Dr. Todd B. Kashdan is a recognized authority on well-being and social relationships. He has published more than 150 scholarly articles and trains professionals on techniques to become emotionally, socially, and mentally agile. He has been honored with the Outstanding Professor of the Year at George Mason University and the 2013 Distinguished Scientific Early Career Award from the American Psychological Association.

Robert Biswas-Diener has published more than 40 scholarly articles and has trained thousands of professionals on six continents. He is known as the “Indiana Jones of Positive Psychology” because he has conducted research in difficult conditions such as war zones, slums, and in a remote corner of Greenland. 

In The Upside of Your Dark Side, two pioneering researchers in the field of psychology show that while mindfulness, kindness, and positivity can take us far, they cannot take us all the way. Sometimes, they can even hold us back. Emotions like anger, anxiety, or doubt might be uncomfortable, but it turns out that they are also incredibly useful. For instance:

• Anger fuels creativity

• Guilt sparks improvement

• Self-doubt enhances performance

• Selfishness increases courage

• Mindlessness leads to better decisions