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