ABSTRACT
The validating emotions include feeling states and emotions that are generally referred to as “positive emotions” (see Fredrickson & Cohn, 2008). Unfortunately, the ambiguity of the term “positive” makes this description problematic. The problem may not occur in common discourse, because when we talk about positive feelings, we generally know what each other is talking about. We are talking about feeling states we like—the “good” emotions. However, the point being made in the current volume is that while some feeling states are painful, and we often do not like them and describe them as “negative” or “bad,” the fact is that they serve an importance purpose; the purpose is to compel us to make the adjustments necessary to again feel as good as possible. Thus, they serve a very positive purpose, particularly if used well, but they are often painful. To avoid confusion, I use the term “validating” to identify the critical purpose of these “positive” feeling states. Validating emotions indicate that life is going well, if not generally, then at least at the moment the validating feeling was experienced. When they are absent, we at least know what it is that we are striving for—the opportunity for validation.
