Publisher Description
A string of bestsellers have alerted us to the importance of grit—an ability to persevere and control one’s impulses that is closely associated with greatness. But no book yet has charted the most accessible and powerful path to grit: our prosocial emotions. These feelings—gratitude, compassion, and pride—are easier to generate than the willpower and self-denial that underpin traditional approaches to grit. And, while willpower is quickly depleted, prosocial emotions actually become stronger the more we use them. These emotions have another crucial advantage: they’re contagious. Those around us become more likely to apply them when we do.
As this myth-shattering book explains, prosocial emotions evolved specifically to help us resist immediate temptations in favor of long-term gains. Originally, they enabled us to build lasting relationships with other people, and they still do that brilliantly. But they can also be adapted to strengthen our bonds with our own future selves—who will benefit most from the grit we need to succeed in life. No matter what our goals are, Emotional Success can help us achieve them with greater ease and deeper satisfaction than we would have thought possible.
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“The author suggests that society as a whole will become better when individuals have a strong social base, strong physical health, and a life filled with meaning…These studies are firmly grounded in science and stimulate new thought for creating positive social and emotional change.”
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Library Journal
About David DeSteno
David DeSteno is a professor of psychology at Northeastern University and a fellow of several prestigious scientific societies. At a broad level, his work seeks to illuminate the mind’s foundations for moral behavior. By studying when, how, and why emotions like compassion, gratitude, and empathy emerge, his research has begun to uncover ways in which these virtues can be amplified to combat the problems of distrust, inequality, aggression, and loneliness that plague society. His work has been repeatedly funded by the National Science Foundation and has been regularly featured in the media, including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, CBS Sunday Morning, and NPR’s Radiolab and On Point. He is the author of Emotional Success (featured in a viral New York Times Sunday Review piece prior to launch), The Truth about Trust (featured in articles and videos at Harvard Business Review), and coauthor of the Wall Street Journal spotlight psychology bestseller Out of Character. He frequently writes about his research for the New York Times, Boston Globe, Harvard Business Review, Pacific Standard, and The Atlantic. He received his PhD in psychology from Yale University.
About Dan Woren
Dan Woren is an American voice actor and Earphones Award–winning narrator. He has worked extensively in animation, video games, and feature films. He is best known for his many roles in anime productions such as Bleach and as the voice of Sub-Zero in the video game Mortal Kombat.