Key Points
Kamala Harris embraced laughter and joy in her presidential campaign, inspiring others to do the same.
Positive emotions broaden our horizons, build resilience, and shift focus from our own concerns to those of others.
Focusing on positive emotions in this election can help us think more creatively and compassionately.
I didn’t realize how much I’d been avoiding the news until Joe Biden dropped out of the race and Kamala Harris started doing her thing. For years, I stopped watching or listening to anything that was on the air as soon as Biden started speaking—his lack of charisma and monotony dampened my enthusiasm faster than anything my kids do with balloons.
But once Kamala appeared on the scene, I was surprised to find myself scrolling, Googling, watching, and watching endlessly—I couldn’t, and still can’t, get enough. While I’m not usually a fan of hers, I couldn’t help but feel interested, inspired, and, let’s just say, entertained by her. Notice, as I did a few minutes ago, that I refer to Biden by his last name and Kamala by her first name. I feel connected to her, though I can’t pinpoint why (being a woman certainly helps), but at least part of the reason is that she has revealed my own feelings of joy and laughter.
Related : Kamala Harris’s Personality: Experts Comment
I’m not alone in feeling this way, though these qualities of Kamala’s, especially her unbridled laughter, are appealing to some and annoying to others.
Why was I so surprised by these positive feelings that I didn’t even notice they were missing?
My reaction isn’t unusual—we often ignore or underestimate the power of positive emotions, especially when we’re used to not feeling them. These positive emotions include joy, laughter, and enthusiasm, but also strength, pride, and determination, all of which play a unique role in our emotional lives.
Research shows that positive emotions allow us to broaden our horizons, think creatively, develop meaningful relationships, and act intelligently toward ourselves and others. In the long run, positive emotions build resilience and coping skills and improve our mental and physical health. More broadly, feeling hopeful, motivated, and connected helps us refocus our attention from our own hesitations and doubts to what those around us might want or need. Although Kamala—like all politicians and all people—is not perfect, one of her talents seems to be embracing laughter, positivity, and expansiveness, and generating these feelings in others as well. Interestingly, the opposite of experiencing positive emotions isn’t necessarily experiencing negative emotions. It’s anhedonia—an inability to feel pleasure and a lack of motivation to engage in pleasurable or meaningful activities. When we’re feeling down, we tend to be aware of our negative emotions and their role in perpetuating our mood, but we’re not always aware of our lack of positive emotions. Anhedonia is a major feature of depression and many other disorders, including anxiety, schizophrenia, ADHD, autism spectrum disorders, and chronic pain. Anhedonia predicts poorer response to treatment and is less likely to return to normal after treatment.
Anhedonia leaves us stuck in our mood, with our heads down, unable to envision a way out. But the moment something changes, when things that seemed impossible or unimportant seem achievable, a familiar situation can feel completely transformed. Think of a time when your mood suddenly changed—perhaps after the grief of a breakup or with the start of a promising job or meaningful relationship—your perspective expanded, and you could think clearly and develop new strategies for moving forward.
I and many others were feeling anhedonia a few weeks ago. Then things changed and Kamala came along. There’s something about her that helps us remember that in addition to managing the negative, we need to tap into the positivity, the energy, the vigor that will motivate us to think more broadly, creatively, and compassionately about our situation and its solutions.
