Creating a Flourishing Village through Nurturing Positive Emotions

I recently attended the Early Years conference in Cairns where the theme was “It takes a Village to raise a family”. We are all familiar with this analogy, but it can be tricky to achieve when the systems we work in don’t necessarily support this overly well. However, there are many small things we can do to support ourselves and every member of the village.  

When considering every member of the 'village,' it evokes several elements for me. One such element is the research conducted as part of the Framingham Heart Study, which revealed that the likelihood of experiencing happiness increases by 25% when individuals reside within a 1.6km radius of a happy friend. Similar findings were observed concerning spouses, siblings, and neighbours. The study also uncovered clusters of both happy and unhappy individuals, illustrating that happiness can extend within social networks by up to three degrees of separation (Fowler & Christakis, 2008).

Another element that this evokes for me is emotional contagion (Fredrickson, 2011), wherein emotional states are transmitted between individuals, regardless of their familiarity with each other. This phenomenon can be attributed to mirror neurons, which allow us to experience empathy and often result in mirroring the emotional expressions of those around us, such as smiling in response to someone else's smile or yawning when witnessing another yawn. Dan Siegel, in his book Mindsight, describes mirror neurons as "antennae that pick-up information about the intentions and feelings of others," noting their role in creating emotional resonance and facilitating behavioural imitation. Cultivating a community rich in empathy and positive emotions fosters an environment where these qualities can be easily 'caught,' laying the foundation for a healthy, happy, and thriving community (Siegel, 2010).

There are many small behaviours we can display every day that can contribute to our own wellbeing and positivity, and therefore the happiness of others in our village, as the more positive we produce the more it generates as an upward spiral of positive emotion (Fredrickson, 2011). Considering how to spread this positive emotional contagion can be achieved in small simple practices that we benefit from, as do others within our village.

Boosting the emotional contagion of the village

• Smiling- that feels good and has been linked to formation and maintenance of cooperative relationships

• Practice gratitude- this is linked to increased coping mechanisms and optimal functioning and  promotes relationship formation  

• Use humour and playfulness- this helps to perceive stress less intensely and support our creativity

• Spend time in nature- research has shown that people who send 20-minutes outside had more expansive and open thinking

• Practice mindfulness regularly- to build your ability to control and regulate your emotions and behaviours.

Live Gandhi’s message of being the change you want to see in the world. It is a great statement to reflect on how you live your life, the choices you make and behaviours you choose as we all have a responsibility to contribute to the village in meaningful ways. I would invite/challenge you all to consider how are you catering for you own wellbeing and happiness and the ripple effect that this can create amongst your family, your friends and your workplace and create your own flourishing village.

#positivieemotions #earlyyears #earlyyearsconference #earlyeducatorwellbeing #ittakesavillage #emotionalcontagion #bethechange

References

Achor, S. (2011). The happiness advantage: The seven principles of positive psychology        that fuel success and performance at work. Random House.

Fowler, J. H., & Christakis, N. A. (2008). Dynamic spread of happiness in a large social network: Longitudinal analysis over 20 years in the Framingham Heart Study. British Medical Journal, 337(a2338). https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.a2338

Fredrickson, B. (2011). Positivity : groundbreaking research to release your inner optimist and thrive. One World.

Siegel, D. J. (2010). Mindsight: the new science of personal transformation. New York, Bantam Books