But above all, a heavy dose of realism; War, the economy in decline, horror, natural disasters and great personalities who have disappeared. Yes, that's exactly what 2023 has been like, you think.
Unfortunately not, that's how 2013 was summed up in a news article published in December of that year. You don't have to have a great deal of pessimism to decide that the world has no better direction than it did ten years ago.
At the University of Tromsø there is a Tønsberg colleague who is a professor of social psychology. Joar Vittersø joined Tønsberg Gymnasium at the same time as me last millennium, and was actually a journalist in Tønsbergs Blad before his studies took him into psychology. He is now often referred to as the Happiness Professor because he does research and is an expert on quality of life.
When it comes to quality of life, optimists, realists and pessimists have their own approaches, to say the least.
A few years ago, British researchers published a study about what makes us more satisfied with optimism and pessimism and what has to be said between them: realism.
– The way research is done today, it seems that the best thing is to have a slightly optimistic attitude, and to think that things are going a little better than they actually are. But you shouldn't overdo it before it starts to erode happiness and chances to cope, Joar Vetterson told forskning.no.
Therefore it is possible to think very positively!
It turns out that unrealistically excessive optimism is not much better than pessimism. So the challenge for you and me will be to be realistic, to find balance in life, to find the golden mean, whether it is about expectations, consumption or entertainment.
I personally have a lifetime of experience dealing with grief in advance, but that turns out to be a tiring way of life. After all, most fears do not become reality and a lot of energy has disappeared in this meditation. But since we are supposed to become wiser as we grow older, it may be true that I feel that the “disaster mentality” has gradually been replaced by something resembling realism! Listen, listen!
Realistic expectations for myself, others, and the future. Back to Fiterson:
-We single out happiness in our society. Many people want tips for achieving happiness in the same way they want tips for cooking a good dinner. But for me, happiness is about something more comprehensive and important. The most important thing for happiness is creating good societies. It is largely the result of political choices.
These are wise words to take with you from 2023 to 2024! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, folks!
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