)

• Are you guilty of eating al-desko at work? Here are some fun, useful and silly tips on how to make eating lunch at your desk a more pleasant experience.

• And, finally, an interesting read on how you can enhance your wellbeing through creativity.

If you like the Light Box Link Pick, please do share it with your friends. Don’t forget we’ll be offering up more of the same next Saturday. We’ll see you then!

We’re all thrilled to have this title awarded to us, and to the organisation. It feels like a real boost to our motivation, and we’re so glad to be making a difference to Bristol! The list itself is like an alternative to the annual Sunday Times Rich List, what a brilliant idea.

A couple of our faces even made it into the paper, (Note Lucy B’s interesting portrait choice!) Here’s our profiles in full:

Lucy Barfoot, 25

Co-founder of Light Box, Long Ashton

My story: I am co-founder and head of creative direction at Light Box: The Happiness Project, where we run happiness workshops designed to promote people’s wellbeing and resilience. I design the creative activities which form half of the workshops and manage the online marketing and branding of the project. I love my job!

I’m also an artist and collector of things like poppy petals and tax disks. Most important ingredients for living a happy life? Having fun: being silly and playful, and time alone.

Lucy Duggan, 32

Co-founder of Light Box, Lower Kingsdown

My story: I work at the Light Box Happiness Project providing free creative workshops to the public, which introduce evidence-based techniques for investing in good mental health and wellbeing. Most important ingredients for living a happy life?Knowing that you are not helpless. Being able to trust other people. Letting go of the past using either forgiveness or acceptance. Making an effort to appreciate what’s good now, from the simple things like having clean water to drink upwards.

Kathryn John, 28

Head of Learning and Participation at Light Box, Easton

My story: I am one third of the Light Box team. My main role is in developing the project to engage with more of the Bristol population (and beyond!) I having experienced the power of focusing on personal strengths and positive action for myself I am now very grateful and privileged to be able to support others in finding positivity and empowerment in their own lives.

I am a practicing artist and writer and love to focus on the small delights, beauties and oddities of the every day.

Thank you for the nominations, and to the people who made this list possible. Click here to read the whole article on the Bristol Evening Post website, and click here for the run down of the entire list of champions on the Happy City website.

Welcome to the Saturday link pick, we really hope you find something of interest here, we’re really enjoying making them as varied as we can.

• Cor blimey this is a feast for the eyes. If you like architecture or appreciate the beauty in living spaces, have a look at the top 20 of the world’s most beautiful living spaces. 

• A great place where you can watch hundreds of films and documentaries about positive social change, for free!

• Bristol’s Big Green week is coming up: 15-23 June: ‘two weekends of free family entertainment and nine days of inspiring talks, workshops, art, music, poetry, comedy and films.’

• A great blog post reminding us of the benefits of Gratitude as well as really tangible ways to express feeling thankful.

• Are you interested in how kids can reconnect with nature? Project Wild Thing is committed to promoting less screen time and more time outdoors. You can also follow the project on Twitter: @wearewildthing.

Hope you liked those links, don’t forget to spread the word and share things that you found interesting.