On Pragmatic Exuberance

How to encourage joy while also anticipating big mistakes, bad moods, and heartache.

Maverick (1969) by Dorothea Tanning

One of the most difficult challenges of being alive is managing a balance between high expectations and realism, idealism and forgiveness for big flaws, optimism and acceptance of whatever comes next.

I like to think of this balance as pragmatic exuberance. You can see yourself and the world clearly and you recognize bo…