We know from decades of research that a key component of stress resilience is being flexible in how we think and how we manage our emotions. We profile individuals who showed exceptional flexibility, including Jerry White, who lost his leg to a landmine. We discuss two psychotherapies that teach flexibility: cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT). You will learn evidence-based ways to embrace gratitude and humor, catch and challenge negative thoughts, and work towards accepting situations that you cannot immediately control.

Optimism is belief in a brighter future. In this chapter you will learn how optimistic people think and what they do. Optimists acknowledge the challenges they face but focus on what they can do to change their situation. You will read of how people we interviewed remained optimistic in very challenging situations. We share four ways to build optimism: shifting your attention to focus on things within your immediate control, savoring positive events, staying active, and challenging negative thoughts that are neither helpful nor realistic.

Can self-control be improved through daily practice or better technique? In this chapter, I show that the popular idea that self-control is “like a muscle” that can be strengthened through exercise is not supported by recent research. Teaching people “self-control techniques” is no solution either, as it may even widen the gap between those who are good at self-control and those who are not. How about new techniques such as “commitment devices” and “nudging”? Unfortunately, although some nudges seem promising, they cover only a small subset of the situations that call for good self-control. The conclusion of this chapter is that “some people simply have more talent for self-control than others, and therefore some people will have better prospects at achieving health, wealth, and happiness than others. We may have no choice but to accept this reality.”

This chapter describes common successes and pitfalls that have been known to occur during the disaster planning process.