Irish too optimistic?

RESILIENCE is a wonderful quality, it helps us cope with today. Optimism, however, is a horse of an entirely different colour.

It helps us cope with today by allowing us to hope that tomorrow might be better.

This trait has been identified as particularly strong in this society by a Eurobarometer poll.

The poll is part of a study running since 1973, and shows trends in public opinion over a long period of time.

The latest one identifies the Irish as the most optimistic nation in Europe.

Whether that is hopeful optimism — if that phrase may be allowed — or devil-may-care bravado is not exactly clear.

Optimism is more or less universally recognised as a positive thing even if it sometimes can lull us into a false sense of security and might undermine rigorous preparation for tests ahead.

Would we be a little better off if we were less optimistic and more hard-nosed? Would we demand more and prepare better for inevitable challenges?

Is describing us as very optimistic just a friendly way of saying we’re gullible?

The evidence all around us suggests that it might just be so. It is certainly a question worth asking — and answering.