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Reality dictates that we will face difficulties ahead. As the pandemic showed us, it’s easy to succumb to panic, anxiety, and any number of largely unproductive coping mechanisms like hoarding toilet paper. Calmly facing down difficulty requires intentional effort. 

Barbara Frederickson’s Broaden-and-Build theory offers one helpful perspective for cultivating calm and clarity. Negative emotions like fear or anger narrow our view. In contrast, positive emotions broaden our sense of possibilities and build valuable mental resources that serve us now and in the future.

According to Frederickson, positive emotions also have an added benefit she calls the “undoing effect.” When our body and mind get riled up in fight or flight mode, positive emotions cool the fires, bringing us back to a normal resting state.

Grounding techniques can also help to cut through the mental noise of anxiety by connecting us to the present moment. Paying attention to sensory perceptions like sounds, colors, textures, and physical sensations can calm the mind and help us to think clearly.

For references and further reading, check out:
http://projectindra.org/apotheosis-podcast/episode-27-undoing-negative-with-positive/