Why Relentless Optimism Can Be Harmful

And the importance of recognising this fact is just one of the many lessons I learnt from Derren Brown, the illusionist, “mentalist” (mind-reader) and writer, whose book Happy explores the philosophy and psychology of wellbeing. View BBC Reel’s video of Derren Brown explaining the downsides of relentless optimism, and the difference between the “experiencing self” and the “remembering self”

If you’re not convinced, Brown suggests the following thought experiment: imagine that you woke up one day to discover that you were the only person left living on Earth. Brown argues that a healthier attitude to life comes from the Stoics, the ancient Greek philosophers who argued that we should actively and deliberately distinguish between the things that are within your power to change, and the things that aren’t – which we should learn to accept as a necessary part of life.

Source: www.bbc.com