... this unbalance by promoting the investigation into positive areas of psychology. Seligman proposes three 'desirable lives,' the first one being 'The pleasant life.' This refers to any positive emotions that arise from happiness and well- being. He divides these emotions into three main categories, past, present and future. He believes that in order to feel happier about our past, we must abandon any fears that previous bad experiences will determine our present and future. In order to feel content in the present, we must distinguish between 'pleasures' and 'gratifications.' Pleasure can present itself in two forms. Those that occur 'through the senses,' and are transitory, for instance a beautiful smell, and those that are taught through experience and are explained through the feelings they produce. He also states that if we wish to improve the way we feel about our future we must change our outlook on life to enable ...

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