ABSTRACT
P ositive emotions, by defi nition, feel good. People enjoy feeling the pleasant emotional states of joy, inspiration, gratitude, serenity, and the like. So much so, that they often seek out opportunities to feel good in these ways. Yet do most people do this enough? And is feeling good the only reward? We answer a decisive “no” to both questions. In this chapter, we present an overview of research stemming from the broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions to justify our stance. Science now confi rms that positive emotions do far more than simply feel good. Indeed, they have wide-reaching implications for psychological, social, and physical well-being in ways that fuel human fl ourishing.
