12. Flourishing: The End Goal of Positive Emotions

12. Flourishing: The End Goal of Positive Emotions

Welcome to the blog version of the Redefining Happiness Podcast. Today we’re wrapping up our series on the Broaden-and-Build Theory of Positive Emotions with the concept of flourishing.

If you’ve been with me through these last few episodes, you’ve learned how positive emotions don’t just feel good in the moment, they’re actually good for us. They broaden our awareness, help us build long-term resources, and create an upward spiral that strengthens our well-being over time.

But here’s where it all comes together. Dr. Barbara Fredrickson’s theory doesn’t just reframe how we understand happiness, it challenges the entire way we’ve traditionally looked at positive emotions and shows us why it’s so important for us to make the effort to prioritize positivity. In this post, we’ll look at what it really means to flourish, why it matters, and how to begin even if you’re not quite there yet.

The Broaden-and-Build Theory Flips the Script

Let’s begin by looking at how this theory challenges traditional ideas.

For a long time, psychology thought of positive emotions as a result of well-being. But Fredrickson’s research offers a different perspective. The idea that positive emotions aren’t just a byproduct of good health, they actually produce it.

Her research showed that when positive emotions accumulate and build over time, they have a compounding effect. They’re not just brightening your mood, they’re actually reshaping your life. They make you healthier, more socially connected, effective, open-minded, and more capable of navigating challenges.

In other words, the theory suggests that positive emotions fuel flourishing.

So, What Is Flourishing?

If you’ve never heard the term flourishing before, it’s more than just feeling good. It’s about thriving. It’s when you feel engaged with life, connected to others, purposeful, mentally strong, and alive. It’s the opposite of feeling blah or just getting through the day.

It’s when your days include not just work and responsibility, but meaning, connection, and joy. When your life feels like it’s working, not perfectly, but in a way that supports who you are and where you want to go and you feel like your life has momentum.

People who are flourishing don’t have perfect lives, but they bounce back from setbacks more easily, experience more moments of joy, and feel like what they do matters. They feel emotionally alive.

And the thing to remember is that flourishing isn’t something you have to earn or achieve. It’s something you can build, through small, consistent attention on increasing positive emotions.

What About When You’re Not Flourishing?

Now, let’s talk about languishing.

Languishing is when you’re not quite depressed, but you’re not thriving either. You’re functioning, but not well. You’re getting things done, but you’re tired, unmotivated, disconnected, or maybe feeling kind of numb. Life might feel flat, dull, foggy, or like you’re on autopilot. It’s the personification of Meh.

Languishing became a widely used term during the pandemic, but the truth is, many of us were feeling it long before that. In fact, it’s become more and more familiar because of the way we live today. So many of us are isolated, relentlessly busy, disconnected from nature and community and every in-between moment is absorbed by our phones. We don’t leave any space for daydreaming, mindfulness, or even the space to hear our own thoughts and know what’s going on inside of ourselves. It’s a perfect recipe for feeling empty, even when everything “looks fine” on the outside.

Languishing is a completely understandable response to a life that’s been built around disconnection, comparison, and constant pressure.

If that’s where you are right now, the good news is that cultivating positive emotions, especially the kind we’ve talked about throughout this series, is the way out of languishing. You don’t need to completely overhaul your life to feel better. You can build your way toward flourishing by making small adjustments that prioritize positivity. This can be as simple as committing to get outside for a walk after work today, or making plans with a friend this weekend, especially if the alternative will be mindless scrolling on your phone. Small changes, building small positive habits, and taking the extra step of noticing when things feel good, will set you on a path out of languishing.

It’s a Spectrum

Flourishing and languishing aren’t black-and-white. They’re two ends of a spectrum, and we all move up and down that scale throughout our lives, sometimes even in the same week.

You don’t have to be thriving all the time to be okay. Just like you can catch a cold without having a serious illness, you can go through a period of languishing without anything being “wrong” with you. It just means your emotional well-being needs a little more attention.

The goal isn’t to feel amazing every day. That’s not realistic, and it’s not necessary. Natural mood shifts are part of being human.

What matters is moving in the direction of more well-being. More aliveness. More moments that feel like you. And positive emotions, when they’re genuine and nurtured, can help you get there.

Bringing It All Together

So, to recap what we’ve covered over the last few episodes:

• Positive emotions broaden your awareness and open you to new experiences
• They build important resources like resilience, social bonds, and emotional strength
• They help undo the effects of stress and negativity
• They create upward spirals that lead to more well-being over time
• And ultimately, they help you flourish

This is why I’m so excited about the broaden and build theory and why I felt it was important enough to dedicate four episodes to it. Fredrickson’s research shows that when we cultivate positive emotions like joy, gratitude, love, awe, and hope, we expand our minds and strengthen our internal resources.

Over time, those experiences add up. They help us think more creatively. Connect more deeply. Navigate challenges with more resilience. And as we grow in those ways, we create a life that supports even more positive emotion.

It becomes an upward spiral. One that starts with something as small as a mindful moment.

That’s the promise of the Broaden-and-Build Theory: that we can build a better life from the inside out, by intentionally creating more moments that lift us up.

So, how do you begin?

This Week’s Happiness Challenge: Mindful Photography

This week’s challenge is a creative one, based on research from Dr. Jaime Kurtz and Dr. Sonja Lyubomirsky.

They found that taking photos of meaningful or positive moments can actually increase happiness, not just by documenting the moment, but by encouraging you to notice and savor it more deeply.

Here’s how to do it:

Throughout the week I want you to take some photos of what brings you happiness and makes you feel good. This isn’t a vision board of what you want your future to look like, they should represent what brings you positive feelings now in your daily life. Ask yourself, if you wanted someone to understand you and what you care most about, how would you capture it?

Take at least five photos this week. Then create a file on your phone or computer, somewhere that you can access them easily. Add to them when you experience something good and refer to them when you need a boost.

I’ve also created a printable worksheet with journaling prompts around this exercise. It is the last part of the “Positivity Reset Kit” I’ve been putting together throughout this series. You can find it in the FREE Podcast Resources Hub at karencastillo.org. Once you sign up, you’ll always have access to future tools, templates, and bonus resources too.

Final Thoughts

Thank you so much for joining me on this Broaden-and-Build series. I hope it’s helped you see just how important positive emotions really are, and how much potential you have to create a life that feels engaging, fulfilling, and whole.

If you know someone who’s feeling a little stuck or flat, please share this with them. You never know what small moment might start their own upward spiral. Let’s keep building a world where flourishing is the norm, not the exception.

And remember: You don’t have to have it all figured out to start flourishing. Just start adding positive moments to your day like daily vitamins for your emotional well-being.

See you next time.

-Karen

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