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Emotional Agility

Get Unstuck, Embrace Change and Thrive in Work and Life

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Emotional Agility

By: Susan David
Narrated by: Claire Gordon-Webster
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About this listen

Penguin presents the unabridged downloadable audiobook edition of Emotional Agility by Susan David, read by Claire Gordon-Webster. Every day we speak around 16,000 words - but inside our minds we create tens of thousands more. Thoughts such as 'I'm not spending enough time with my children' or 'I'm not good enough to present my work' can seem to be unshakable facts.

In reality they're the judgmental opinions of our inner voices. Drawing on more than 20 years of academic research, consulting, and her own experiences overcoming adversity, Susan David, PhD, a psychologist and faculty member at Harvard Medical School, has pioneered a new way to enable us to make peace with our inner selves, achieve our most valued goals, make real change, and live life to the fullest.

Susan David has found that emotionally agile people experience the same stresses and setbacks as anyone else. The difference is the emotionally agile know how to unhook themselves from unhelpful patterns and how to create values-based success with better habits and behaviours.

Emotional Agility describes a new way of living and relating to yourself and the world around you. Become aware of your true nature, learn to face your emotions with acceptance and generosity, act according to your deepest values and flourish.

Susan David has a PhD in psychology and a postdoctorate in emotions research from Yale. She is a psychologist at the Harvard Medical School and a founder and director at the Harvard/McLean-affiliated Institute of Coaching. Susan is the CEO of Evidence Based Psychology, whose worldwide client list includes Ernst and Young Global, the UN Development Program, JP Morgan Chase and GlaxoSmithKline. She has edited a number of books, including the Oxford Handbook of Happiness, and her research has been featured in the Harvard Business Review, Time and The Wall Street Journal. Born in South Africa, Susan now lives in Boston with her family.

©2016 Susan David (P)2016 Penguin Audio
Career Success Emotions Leadership Management & Leadership Personal Development Personal Success Psychology Psychology & Mental Health Spirituality Stress Management Business Meditation Management Health Mental Health

Critic Reviews

"Essential reading." (Susan Cain, author of Quiet)
"An accessible, reader-friendly voyage. Emotional Agility can be helpful to anyone." (Daniel Goleman, author of Emotional Intelligence)
All stars
Most relevant  
Simple to relate to and apply, uses short stories as examples. For adults and children.

Enjoyable

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This book is close to my heart. I saw Sue's TED talk and heard her being interviewed by Jordan Harbinger around the same time, and took the plunge to purchase this.

The fundamental idea in this book is that happiness, while a nice thing to feel, is not the thing we should be chasing. Rather, a life that has meaning is ,uchmore important. This can be reflected in our work, our personal lives and and our private thoughts. While this sounds counter-intuitive, it's absolutely correct. We are at our best when we work towards things that mean something to us, based on our fundamental. Of course with any such pursuit, ranging from anything from raising a child to being an elite athlete (extreme example), there is discomfort and pain.

Embracing such an approach is profoundly satisfying. On my own personal journey, the philosophical underpinnings of this work resonated with Russ Harris' work on acceptance and commitment therapy, which I had encountered personally.

Harris' work gave me a methodology to work with, but Emotional Agility contributed to a new philosophical outlook, which I am forever grateful for: "Discomfort is the price of admission to a meaningful life."

Deeply influential

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I enjoyed this book up until the last 3 chapters which just didn't apply to my life. I read another review which described the book as a "re hash". This may well be true but it is the first book of this kind that I have been able to tolerate without being bored to tears. The narration was great and I have already began applying some of the principles to my life with good effect.

A worthwhile read

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The material is structured well and easy to relate to. Contains critical life skills and recommend for anyone at any age.

Well written and well narrated

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If we all had this much insight, and if this book had been written generations ago, the world would be such a different place. Great book

Everyone needs to read this.

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There are some incredibly helpful and practical ideas in this book which will be invaluable to most of us, though I had hoped for more in-depth psychological explanations for emotional disorders.

Great summary of key concepts

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So much wisdom based on actual research in this book! A guide to managing your emotions, acknowledging they are data and not directives. Emphasis on the importance of showing up and stepping out, knowing that "discomfort is the price of a meaningful life". Will listen to again I'm sure!

Sage Advice for Living Authentically

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Emotional agility is a great read, I'd highly recommend it. Susan David offers a depth of research that is not only interesting but also applicable. Paired with effective examples, you walk away from Emotional Agility with a new skillset to tackle the ups and downs of life. Incredible!

Fantastic Read!

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This book is enlightening, down to earth, ground breaking and has easily implantable strategies to make life’s ups and downs more manageable for us and our kids. Loved it!
Thank you Susan

Awesome!

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Free yourself by reading this book. Game changer. Courage over comfort. Learn abs grow!! Amazing

Life changing.

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