An idea that I’ve found helpful recently is the idea that all second-order emotions are bad. Feeling sad about feeling sad, feeling happy about feeling happy—all of it is bad. Emotions are unavoidable and just are, and meeting them with full acceptance and curiosity is good. Meeting them with other emotions is bad. So if I’m feeling happy, it’s a good thing to wonder why, to be curious about where that’s coming from, and whether it’s driven by something that can be repeated. The same is true with feeling sad—it’s good to be curious. Meeting emotions with curiosity is always good; meeting them with other emotions is always bad. I’d love for anyone to come up with a counterexample to challenge this point.