Emotional Agility: Navigating life’s ups and downs with grace

At Personify Health, our Live Services team recognizes that emotional health is inextricably related to physical health. Emotional wellbeing strategies have always been an integral concept of our whole-person approach and an enduring theme in our conversations with members.

In a recent blog post, we dove into the concept of emotional granularity, or the ability to identify and articulate the exact emotion one is experiencing as a means to honor it and move through it. To build off that, another emotional wellbeing tool that is essential to flourishing at work and in life is emotional agility. Emotional agility is a term that was coined by Harvard Medical School psychologist, Dr. Susan David.

What is emotional agility?

When individuals are emotionally agile, they can fully experience thoughts and emotions in a way that facilitates growth and development instead of fueling negativity. While it’s normal to have negative thoughts and feelings, the challenge for many is how to prevent yourself from giving those negative thoughts and feelings too much attention.

However, this doesn’t mean we should ignore our inner experience—this could backfire. Instead, when individuals practice emotional agility, they can mindfully explore their thoughts and feelings and respond in a way that reflects their values.

A Harvard Business Review article on emotional agility provided vignettes of this framework from a work perspective. The article highlighted several positive benefits of emotional agility, including a reduction in stress and errors, an increase in innovative thinking, and improved job performance. Not bad at all! 

What does emotional agility entail?

Dr. David shares four main concepts of the theory, which have been adapted from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) principles:

Lastly, fully experiencing our emotions can feel a lot like surfing on waves in the ocean: there are highs and lows and a whole lot in between. At Personify Health, we understand that navigating the range of emotions that comes with being human can feel overwhelming at times. Getting connected with a Coach can make managing day-to-day stressors much easier. We have a deep bench of experienced and compassionate Coaches with expertise in emotional health. Through goal setting and accountability, we can work with your employees on resiliency skills, like emotional agility.

Our number one priority is to support your members' health and wellbeing, so everyone can feel healthy and whole. We welcome and look forward to the opportunity to partner with more individuals on this journey of emotional growth because health is personal.