Inside Out: A Movie That Makes Sadness a Star
Very often when we read books about personal development and self-help, we get the idea that positivity and joy are the only ingredients to have happiness in our life. It looks like we should focus just on positive emotions and leave out emotions like sadness, anger, frustration, etc.
The film “Inside Out” shows how it is essential for our wellbeing to give voice to all of the emotions we experience as a human being, not just to the positive ones.
This does not mean that we allow ourselves to “swim” in the negativity. We must allow space for the different emotions that we have in each moment without ignoring it or pretending that it does not exist within us.
This is a great illustration of what we suggest at CIMBA: be present, be mindful, be in touch with your emotions and label them. Make your emotions your friend, not your enemy. Acknowledge the message that your negative emotions have for you. Label your emotions to reduce their intensity and be able to move forward with more clarity. Neuroscience research supports this type of cognitive reappraisal.
You might say to yourself: “Right now, I feel angry about that situation.” or “I feel sadness for what happened to my friend.”
At the beginning of the film, it seems that only the emotion named JOY can make good things happen. Then as the plot thickens, SADNESS becomes the unexpected hero. I do not want to give away the end, however!
In summary, by acknowledging the full range of positive and negative emotions, we can make more meaningful steps to sincere growth, both personally and professionally. What a relief to know that we do not have to force ourselves to feel joy constantly. Now, of course we do not want to crying everyday either!
As in a choir where every single voice is important to create the collective sound, it is also important to give voice to each part within ourselves.
As a personal development coach and as cinema fanatic, I highly recommend the film, especially to adults!
Katiuscia Baggio