The Flip Side of Happiness, at Leading Moms 2013

As some of you know, Susan was one of the guest speakers at the Leading Moms conference 2013. If you missed the event, or would like a recap, here is the video of the presentation:

How can you be positive and real at the same time? Since Susan is an expert in the field of learning and leadership she is at ease advising on the virtues of a positivity, clarity and a good attitude. But in this talk Susan speaks to the ethos of Brene Brown’s work on Vulnerability.

Through the telling of her own experience, she aptly points out that being positive is sometimes too easy. If we were to go a bit deeper, we would experience the flip side of happiness: awkwardness, uncomfortableness and overwhelmedness. And that the reason to open ourselves and face these uncomfortable feelings is because we receive much more useful information to guide us in life.

Susan has been an avid yoga practitioner for the last 14 years so she likens this strategy to a yoga practice. The physical discomfort and struggle felt during a yoga class as you stay with the pose and breathe are later replaced with feelings of peace and ease. So the next time you are faced with resistance or overwhelm,

When we finally take a feeling that may be uncomfortable, stay with the feeling, breathe into it, and it will start to settle down. That way, we include all of the feelings and find the gems in sadness, discomfort and overwhelm.

This can be an excellent tool to maintain an unwavering mental attitude without faking happiness.