The Power of Negative Emotion: How Anger, Guilt, and Self Doubt are Essential to Success and Fulfillment

I am surprised and yet honored to be the first reviewer here. Perhaps the book title sounds too "dark" or "evil" to most. This well researched and organized work had been largely overlooked and under appreciated.To help potential buyer of their purchase by informing them what this book is about, I would like to paraphrase the following on pg191 of what the author tried to pitch on the key chapters:-Comfort addiction results in lower immunity to negative experiences. Chapter 2Negative emotions are an underappreciated resource. Chapter 3The pursuit of happiness can weaken you. Chapter 4Mindlessness is beneficial, especially when alternated with mindfulness. Chapter 5Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy give you an edge in tough, complex dealings with other people. Chapter 6In case you had read over five self help books and would like to see something different and make yourself whole, this book will satisfy you well. Otherwise, I suggest you to give it a pass.p.s. Below please find some favorite passages of mine for your reference.Perhaps the most difficult test commonly used for recruiting elite special forces soldiers has nothing to do with marksmanship or proficiency in hand to hand combat. It’s a simple jog down a remote road. Young men are instructed to don full gear and report to the starting point early in the morning, often sleep deprived and hungry. What makes this particular run unusually challenging is that none of the candidates are told the length of the course. Is it three hundred yards? Three miles? Thirty miles? The stakes are high as the recruits begin their jog into the unknown. Some sprint forward in hopes of being first if the run is short. Others pace themselves, carefully conserving energy in the thought that the run could turn out to be a marathon. Some keep to themselves, trusting in their resolve and determination. Others jog together as a group, shouting words of encouragement. Running with sixty pound packs is tiring, but the physical exertion is less demanding than the mental strain. The pressure of not knowing the distance to the finish line pushes many to the breaking point. PgviiAmbiguous tasks are a good place to observe how personality traits bubble to the surface. Although few of us are elite soldiers, we’ve all experienced the kind of psychological distress these trainees encounter on their training run: managing unclear expectations, struggling with self motivation, and balancing the use of social support with private reflection. These issues are endemic not only to the workplace, but also to relationships, health, and every aspect of life in which we seek to thrive and succeed. Not surprisingly, the leading predictor of success in elite military training programs is the same quality that distinguishes those best equipped to resolve marital conflict, to achieve favorable deal terms in business negotiations, and to bestow the gifts of good parenting on their children: the ability to tolerate psychological discomfort. This is what psychologists refer to as distress tolerance, a quality found in people who can handle the emotional equivalent of camping, who don’t shy away from anger, guilt, or boredom just because they feel bad. Instead, they withstand the discomfort of those feelings and when appropriate even draw from this darker palette of emotions…..It allows you to be stronger, wiser, mentally agile, and most important, happier in a more resilient, and therefore durable, way. pgviiiIf positivity and optimism account for 80 percent of success, more or less, then tapping the whole range of experience offers that remaining 20 percent edge. PgxivThe central feature of a person who is whole is that they show great skill in negotiating all that life serves up. They possess what we call emotional agility. They can get the best possible outcome in a situation by matching their behavior – from the positive side or the negative side – to the challenge being faced. Serious and playful. Passionate and objective. Extroverted and introverted. Selfless and selfish. Pg18Dr. Bobo Lau from HKU held a research on how much people were willing to pay for various emotions. The amount, in ascending order for various emotions are: calm tranquility, excitement, happiness, avoid fear, avoid sadness, avoid embarrassment, avoid regret, love. Pg60Mindfulness, simply put, is conscious awareness. It’s the ability to observe the world around you without fouling it up with internal dialogue, judgment, or other distraction. It’s the ability to see a dress as red instead of cute, or of experiencing disappointment for what it is, rather than seeing yourself as a failure. Pg123Defensive pessimists hope for the best but expect the worst. Pg193Anger fuels creativity, guilt sparks improvement, self doubt enhances performance and selfishness increases courage, - Back cover

Any benefits that the book does have is not worth the effort to get through all the rambling. There are many other books that successfully deliver the same message without the ridiculous word count. I'd say save your money.

Incredibly well written, and has helped me enormously with my studies. Just as colours have many sides that effect on us, so to the negative emotions we have also can be used to a more positive outcome. Highly recommend this book.

I bought this book as part of my groupwork. It has helped me look at life and how I feel in a different way. It has even helped me a little with depression. A powerful book that I would recommend to anyone as I believe there is something in it for everyone.

Admittedly I haven't finished this book yet, but I am slightly disappointed. I thought the revelations would be somewhat more mindblowing than 'anger can help you get things done' or 'guilt prevents us from making the same mistake more than once.' The early chapters have some interesting things to say about how our creature-comfort lifestyles have made us less tolerant of hardship, but what follows is a bit of an anti-climax. If you're still interested in the evolutionary function of negative emotions and how they might be harnessed in everyday life, then this may well be the book for you. But if, like me, you would say those things are common sense, then I would suggest buying a book on mindfulness instead.

One of the best books on a subject. Exactly my kind of thinking....