by Lisa Jones | April, 2020 | Lisa Jones, Meaning
If you want to have more meaning and stronger life purpose, develop and love your mixed emotions There is a growing interest in the role of mixed emotions. Until quite recently it was considered that mixed emotions cannot truly exist. This understanding is changing, yet there is still a pervasive view that we need to accentuate the positive and reducing the negative ones. Research using neuroscience techniques however are starting to demonstrate the value in having mixed emotions. This blog looks at how mixed emotions are useful in having a strong life purpose, and how we can all develop our mixed emotions. What are mixed emotions? Mixed emotions are the co-activation of both positive and negative emotions at the same time. For instance, research has demonstrated that it is possible to feel happy and sad at the same time (Larsen, McGraw, & Cacioppo, 2001), and that this can be beneficial rather than be a negative experience. They are part of the complex emotions family, and some theories posit the experience of mixed emotions aid the person to absorb multiple information at a given time (Cacioppo, Larsen, Smith & Berntson, 2004) to enable better decision-making. The extent to which people experience mixed emotions varies, such as within different personalities. This suggests that mixed emotions can moderate (reduce or increase) the negative consequences of stressful situations, depending on whether you perceive them as beneficial or not (Berrios, Totterdell & Kellett, 2017). This moderating effect has even been seen in conditions such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (Bodner, Hoffman, Pagli, & Shrira, 2018). Differences can also be seen in different cultures, where...