How experiencing positive emotions plays an important role in keeping you consistently training and engaging in health behaviours.
For many, strength training (and other health behaviours) is more of a chore, rather than something you actually want to do.
You may be experiencing negative associations with training or find it very difficult to engage in consistently.
Experiencing brief positive emotions can get you into a positive loop that helps you seek self-developing opportunities and want to train. Finding ways to ‘play’ in your training or health behaviour may be the solution to getting you there!
As I’ve discussed before (The Negative Bias Distraction), thanks to the power of the negativity bias, we live in a negative world where negative news/attitudes etc. get the most attention.
These rampant negative emotions impact your stress, psychological health, well-being, self-esteem and so on.
If you carry these emotions into your training it becomes just another stressful activity you have to deal with and another thing you ‘have to do’. The same can be said about various health behaviours.
Let’s look at the ‘broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions’:
This is a theory introduced by Barbara Fredrickson that has been continually updated, revisited and supported with new evidence.
It essentially states that if you’re experiencing positive emotions (eg. joy, interest, love, contentment etc.) this opens up your mind and awareness so that you can see the bigger picture/think differently (this is the ‘broadening’ part).
This different way of thinking ultimately leads you to engage, explore and interact with behaviours that build what they call your ‘personal resources’ (think things like building your physical qualities, intellectual qualities and social connections).
This can ultimately lead to an ‘upward spiral’ where you’re continually building and expanding on these personal resources – leading to improved health and wellness. (1) (2) (3) (4)
The opposite is true if you’re experiencing negative emotions, which narrows your mind and awareness (eg. attacking and fleeing), so you’re not as open to seeking out these ‘building’ opportunities. (2)
What does all of this mean?
Positive emotions (feeling good) gear your mind towards taking part in self-developing behaviours and activities.
So, if you’re experiencing moments of positive emotions, you’ll be thinking in a way that encourages you to explore and build on your physical, intellectual and social capabilities.
Another aspect is that if you’re experiencing positive emotions during the activity or health behaviour, you get an increase in your ‘inner want’ to seek out that behaviour again. (4)
So you enter this ‘upward spiral’ where you’re experiencing positive emotions during a behaviour, this makes you want to engage in that behaviour again, and opens your mind to building on your personal capabilities that further assist you in engaging in that behaviour.
How does this relate to Strength Training?
This can be applied to all areas of your health and fitness behaviours, but using strength training as an example:
• If you’re experiencing positive emotions from, and/or, during the training,
• this makes you want to seek out that behaviour more.
• The positive emotions also gear your mind towards building your physical (and intellectual/social) capabilities.
• These capabilities support and amplify your engagement in training.
• You’re stuck in a positive loop (an upward spiral).
It all starts with positive emotions!
“Just be positive”, you’ve heard it before, and it isn’t helpful (it’s probably just annoying).
There are many ways to get these positive emotions, from being around positive/optimistic people to things like experiencing certain music and memories etc.
But one way could be the incorporation of play or a 'playful attitude' in your daily life, health behaviours and training.
There’s a positive relationship between being playful and the experience of positive emotions (5).
Playfulness has number of associated benefits, and it looks like it’s a potent stimulator of positivity! (just what we need).
For example, when used in a work environment, it has been shown to reduce boredom, release tensions, improve group cohesion, improve work performance/innovative behaviour solutions, intrinsic motivation, academic success, decreased anxiety towards new technologies and so on. (5) (6)
What about when it comes to health? There’s its association with decreasing tension and stress, channelling nervousness, maintaining a positive attitude, having pleasure, facilitating well-being, maintaining balance (mental health), and reinforcing the immune system. It’s also positively correlated with greater levels of activity, and specific aspects of fitness and health behaviours. (5) (6)
Lyons, M (2010) discusses what people seek from play activity, these include: ‘arousal’ (excitement and challenge with physical and mental involvement); ‘release’ (being relieved of stresses or demands on your energy); ‘effectance’ (competence, control, competition) and ‘social interaction’ (involvement with other people). (7)
If you can find an activity that delivers things like arousal, release, effectance and some social interaction, then you can expect to get some of the benefits from ‘playfulness’ and encourage the positive emotions you’re seeking.
Sticking with the strength training example, how can you incorporate play into your training session?
The first step to an effective warm-up (according to the ‘RAMP’ system described in Jeffreys’ article (2007)) is to ‘raise’. This means elevating your body temperature, heart rate, respiration rare, blood flow and joint fluid viscosity. (8)
A great way to do this? Through play (eg. a physical game)
What you find ‘playful’ may differ considerably compared to someone else, but it could be something as simple as standing on one leg, throwing a ball to your partner, and seeing whether you can get each other off balance.
You get your warm-up, and you’ll also generate some of the positive emotions associated with play, leading to a positive workout experience and wanting to return to it (as well as being more likely to seek other self-developing opportunities).
This is much better than walking into your training session and performing a bunch of boring ‘prep exercises’ because it’s what you ‘should do’.
If you can bring out some positive emotions throughout your training session, not only will you train better (9), but you will experience the ‘broaden-and-build theory’ and enter an upward spiral where you want to train and develop your physical capabilities, and you’re more likely to engage in other behaviours that propel you to greater levels of health and fitness.
One way to do it?
Finding ways to play
1) Fredrickson, Barbara L. “What Good Are Positive Emotions?.” Review of general psychology : journal of Division 1, of the American Psychological Association vol. 2,3 (1998): 300-319. doi:10.1037/1089-2680.2.3.300
2) Fredrickson, Barbara L. “The broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions.” Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences vol. 359,1449 (2004): 1367-78. doi:10.1098/rstb.2004.1512
3) Fredrickson, Barbara L, and Thomas Joiner. “Positive emotions trigger upward spirals toward emotional well-being.” Psychological science vol. 13,2 (2002): 172-5. doi:10.1111/1467-9280.00431
4) Fredrickson, B. L., & Joiner, T. (2018). Reflections on Positive Emotions and Upward Spirals. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 13(2), 194–199. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691617692106
5) Proyer, René T et al. “The Positive Relationships of Playfulness With Indicators of Health, Activity, and Physical Fitness.” Frontiers in psychology vol. 9 1440. 14 Aug. 2018, doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01440
6) Guitard, P., Ferland, F., & Dutil, É. (2005). Toward a Better Understanding of Playfulness in Adults. OTJR: Occupation, Participation and Health, 25(1), 9–22. doi:10.1177/153944920502500103
7) Lyons, M. (2010). A Taxonomy of Playfulness for use in Occupational Therapy. Australian Occupational Therapy Journal, 34(4), 152–156. doi:10.1111/j.1440-1630.1987.tb01589.x
8) Jeffreys, I. (2007). Warm-up revisited: The ramp method of optimizing warm-ups. Professional Strength and Conditioning. UK Strength and Conditioning Association.
9) Rathschlag, Marco, and Daniel Memmert. “The influence of self-generated emotions on physical performance: an investigation of happiness, anger, anxiety, and sadness.” Journal of sport & exercise psychology vol. 35,2 (2013): 197-210. doi:10.1123/jsep.35.2.197
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