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.