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9781626562752

The Intelligent Optimist's Guide to Life How to Find Health and Success in a World That's a Better Place Than You Think

by
  • ISBN13:

    9781626562752

  • ISBN10:

    162656275X

  • Format: Paperback
  • Copyright: 2014-10-13
  • Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers

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Summary

The world isn’t coming to an end, contrary to what you may have heard, says Jurriaan Kamp. Certainly there’s upheaval and economic, political, and social instability, but the media’s near-exclusive focus on conflict and disaster means that the progress and everyday acts of brilliance taking place across the globe go unnoticed, which contributes to the sense that apocalypse is at hand.

And pessimism can be fatal: Kamp cites research showing that those who indulge in negative thinking are more likely to smoke, be overweight, and have high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and an increased risk of Parkinson’s disease than optimists. Meanwhile, evidence abounds that optimism—intelligent optimism, not a rose-colored-glasses brand of wishful thinking—is good not only for your mind but for your body, too.

Kamp demonstrates that, on the whole, we’re living longer, becoming smarter, working less, and growing richer. Democracy is on the rise, and violence is declining. He explains how we can cultivate an outlook of informed optimism that will make our lives and the world better—because, as he quotes Helen Keller, “No pessimist ever discovered the secret of the stars, or sailed to an uncharted land, or opened a new doorway for the human spirit.”

Author Biography

Jurriaan Kamp and his wife, Hélène de Puy, cofounded The Intelligent Optimist magazine (formerly Ode). Prior to that, Kamp was an editor and correspondent in South Asia and chief economics editor at the Dutch daily newspaper NRC Handelsblad. He is the author of Small Change: How Fifty Dollars Can Change the World and Because People Matter: Building an Economy That Works for Everyone.

Table of Contents

A Note from the Author
Introduction: Stories, News, and the Challenge of Optimism
Chapter 1: The Best Way to Live
Chapter 2: A Key to Health, Happiness, and Success
Chapter 3: How to Become an (Even Better) Optimist
Chapter 4: The World Is a Better Place Than You Think
Chapter 5: Welcome to the Age of Optimism
Checklist for Optimists
Life Orientation Test Scoring
Notes
Resources
Acknowledgments
Index
About the Author
About The Intelligent Optimist

Supplemental Materials

What is included with this book?

The New copy of this book will include any supplemental materials advertised. Please check the title of the book to determine if it should include any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.

The Used, Rental and eBook copies of this book are not guaranteed to include any supplemental materials. Typically, only the book itself is included. This is true even if the title states it includes any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.

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