Intelligent optimism, or how to be happy in all circumstances

Eduard Punset, a scientific broadcaster and economist, summarises optimism in three key aspects that, he believes, might help us experience true happiness. These include life expectancy, personalised medication, and emotional awareness.

However, these are the keys of optimism, which, in a crisis, can crumble in the face of someone's determination and sanity.

Is there any hope of achieving happiness in all circumstances? Of course, given that you are willing to take an interest in intelligent optimism and put its principles into action.

Many individuals believe that optimism is related to ignorance or "refusal of reality," and pessimism to "mental enlightenment."
This notion corresponds to a sort of optimism that focuses on being happy just for the purpose of being happy, and which encourages one to turn a blind eye to reality in order to shield oneself from potential harm.

This type of optimism fills psychologists' clinics with patients who are unaware of who they are or who their loved ones truly are.

They find at a difficult time in their lives that they have been duped for years and, to their great astonishment, have been incorrect about their loved ones, their social and economic condition, and who they truly are.

However, this has little to do with genuine hope. Intelligent optimism is associated with positive psychology, a new movement that has taken a radically different approach to psychological treatment.

She concentrates her research on mental wellness rather than pathology, as has traditionally been the standard in psychology.

María Dolores Avia, professor of Personality Psychology at Complutense University of Madrid and author of the book Intelligent Optimism, emphasised its significance for personal development.

• Open your eyes. This is what anyone who practices sensible optimism must do, because ignoring reality and what is going on around them is not a path to happiness. Prejudices (positive or negative), fear, and habit are the most dangerous opponents of self-discovery.

• Feed the body and mind. We cannot be happy in all situations if apathy, self-destructiveness (resentment, nostalgia, remorse, depression, etc.) and despair consume too much of our existence.

There is no more powerful faith than that founded on the strength reflected by the desire to attain a goal. If you keep your mind and body motivated with fresh goals, optimism will never desert you.

• "Cultivate small pleasures" . This statement is from Jean Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro's famous film, Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain. She sums up the concept of informed optimism all on her own. We might be so focused on achieving huge goals that we lose sight of the small daily pleasures that truly enrich our lives.

Intelligent optimism will be a strong booster of all of these small pleasures in your daily life. It will be a source of strength on your good days and help you manage your bad ones.

• To strive against. Saying things like "I've already done that" or "I'm too old for that" won't help you much. To live is to battle, to decide to mature, to learn, to build and demolish walls; this is a powerful protection against disease.
You're alive, so feel alive!

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