Mixed emotions within the context of goal pursuit

- Mixed emotions are expected to be common experiences within the context of goal pursuit.
- Mixed emotions send conflicting signals within the goal emotion feedback system and must be resolved for goal pursuit to continue.
- Within the goal emotion feedback system mixed emotions are resolved through goal prioritization, the regulation of immediate emotional responses, and goal disengagement.
- The experience of mixed emotions may evoke cognitive processes that, over extended time frames, support goal outcomes.

Development in adulthood occurs through the process of setting and working toward goals. Emotions link experiences to goals and action, and are integral to goal setting and goal pursuit. The simultaneous experience of positive and negative or 'mixed' emotions coheres with the complexity of goal pursuit within the context of competing demands in daily life. Mixed emotions-experienced as uncertainty in goal prioritization, ambiguity of an event's outcome, or poignancy recognizing gains and losses-provide conflicting signals that must be resolved before goal pursuit can continue. The process of resolving mixed emotions may evoke a new awareness of priorities and available options that leads to better goal outcomes. Over time, openness to mixed emotions may support health and self-actualization.