An advertisement said that “Optimism is the scent of life”: but … exactly, what do we mean by optimism? Is it a somewhat “magical” way of thinking, according to which “everything will be definitely fine”? And, above all, are we naturally optimistic, or can we become one? And how? The title of this course refers to “realism”: and this will be the main weapon we will use to try to change our mental attitude. 

Realistic optimism does not mean not seeing problems and difficulties, but rather knowing how to balance all the various aspects of the present and contingent situation, and knowing how to change our vision of reality, in order to increase our perception of knowing how to manage what happens to us.

We will also examine the relationship between optimism, self-esteem, trust and resilience; and we will see how, and to what extent, being optimistic can favor relationships with other people.