Martin Desseilles is a psychiatrist, psychotherapist and research fellow at Hôpital du Sacré-Coeur, in Montreal.
Moïra Mikolajczak is a psychology professor at Leuven University, in Belgium.

The trend nowadays is to believe that happiness is within everyone’s reach, that all it takes is to learn to control the feelings, anxiety, sadness or anger that wear us down. Although it is not that easy, we can all learn to control our emotions.

It is important to know how to concentrate in certain situations, to drive carefully, even if we have just been in an argument and feel angry, to know how to curb joy and desire when it is inappropriate to express them, to learn to manage conflict and negotiate instead of getting carried away and destroying relationships that matter.
Controlling negative and positive feelings renders us less vulnerable to life’s difficulties. For this reason, it is to everyone’s advantage to learn to live with and manage his or her emotions. Focussing on what is positive, living in the present moment, actively seeking the positive side and potential benefits of every situation, keeping others’ feelings at bay so as not to be overwhelmed by them, knowing how to rejoice: these are some of the authors’ scientifically corroborated practical tips, which readers will be able to put into practice.