Positive Emotions: Joy and Gratitude

Positive Emotions

• Joy: a sudden spike of happiness and excitement, often experienced due to unexpected events (e.g., birth of a child, unexpected bonus, winning a prize)

Positive Emotions (continued)

• Gratitude: a feeling of thankfulness, often accompanied by humility and reverence, triggered by help from others or appreciation for one's health (e.g., someone going out of their way to help, a guide directing you in your career)

Serenity and Interest

• Serenity: a calm and peaceful feeling of acceptance of oneself, often experienced during relaxing activities (e.g., reading a book with a cat on your lap, walking along the beach)
• Interest: a feeling of curiosity or fascination that demands and captures your attention, often triggered by learning or studying (e.g., learning a skill, reading for interest, studying)

Hope and Pride

• Hope: a feeling of optimism and anticipation about a positive future, often triggered by hearing stories of success
• Pride: a sense of approval of oneself and pleasure in an achievement, skill, or personal attribute, often triggered by completing a project or achieving a goal (e.g., finishing a home project, winning a race, publishing a paper)

Amusement and Inspiration

• Amusement: a feeling of lighthearted pleasure and enjoyment, often accompanied by smiles and easy laughter, triggered by something unexpected or humorous (e.g., cat videos, comedy shows, humorous greeting cards)
• Inspiration: a feeling of being engaged, uplifted, and motivated by something you witnessed, often triggered by seeing a role model succeed or reading something that connects with your motivations

Awe and Love

• Awe: an emotion evoked when you witness something grand, spectacular, or breathtaking, sparking a sense of overwhelming appreciation (e.g., seeing something magnificent in nature, or a human achievement)
• Love: a feeling of deep and enduring affection for someone, along with a willingness to put their needs ahead of your own, often triggered by seeing someone you care for deeply or experiencing physical affection

Other Positive Emotions

• Elevation: the feeling you get when you see someone engaging in an act of kindness, generosity, or inner goodness, spurring you to aspire to similar action
• Altruism: a feeling of selflessness and generosity towards others, often triggered by helping others
• Satisfaction: a sense of pleasure and contentment you get from accomplishing something or fulfilling a need
• Relief: the feeling of happiness you experience when an uncertain situation turns out for the best, or a negative outcome is avoided
• Affection: an emotional attachment to someone or something, accompanied by a liking for them and a sense of pleasure in their company
• Cheerfulness: a feeling of brightness, being upbeat and noticeably happy or chipper; feeling like everything is going your way
• Surprise: a sense of delight when someone brings you unexpected happiness or a situation goes even better than you had hoped
• Confidence: an emotion involving a strong sense of self-esteem and belief in yourself; can be specific to a situation or activity, or more universal
• Admiration: a feeling of warm approval, respect, and appreciation for someone or something

Identify the characteristics of joy and gratitude, two of the most commonly experienced positive emotions, including the triggers and feelings associated with them.