10 Common Positive Emotions: The Power of Happiness

If there is anyone who has truly and consistently been my soul keeper, friend, mentor, guide, soundboard, admirer, and truth-teller, it is my emotions. 

Emotions are truly something to ponder upon especially positive emotions. I wonder what it is about these emotions that every time I question and go inside this dark whirl of negativity and pessimism that these positive emotions come to my shining rescue. Every time that I have tried to restrict myself, instead of shrinking, I have expanded a bit more because of how I have felt my happy or positive emotions. Due to these happy emotions, the complexities haven’t been able to overpower my calm and mental sanity.

I wonder what is it about these positive emotions that make me win over my insecurities. I wonder what it is about these happy emotions that I bloom, despite it all. I wonder. I wonder. I wonder. 

Since we are on the path of talking about positive emotions, here is a list of positive emotions that you might have felt during your lifetime, go through the list and see which positive emotion has been your anchor during tough times. What are your positive emotions? 

We all are familiar with the emotion name happiness. We can easily understand this emotion and can easily see it in anybody’s face and behavior. Therefore, happiness needs no introduction.

List of Positive Emotions apart from Happiness

Here is the list of best and common positive emotions beyond happiness. We are all familiar with the happiness emotion. So, we made this list of positive emotions except for happiness. Some of them you can’t see in face or expression but can only feel in behavior.

1. Joy 

Joy is an act of resistance against despairing forces. The key essence behind joy is that it is about connecting with something or someone that is beyond ourselves whether it is a relationship with another person or a relationship with a supernatural being. Joy always accompanies an element of transcendence. Joy can flow from seeing an infant smile to Being able to watch the sunset to when your mother’s eyes light up when she sees you happy. Good morning text messages sent with the sole purpose of being sent only to remind you that you’re worth the time of day, that you’re special to someone.

2. Love 

How can you define love? Love is a supernatural bond between two people that feels extremely good. 

The strength and depth of the relationship are defined by two conditions:

1. The level of self-acceptance that each person has for themselves.
2. How open, honest, and exposed each individual is willing to be.

As we read the famous lines, “Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous, it does not brag, and it is not proud. Love is not rude, it is not selfish, and it cannot be made angry easily. Love does not remember wrongs done against it. Love is never happy when others do wrong, but it is always happy with the truth. Love never gives up on people. It never stops trusting, never loses hope, and never quits.” 

Yes, these are the verses from the Bible — in the “Easy-to-Read” version. “Don’t fall in love, rise in love.” Love comes with zero ulterior motives. Real love softens until the point you dissolve into your happiness. 

3. Serendipity 

Have you seen the movie Serendipity? If yes, then you already knew about this feeling.

The literal meaning of serendipity is finding interesting or valuable things by chance. It is the happy concoction of a journey or path you never knew you were taking in the first place. Serendipity is that chance beneficial meeting, the unexpected conversation that provides just the answer you’re looking for. It’s losing your desk job only to discover your passion. It’s positive in the sense that it constantly allows you to raise your vibrations and tune in with gratitude and the positive frequencies of the universe. 

4. Hope 

Hope is a positive emotion that is about two things, believing there is a path to reach your goals and the willpower to walk it. Hope is about getting up when we fall. It is believing there is a way even if you can’t see it yet. Hope is the confident expectation of the good. Hope will never give up on you and is the one possession that can never be taken from you – unless you decide on abandoning it. Hope is a prayer; an affirmation. It is one of the positive emotions that are not visible.

I often see myself as an active ambassador of hope, because that was what has always helped me cope and care and bolstered my kindness and confidence, and allowed me to see the world with a sense of wonder. 

5. Gratitude 

Gratitude is a sense of appreciation and thankfulness for what’s around you. Gratitude is simple yet so beautiful. The more you are thankful, the more abundance you attract in your life. It’s not easy for sure. However, it will be worthwhile, to grab that journal and start writing things you are truly grateful for in your life.

These are my ways to practice gratitude:

1. Start by saying thank you. 
2. Create a habit to say “Thank You” and “I am grateful for this” and see how the universe works for you. Always keep an attitude of gratitude.
3. Stop taking common things for granted, because they’re your norm. Prompts that help me build gratitude are, today, I am grateful for the open sky above me, my health during these tough times, my parents, my siblings, and the steady ground beneath me. 

Also, read How to do Self-Care at Home?

6. Awe 

Wonderfull—is to be in the presence of something vast that transcends our understanding of the world. Awe’s gift is that it doesn’t always make us happy, but it renders us more fully alive. There are only a few things in life that should awe us, ranging from the universe, nature, and some humans. On rare occasions, awe is available to be felt at all times only if we choose to let it. 

7. Serenity 

Serenity can be referred to as a state of complete peacefulness where the mind is at peace and is unruffled by the happenings of the exterior world. It is covert in nature in the sense that it is experienced within oneself. There are many adjectives that imply what serenity is. Calm, peaceful, quiet, placid. Being serene is a state of mind.

8. Inspiration 

Inspiration is the expression of the true self. It’s true self manifesting, it can be persuaded as an emotion where one breathes life into an idea, thing, or motive. Inspiration can be anything ranging from a piece of music, a timeless quote, a child’s innocent smile, an action of compassion, a devoted child scoring a goal, sunrise, etc. Inspiration feels great. It forces one to mold him or herself much more effectively, it feels like a huge adrenaline rush to the body and the mind.

Inspiration will always push you to be a better person, a better scholar, a better voice, a better writer—whatever it is that you are hoping to achieve. There is always a need in us to feel inspired. It makes us seekers. 

9. Pride 

When we work hard for a goal and we sincerely achieve it, we feel a sense of pride in ourselves and our capabilities to achieve those goals. It is a sense of one’s own worth. The moment you see your close ones achieve something big is pride, sticking to your planned routine for a year gives you a sense of pride. That said, it’s important to recognize both aspects of pride. While those feelings lead people to practice self-acceptance, they can also lead people to become conceited and egoistic. 

10. Admiration 

Admiration can be best described as a feeling of warm approval, respect, and appreciation for someone or something, 

When you admire someone you want to be them, admiration at times can cause you to have a euphoria. To earn the admiration of someone is in itself one of the most beautiful phenomena where someone respects you or looks up to you without any ulterior motive. One can admire someone for their simplicity and minimalism to even how calm they can be during heated arguments, one can admire individuals who help freely. One quality that I personally admire most is the ability to be selfless and the ability to forgive. Admiration is a bilaterally uplifting emotion. 

Read More, Ways to overcome Emotional Numbness by Yourself

There is so much positivity around us. You just have to enjoy it. You have to enjoy every single moment daily. Just change your attitude, set your frequency of gratitude, always tell yourself that wherever you are at whatever stage or situation in your life, you have to absorb that feeling completely, and if you find yourself relating to a particular emotion mentioned above, begin by not being harsh on yourself. Feel free to hold on to emotions that make you the happiest, practice it daily and see yourself transforming each day piece by piece. 

One piece of advice; I can imagine how challenging it would be to tackle your negative emotions, but you do it every single day with such finesse, and only a talented, kind, and compassionate person like you possibly could. This list of Common Positive Emotions Beyond Happiness will help you in creating an understanding of reality and the good times and will give you a sense of hope. What’s important is that you live. Wholly. Presently, as much as possible and mindfully, concentrate on every learning you get through your positive and negative emotions.