Lingering Positive Emotions Lead to Results

It goes without saying that we are only human, and as human beings we have all sorts of emotions course through our day.  In one way or another, positive or negative, these emotions figure prominently in the work we do and the results we aim for.

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Here are key takeaways from Daniel Goleman's short article on LinkedIn - How Moods Impact Results:

• The effects of an emotional outburst can linger long afterwards, and the mood in the office are low-keyed but ongoing after-effects of similar outbursts.  So it stands to reason that, if anyone in the office is going to have an outburst, it be (a) positive and (b) short-lived.  
• There is an optimal level of emotion vis-a-vis work.  For example, no anxiety about anything may mean there is a lack of push or prompt to do a task.  Too much anxiety, however, can work counter-productively on a task.  What that optimal level is may be very different from person to person.  So reflect on it, and determine what it might be.
• Emotions can be self-perpetuating and contagious.  If you feel happy, you're more like to see and do things in a happy light.  As others respond in kind, you feel happier or feel happy longer.  Others are more apt to join in the positive contagion.  

Beyond this perceptual skew, the stew of stress hormones secreted when a person is upset takes hours to become reabsorbed in the body and fade away. That’s why a sour relationship with a boss can leave a person a captive of that distress, with a mind preoccupied and a body unable to calm itself: He got me so upset during that meeting I couldn’t go to sleep for hours last night. As a result, we naturally prefer being with people who are emotionally positive, in part because they make us feel good.

So if you're a manager, engender positive emotions among your staff and facilitate their lingering effects.  This way, the mood in the office is conducive to achieve results.