The jovial spirit: a positive existential approach inspired by Spanish philosopher Ortega y Gasset García-Montes, José Manuel Pérez-Álvarez, Marino Moreno Fernández, Agustín García-Haro, Juan Eisenbeck, Nikolett Carreño, David F. jovial spirit Ortega y Gasset positive existential psychology meaning in life authenticity values vocation philosophy *Versión aceptada traducida al español. Artículo original publicado y disponible en The Journal of Positive Psychology (mayo 2025) This paper aims to introduce the philosophy of José Ortega y Gasset (1883–1955) and explore its potential contributions to contemporary psychology. Ortega’s ratio-vitalist perspective emphasizes the dynamic interplay between reason and life’s circumstances, arguing that authenticity and happiness emerge from fulfilling one’s vocation within the context of unique personal conditions. The paper first contrasts Ortega’s ideas with those of Kierkegaard, Heidegger, Sartre, Husserl and Unamuno. It then focuses on the concept of the ‘jovial spirit’, a resilient and joyful approach to life that embraces existential challenges with enthusiasm, integrates effort with playfulness and finds meaning and happiness through the pursuit of one’s vocation. The jovial spirit is presented in relation to other psychological constructs such as experiential appreciation, psychological flexibility, mature happiness and meaning in life, among others. Grounded in Mediterranean Spanish culture, Ortega’s approach integrates the first and second waves of positive psychology, offering research directions in areas such as authenticity, meaning, the self/others dynamic and happiness, with a clearly defined positive existential focus. 2025-05-29T09:58:26Z 2025-05-29T09:58:26Z 2025-05-07 journal article García-Montes, J. M., Pérez Álvarez, M., Moreno Fernández, A. J., García-Haro, J., Eisenbeck, N., & Carreno, D. F. (2025). The jovial spirit: a positive existential approach inspired by Spanish philosopher Ortega y Gasset. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 1–11. https://hdl.handle.net/10481/104342 https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2025.2500569 eng http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/ open access Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 License Routledge. Taylor & Francis