Sue Langley is a recognised thought leader on the practical applications of neuroscience, emotional intelligence and positive psychology.
Her original research on creativity, positive emotions and brain training shines new light on how our brains work and what we need to do to function at our best.
Sue regularly appears on radio, television and in the press. She was the emotional intelligence expert in the ABC TV series Redesign My Brain* with Todd Sampson, and was recently interviewed in Connected Worlds, a thought-leadership anthology, alongside Seth Godin and Melinda Gates.
The rich field of positive psychology applies a fresh lens to help people flourish and succeed. A positive workplace culture can go a long way towards engagement and commitment at work.
Barbara Fredrickson, who originated the Broaden and Build Theory, helps explain why:
Positive emotions do more than make us feel good. They also expand our thinking, help us generate new ideas and encourage us to consider other possibilities.
Fredrickson's research has found that positive emotions reset negative emotions, allowing us to broaden and build our repertoire of thinking and action as well as our social and psychological resources.
This creates a positive upward spiral effect that can have lasting impact that can counteract the bias that our brains have, toward the negative. This negative focus is an evolutionary hangover that leaves us with an opportunity cost and keeps us from devoting energy, time and effort that could be better spent building resources and moving toward success.
Positive psychology, when applied in a balanced and integrated way, primes people and business to focus on the positive. This does not suggest people should aspire to being happy or even achieve specific levels of happiness. Researchers agree that having a certain ratio of positive to negative emotions is beneficial.
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