Uploaded May 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 days ago
Imagine you and your teenager are sitting down for a nice meal and she/he asks, “What do you know about depression?” and you’re stumped for an answer.
Faced with that question, D. (Doug) Earl Johnston set out to find the answer and, along the way, identified 271 additional and distinct emotional states that formed the basis of his latest book, Choosing Emotions: Thinking with Your Head and Acting with Your Heart ( amzn.to/4sNL4VZ ).
Doug shares what he learned about the amazing array of emotions all of us feel and how they protect us this week on Spirit Gym.
Learn more about Doug and his work at his website at choosingemotions.com and on social media via Instagram at instagram.com/dearlj2026 .
0:00 Intro
4:58 Doug’s daughter asked him a question he couldn’t answer: What do you know about depression?
10:42 Identifying 272 distinct emotional states through famous quotes.
21:41 Our emotions are tools that protect us.
32:15 The fundamental misunderstandings people have about emotions.
43:15 A consilience.
47:35 Name it, blame it and tame it.
56:30 “Fear is a reaction. Courage is a decision.”
1:06:35 Where do you draw the line between an emotion, mood, condition, pattern or life?
1:23:54 “Can you change a default emotion?”
1:33:38 Doug’s reckoning with ego.
1:39:05 Vocabulary and emotions.
1:48:03 The domains of the head, heart and gut.
1:52:55 One of Paul’s guiding principles he learned from a student.
Listen to Paul's conversation with D. (Doug) Earl Johnston and check out the show notes page on our Spirit Gym website at paulchek.com/blog/podcast-episodes/399-272-emotions-and-you-probably-only-know-28-of-them-with-d-earl-johnston
Thanks to our awesome sponsors!
• Paleovalley paleovalley.com/chek15 (save 15% on your first purchase)
• Organifi organifi.com/chek20 (save 20% on your purchase by using the code CHEK20 at checkout)
• Pique Life piquelife.com/paulchek (save up to 20% for life and get a FREE starter kit when you subscribe to one or more of Pique’s amazing beverages!)
• CHEK Institute paul.chekinstitute.com/spiritgym (learn about the new CHEK Integrated Health Foundation program today!)
• BIOptimizers bioptimizers.com/spiritgym (save an extra 10% on your purchase by using the code PAUL10 at checkout)
• Wild Pastures wildpastures.com/paulchek (save 20% and free shipping for life plus $15 on your first order)
We may earn commissions from qualifying purchases using affiliate links.
Music Credit: Meet Your Heroes (444Hz), Composed, mixed, mastered and produced by Michael RB Schwartz of Brave Bear Music
Imagine you and your teenager are sitting down for a nice meal and she/he asks, “What do you know about depression?” and you’re stumped for an answer.
Faced with that question, D. (Doug) Earl Johnston set out to find the answer and, along the way, identified 271 additional and distinct emotional states that formed the basis of his latest book, Choosing Emotions: Thinking with Your Head and Acting with Your Heart ( amzn.to/4sNL4VZ ).
Doug shares what he learned about the amazing array of emotions all of us feel and how they protect us this week on Spirit Gym.
Learn more about Doug and his work at his website at choosingemotions.com and on social media via Instagram at instagram.com/dearlj2026 .
0:00 Intro
4:58 Doug’s daughter asked him a question he couldn’t answer: What do you know about depression?
10:42 Identifying 272 distinct emotional states through famous quotes.
21:41 Our emotions are tools that protect us.
32:15 The fundamental misunderstandings people have about emotions.
43:15 A consilience.
47:35 Name it, blame it and tame it.
56:30 “Fear is a reaction. Courage is a decision.”
1:06:35 Where do you draw the line between an emotion, mood, condition, pattern or life?
1:23:54 “Can you change a default emotion?”
1:33:38 Doug’s reckoning with ego.
1:39:05 Vocabulary and emotions.
1:48:03 The domains of the head, heart and gut.
1:52:55 One of Paul’s guiding principles he learned from a student.
Listen to Paul's conversation with D. (Doug) Earl Johnston and check out the show notes page on our Spirit Gym website at paulchek.com/blog/podcast-episodes/399-272-emotions-and-you-probably-only-know-28-of-them-with-d-earl-johnston
Thanks to our awesome sponsors!
• Paleovalley paleovalley.com/chek15 (save 15% on your first purchase)
• Organifi organifi.com/chek20 (save 20% on your purchase by using the code CHEK20 at checkout)
• Pique Life piquelife.com/paulchek (save up to 20% for life and get a FREE starter kit when you subscribe to one or more of Pique’s amazing beverages!)
• CHEK Institute paul.chekinstitute.com/spiritgym (learn about the new CHEK Integrated Health Foundation program today!)
• BIOptimizers bioptimizers.com/spiritgym (save an extra 10% on your purchase by using the code PAUL10 at checkout)
• Wild Pastures wildpastures.com/paulchek (save 20% and free shipping for life plus $15 on your first order)
We may earn commissions from qualifying purchases using affiliate links.
Music Credit: Meet Your Heroes (444Hz), Composed, mixed, mastered and produced by Michael RB Schwartz of Brave Bear Music
