Includes bibliographical references (pages 201-226) and index.
Prologue: stop trying to be so happy -- Glass half full, glass half empty, or glass that needs to be washed? the optimistic character -- The persistence instinct: optimists and their goals -- Building (and rebuilding) for the future: optimists and their resources -- So happy together: optimists and their relationships -- Mixed blessing: optimists and their health -- Everything good, especially the bad: optimists and their vulnerabilities -- Is an optimist born or made? the optimistic character revisited -- Doing optimism: optimists, pessimists, and their potential for change -- Epilogue: confessions of a reluctant optimist.
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Presents a survey of the scientific data on optimism (including the author's award-winning research) to reveal that it's not what you believe about the future that matters, but what you do about it. This book aims to teach readers practical ways to appropriate the habits and skills that optimists use to get what they want from life.