Authors
Susan David
Susan David is a psychologist on the faculty at Harvard Medical School, author of the best-selling book Emotional Agility, and a TED speaker. Her work focuses on emotional agility and how acknowledging difficult emotions supports psychological resilience, reflected in the quote 'Tough emotions are part of our contract with life.'
Quotes: 2
Quotes by Susan David
Discomfort as the Entry Fee to Meaning
Susan David’s line reframes “meaningful life” as something earned rather than found. Instead of promising ease, it suggests that depth—love, purpose, integrity, growth—requires crossing a threshold where things feel awkw...
Created on: 2/24/2026
Why Tough Emotions Belong in Living
Susan David’s line frames emotional pain not as a personal malfunction but as a built-in term of being alive. The word “contract” is especially clarifying: it implies inevitability, reciprocity, and responsibility—if you...
Created on: 2/24/2026