[header] How to be optimistic [title] Recognize the good and bad in your life and examine how you've been affected by each. [step] Optimism doesn't mean you have to feel " happy " all the time. In fact, trying to force feelings of happiness during potentially traumatic experiences can be unhealthy. 
Instead, attune yourself to the full range of emotions in your life, accepting that the negative as well as positive feelings are a natural part of human experience. Trying to repress a certain type of emotion can cause severe emotional distress.