Emotional Agility: Get Unstuck, Embrace Change, and Thrive in Work and Life Hardcover – September 6, 2016

I was first introduced to Susan David when I came across an article she wrote entitled " 'Choosing' to be happy doesn't work: Here's what to do instead" [...] Immediately, I was a fan! Here was someone speaking about the value of challenging emotions and the limit of imposed happiness. From there, I took her on-line quiz to assess my Emotional Agility and promptly received an email with my personal results (from her personal email address). I ordered the book right away and devoured it.David writes with this straight forward acceptance of human nature. We are human and that emotions are part of that experience, joy being just one of those emotions. It is a welcome relief from the books that ask you to just not argue with reality, that it is just you hurting you or that you just need to manifest good. While those books can have helpful tools. Those tools have limits. In contrast, David uses research to show the reason why positivity is difficult and how sometimes it can be a disservice to us. She also goes into depth about the importance of emotions that we tend to classify as negative such as grief, anger or sorrow -the lessons that they hold for us when we can examine them. She gives clear tools to help becomes aware of what our emotions are and how to not let them have control over our lives. While many of these tips may not seem groundbreaking, David takes it step further and ties this emotional awareness into the values that are important to us and how we can live a more value driven life.Her approach cuts to the heart of the matter in the most kind and encouraging way. Allowing the reader to be human, acknowledging that life is challenging and that the more that we accept ourselves entirely and with compassion, the more that we can engage in a meaningful life. The book was such a breathe of fresh air, heavily supported with research and thankfully, void of lengthy stories of how "John Doe came into my office and was feeling... "(those type of anecdotes are such irritating filler). I can't stop talking about it and recommending it to friends and strangers.

My wife and I have both read this book and/or listened to it on Audible multiple times. In our opinion, Dr. David's message has just right amount of theory backed by summarized research, stories that help demonstrate the theoretical application, and practical guidelines to follow to improve emotional functioning.Many readers/listeners may come to this book during a time of struggle, which of course if perfectly fine, and this book will likely help the struggling person get through that difficulty. However, if that's the path that leads you to read this, you should revisit the material once you've made it through that struggle or started to improve. It's likely that you will interpret, apply, and learn from the material in a way that is specific and focused on the problem you were dealing with. That path is healthy and undoubtedly helpful, but there's so much more value to get from "Emotional Agility" than that."Emotional Agility" is a fantastic tool for learning how to fully appreciate and process emotional experiences that can become chronic and demoralizing over time if left unchecked. Dr. David's discussion of "bottling" and "brooding" is particularly helpful here. She walks the reader/listener through how this works in a variety of settings (i.e. work, home, school, romantic relationships, parent-child relationships, and in specific events or critical incidents). My wife and I have come to understand that if we use "Emotional Agility" as a kind of ongoing emotional and mental maintenance program, we continuously improve our abilities to handle difficult emotional experiences in stride no matter in what setting they occur.First responders (police, fire, EMS, dispatchers, corrections) should absolutely invest the time to read/listen to this material. I firmly believe it will help members of the public safety profession keep from developing burn-out and chronic stress associated with the experiences that public safety professionals are exposed to. Like continuing education, public safety professionals should incorporate "Emotional Agility" into at least an annual refresher.My wife and I highly recommend "Emotional Agility," but don't just read/listen to it once!