Love turns me into us.
FEELING LOVED PREDICTS WELLBEING FACT 09
Small moments of shared positivity in everyday moments are the building blocks of love and belonging, but also of health and wellbeing. Romantic love often gets the headlines, but it is sharing the warm yet fleeting moments of everyday connection that can make the biggest difference to our lives. A laugh with someone in the lift, chatting to the barista who knows your coffee order, a caring check-in from a colleague or the chance corridor conversation with a valet who remembers your daughter’s name and purple suitcase from your last visit, three months ago. These are the little moments of togetherness that draw you out of yourself and help you attune to others. To really notice them. Because love allows you to really see another person. And the feeling is mutual – you notice that they also see you. And together you have created belongingness.
People who experience and reflect on their brief moments of love and connection in everyday life, report significantly higher psychological wellbeing, including greater feelings of purpose and optimism, and are more likely to have higher extraversion scores. Everyday love is micro-moments like a colleague checking in on you or a friend remembering a special day. Penn State University (2019). Science Daily. Feeling loved in everyday life linked with improved wellbeing.
Love is the most supreme emotion. It makes us feel the most fully alive and the most fully human. It is essential to our thriving and our health.
- FREDRICKSON, 2020
36 | ONE: PEOPLE CRAVE BELONGING
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