Old Happy: "I'm separate from others."
New Happy: "I'm connected to others."

Old Happy's individualistic culture teaches us that we are separate from one another. In reality, we are deeply, inextricably connected to one another, in so many ways; https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=KLvJKTN_nDoC&oi=fnd&pg=PA19&dq=emotional+contagion&ots=gG7-9Xmi1X&sig=oCs3Voa_9dG0sEsk7sQLYJti3vw#v=onepage&q=emotional%20contagion&f=false have found that even our emotions are contagious. Everything that you do has a ripple effect, reaching out to touch other people's lives in ways you will never be able to see or understand.

This connection manifests in so many ways, but one of them is likely very familiar to you: in the way that your state of being influences the way you perceive other people. For example, if you are feeling angry, will you be able to see another person's greatest qualities, forgive them for their mistakes, or learn from their experiences? Probably not! It's really hard to notice these things when you're in that state of being. That, in turn, influences how you respond to them and the relationships that you build with them.

In your next important conversation, I want you to pause and take a pulse check on your own emotions. How are you feeling right now, and how might those feelings be affecting the way you're seeing the other person?

If you discover that your emotions might be fogging your vision, try this: call up your truest self to the interaction instead. Pause, breathe and, in your head, state: "I want to show up for this conversation as my true self." The beauty of this choice is profound — for it is what allows you to see their true self, too.