Lifestyle
Alongside taking care of other people and the planet, make sure you take good care of yourself. The Lifestyle section at the Optimist Daily has solutions for everyday wellbeing on topics like food, beauty, fashion, and the latest trends. Curious about caring for houseplants, eating plant-based, or parenting tips? It’s all in there.
Global ranking of happiness has happy news for Norway and Nicaragua
Norway can be frigid. And the winters bring lots of darkness. But it's the happiest nation in the world, according to the 2017 World Happiness Report. Denmark comes in at #2, followed by Iceland and Switzerland. Finland takes 5th place. And, it turns out, these countries have more in common than a Read More...
Happiness: Redefining the formula for genuine prosperity
The success of a government must be defined by ‘its ability to facilitate the happiness and wellbeing of its citizens, and this should replace old paradigms that focus overwhelmingly on economic performance.’ This was the consensus that emerged amongst leaders, from both the public and Read More...
‘Your child is safe’: Schools address deportation fears among immigrant families
The schools superintendent in Harrisonburg, Va., was meeting parents this month when a mother broke down in tears, explaining that she was undocumented. What would the school do, she asked, if she became separated from her children? “I remember walking up to her and putting my arm on her Read More...
‘Crazy dream’: the former Delhi IT worker in the race to land on the moon
To this day, Rahul Narayan doesn’t know why he said yes, except that it was the very last day to sign up, and if he didn’t agree to it, then there would be no Indian teams in the running. He threw together a proposal and clicked submit. Perhaps it was the dullness of his day job in IT Read More...
Bitcoin is changing the way companies go public
Electronic cryptocurrencies, like Bitcoin, will disrupt money finance as we know it. These currencies have the potential to create peer-to-peer money without the need for government regulation. Cryptocurrencies can also be used for companies going public without going to the stock exchange. That Read More...
Blockchain could redistribute value to make the sharing economy more fair
The traditional economic model was dominated by large companies that have top-down hierarchical organizations providing services to passive consumers. Now, companies like Google, Uber and AirBnB represent a shift operating online platforms where most value is generated by the users. The problem Read More...
The 14 countries that are the most optimistic about the future
Parents want their children to live in a better world than the one they grew up in. But today's slow-growing global economy has people across the world less certain that tomorrow's economy will provide a solid foundation for the next generation. Brunswick, the international advisory firm, has just Read More...
Economics professor turns to crowdfunding to pay salary
A professor of economics has turned to crowdfunding to pay his salary because universities “no longer provide the time and freedom they once gave to original thinkers”. Steve Keen, who is currently employed full time at Kingston University but expects to remain there next year on a Read More...
Achieving mindfulness at work, no meditation cushion required
Meditation is simply one of several tools for achieving mindfulness, and in the context of work it may not be the most suitable for many people. For those who, like me, can’t seem to get the hang of meditation, there is good news: You don’t have to meditate to become more mindful. There are two Read More...
How will the rise of crowdfunding reshape how we give to charity?
Last September, a Chicago resident named Joel Cervantes Macias spotted an 89-year old man named Fendicio hawking Mexican ice pops–they’re called “paletas”– out of a street cart. The man looked too old to be working, but Macias only had so much spare cash (and so much Read More...