Although some people may not relate it to electronic dance music (EDM), “Groove Is in the Heart” by house and dance music group Deee-Lite qualifies for this genre. Worth noting, the song features vocals from Q-Tip of A Tribe Called Quest.
Blending hip hop, funk, disco, house, and dance elements, I recall enjoying this jam back in junior high school. In fact, the track was released in 1990. It wasn’t long before that time when I began the informal practice of life coaching in 1991.
I now view the jam through the lens of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT). In specific, I consider the line, “The chills that you spill up my back keep me filled with satisfaction when we’re done, satisfaction of what’s to come.” Notably, in a blogpost entitled Satisfaction, I stated:
Colloquially, satisfaction is defined as fulfillment of a need or want. As an example, if I’m thirsty and want to drink a glass of water, satisfaction is achieved when having my desire met while drinking water. Notably, the American Psychological Association (APA) uses a similar approach when defining the satisfaction of instincts:
[I]n classical psychoanalytic theory, the gratification of basic needs, such as hunger, thirst, sex, and aggression, which discharges tension, eliminates unpleasure, and restores the organism to a balanced state. Satisfaction may occur on a conscious, preconscious, or unconscious level. Also called gratification of instincts.
Also, it’s worth noting that satisfaction is often used synonymously with joy and pleasure (collectively “happiness”). Colloquially, happiness is defined as a pleasurable or satisfying experience. The APA defines this term as an emotion of joy, gladness, satisfaction, and well-being.
Although I tend not to make happiness a personal interest or goal, because I maintain that inflexibility regarding such a desire and objective is essentially a trap for self-disturbance, I recognize that happiness is mentioned throughout REBT literature.
Herein, I relate groove within one’s heart as akin to the experience of happiness (i.e., satisfaction, joy, pleasure, etc.). Regarding this matter, one REBT source states (page 1):
This approach not only shows how the distinctly human mental faculty of rationality can help most everyone to be less unhappy and emotionally miserable when faced with adversities, unfortunate, or frustrating events, but also how they can live an enjoyable, pleasurable, fulfilled, and happy life.
For people who achieve the residual effect of groove in the heart, or a “happy life,” I’m all for it! While not a personal endeavor, I don’t reject the quest whereby some people seek satisfaction in life. Another REBT source states of this objective (page 20):
You are reading this book, presumably, because either you or your associates have emotional problems. Will its methods serve as a miraculous cure? No. Will they help considerably? Most likely, yes. If you carefully consider and apply them. Try them out. Experiment. See for yourself how they work. If they help you to be somewhat less disturbed and happier, fine.
If they help you to make deeper and more enduring improvements in your emotional health, let me know. If they help you to make yourself happy and remarkably less disturbable, wonderful! That is my goal for you. I think you can achieve it.
REBT professional practitioners vary wildly. Some expressly seek to help people experience groove in the heart. Others, like me, merely try to help people attain a higher level of functioning and quality of life.
Regarding my approach, I try to help people get better rather than to feel better. Either way, whether or not you have groove in the heart when we’re done with REBT practice, or you experience satisfaction with what’s to come in your life thereafter, I’m here to try to help.
If you’re looking for a provider who tries to work to help you understand how thinking impacts physical, mental, emotional, and behavioral elements of your life, I invite you to reach out today by using the contact widget on my website.
As the world’s foremost EDM-influenced REBT psychotherapist—promoting content related to EDM, I’m pleased to try to help people with an assortment of issues from anger (hostility, rage, and aggression) to relational issues, adjustment matters, trauma experience, justice involvement, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, anxiety and depression, and other mood or personality-related matters.
At Hollings Therapy, LLC, serving all of Texas, I aim to treat clients with dignity and respect while offering a multi-lensed approach to the practice of psychotherapy and life coaching. My mission includes: Prioritizing the cognitive and emotive needs of clients, an overall reduction in client suffering, and supporting sustainable growth for the clients I serve. Rather than simply trying to help you to feel better, I want to try to help you get better!
Deric Hollings, LPC, LCSW
References:
APA Dictionary of Psychology. (2018, April 19). Happiness. American Psychological Association. Retrieved from https://dictionary.apa.org/happiness
APA Dictionary of Psychology. (2018, April 19). Satisfaction of instincts. American Psychological Association. Retrieved from https://dictionary.apa.org/satisfaction-of-instincts
Bernard, M. E. (2011). Rationality and the pursuit of happiness: The legacy of Albert Ellis. Wiley-Blackwell. Retrieved from https://www.pdfdrive.com/rationality-and-the-pursuit-of-happiness-the-legacy-of-albert-ellis-d161732544.html
Deee-Lite. (2009, October 26). Deee-Lite - Groove Is in the Heart (Official video) [Video]. YouTube. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/etviGf1uWlg?si=QyKj0wS9y8Ul15GY
Ellis, A. (2003). How to make yourself happy and remarkably less disturbable. Impact Publishers. Retrieved from https://archive.org/details/howtomakeyoursel00elli
Genius. (n.d.). Groove Is in the Heart [Image]. Retrieved from https://genius.com/Deee-lite-groove-is-in-the-heart-lyrics
Hollings, D. (2024, October 21). Desire. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/desire
Hollings, D. (2022, March 15). Disclaimer. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/disclaimer
Hollings, D. (2023, September 8). Fair use. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/fair-use
Hollings, D. (2023, October 12). Get better. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/get-better
Hollings, D. (2024, April 13). Goals. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/goals
Hollings, D. (2023, December 26). Happiness is a trap. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/happiness-is-a-trap
Hollings, D. (2024, September 24). Happy place. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/happy-place
Hollings, D. (n.d.). Hollings Therapy, LLC [Official website]. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/
Hollings, D. (2024, January 2). Interests and goals. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/interests-and-goals
Hollings, D. (2025, January 14). Level of functioning and quality of life. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/level-of-functioning-and-quality-of-life
Hollings, D. (2023, September 19). Life coaching. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/life-coaching
Hollings, D. (2023, September 3). On feelings. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/on-feelings
Hollings, D. (2024, May 5). Psychotherapist. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/psychotherapist
Hollings, D. (2022, March 24). Rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT). Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/rational-emotive-behavior-therapy-rebt
Hollings, D. (2025, January 15). Satisfaction. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/satisfaction
Hollings, D. (2022, November 1). Self-disturbance. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/self-disturbance
Hollings, D. (2025, February 28). To try is my goal. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/to-try-is-my-goal
Hollings, D. (2023, May 3). Want vs. need. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/want-vs-need
Hollings, D. (2022, August 8). Was Freud right? Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/was-freud-right
Hollings, D. (2024, September 29). Well, well, well. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/well-well-well
Wikipedia. (n.d.). A Tribe Called Quest. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Tribe_Called_Quest
Wikipedia. (n.d.). Deee-Lite. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deee-Lite
Wikipedia. (n.d.). Q-Tip (musician). Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Q-Tip_(musician)
ความคิดเห็น