"The upside of your dark side"

a book by Todd Kashdan and Robert Biswas-Diener.

Two pioneering researchers in the field of psychology,

who argue that happiness makes us sad

and mindfulness might be overrated.

Kashdan and Biswas-Diener argue that psychological health

means wholeness rather than happiness.

And that traits we all construed to be negative

are actually essential parts of wellbeing, like anxiety.

Wouldn't it be great to get rid

of our anxiety once and for all?

Well, do you also wanna stop enjoying horror movies

and be bored on roller coasters

and less prepared for earthquakes or floods?

I'm gonna say no.

And on top of all these things,

anxious people are far more vigilant than their peers.

So anxiety stimulates our brains,

making us more alert and attentive to potential danger.

Anxiety not only makes you pay more attention

to cues in the world,

but it actually heightens perception.

Research has shown that people can see greater distances

when they're anxious.

Take that LASIK I don't need you anymore.

My anxiety is giving me super powers.

And when we're anxious we even enjoy

a sharper sense of hearing.

Anxious people are more likely to react swiftly

and find solutions when there is perceived trouble.

Or what about anger, right?

Would you guess that anger actually enhances creativity

and increases your authority?

And you don't even have to be the person who's angry.

You can actually use another person's anger

to crank up your own creativity.

Specifically receiving angry feedback

increases both the quality of our ideas

and their originality.

So in an experiment, participants were instructed

to come up with as many as possible uses for a brick

as they could.

However, before beginning the task,

some of the participants had received very angry feedback

on another assignment.

The results, the angry feedback

enhanced the creativity of those participants

who preferred to feel in control.

They found more uses for the brick

than those who had previously been given neutral feedback.

And what's more,

their ideas were much more original.

Ideas such as carrying the brick around in a backpack

as a way to exercise.

In addition, anger can enhance your authority.

As angry people are often viewed as being more powerful

than their happier counterparts.

Demonstrating anger can actually give you leverage

during negotiations.

Now, of course there's definitely a line

between like healthy anger

and then just like verbally or emotionally abusing someone.

So don't just start screaming at people you love

for no reason.

And if you've ever felt guilty for feeling guilty,

I'm happy to inform you that guilt is a ton of benefits.

Guilt not only motivates us to repair any damage we've done,

but it helps us respect moral boundaries.

Guilt is a terrible feeling.

So we avoid actions that are gonna make us feel that way.

Researchers have found that adults

who are prone to react with strong feelings of guilt

are less likely to engage

in harmful behaviors like drunk driving,

assaulting others or theft.

Now, there is a difference though, they note,

between guilt and shame.

Though we have benefits by feeling

and avoiding feelings of guilt,

shame, wholly unhelpful.

Guilt causes us to want to take responsibility.

Whereas shame makes us wanna sweep everything under the rug

in self-preservation.

Anxiety, anger, guilt, okay these are all pretty solid.

You probably could have guessed them

but what about narcissistic traits?

Can they make you more productive, creative, and successful?

I mean, surely the hallmarks of narcissism

excessive admiration seeking,

a grandiose sense of importance and entitlement,

can't be good for you.

Oh yes they can.

Narcissistic people are more likely

to reach the ambitious goals they've set for themselves

because they feel entitled to pursue them.

They're less impeded by self doubt

even when the odds are stacked against them.

And they believe that they're entitled to success

willing to give anything and everything to succeed,

stand out and win the admiration of others.

These character traits are pretty off off-putting

but what happens when the person displaying them

is a medical researcher deciphering the human genome

or trying to cure cancer?

Great reframe, furthermore narcissism can actually

enhance your creativity.

Since narcissists are so sure of their individuality

and brilliance, what's that like?

They are more likely to consider ideas

that others may dismiss as just too freaking weird.

They have a considerable amount of creative freedom

because they pay very little attention to common conventions

and the assumptions of other lesser people.

Now, if narcism wasn't surprising enough for you

how about psychopathic traits?

There's no way that those can be good, right?

I mean, in popular culture,

every psychopath we know is a murderer,

but in real life psychopaths are more likely to be

in the police force or doctors.

Yes psychopathy is often characterized

with a ton of what we would consider negative traits.

However, psychopaths are incredibly useful to society.

Due to their emotional detachment and shallow emotion,

they're better at handling crises

such as terrorist attacks or hostage situations.

And psychopaths also make better leaders.

In a study, 121 experts were asked to evaluate

the president's personality traits

and leadership performance.

The researchers took this data

and estimated both leadership performance

and psychopathic traits from each president's biography.

Those precedents with more psychopathic traits

were better leadership performers,

proving to be more persuasive, willing to take more risks

and more likely to keep a positive relationship

with Congress.

Plus they were more adept at handling crises

than their non psychopathic counterparts.

Anxiety, anger, guilt, narcissism, psychopathy,

though we view these traits as bad

and often do whatever we can to avoid them,

Kashdan and Biswas-Diener have shown me

that negative feelings are an essential part of wholeness.

What I see as anxiety is actually a vigilance.

Anger is great motivation, guilt sets my moral boundaries.

Narcissism gives me the confidence to chase my dreams

and psychopathy I mean, I don't have any of that

so it's fine.

I'm Anna Akana and thank you to the Patreons

who supported today's video.

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