The Optimist View
Our weekend edition long form journalism explores in-depth solutions to global issues.
Tapping the creative force, art changes minds in a changing climate
“The arts matter because we matter, and our stories matter. We are moving miracles, walking creators engaging in a cosmic dance. The art we express is timeless.” –Mohammed Sheriff, Division Coordinator at the National Endowment for the Arts (USA) By Oliver Kammeyer At The Optimist Read More...
Vitality and connection: A round-up of our week on Love…
“Life without love is like food without salt,” - Isabel Allende At the Optimist Daily, we work to put a spotlight on the solutions that abound around us. While much of what we tackle are the “big” issues like the environment, medicine, science and energy, some of the most salient Read More...
Finding the courage to be confident: A peek inside "Dare to Own You"
"Just because you have a voice and can speak, does not necessarily mean you are being heard; find your voice." - Liz Brunner In 2021 people were quitting their jobs at an unprecedented rate. The media had fun creating phrases like "the Great Resignation" and "the Big Quit" to characterize the Read More...
Managing self-care (again) when things fall apart
This article was originally published in May of 2020, but we are bringing it back to the top of our feeds, because we all still need self-care. The healing comes from letting there be room for all of this to happen: room for grief, for relief, for misery, for joy. - Pema Chödrön By Kristy Read More...
Empowered activism is cultivating a marketable skill - A dispatch from Colombia
“Part of doing something is listening. We are listening. To the sun. To the stars. To the wind.” – Madeleine L’Engle By Jackie Gilbert We all catch ourselves making remarks like “I’m starving” or “we’re dying of hunger”, but fortunately for most of us in my middle-class Read More...
Book Excerpt: ‘The Sleep Fix: Practical, Proven, and Surprising Solutions for Insomnia, Snoring, Shift Work, and More’
“Sometimes finding just one place to start, one thread to pull on, can shift the momentum in the other direction—sleep improvement leads to more sleep improvement.” -Diane Macedo In today’s Optimist View, we’re delighted to share an excerpt from ‘The Sleep Fix,’ the newest book from Read More...
The Optimist Daily guide to “Un-LANGUISHING”: Ideas on how to reconnect to thriving
“By acknowledging that so many of us are languishing, we can start giving voice to quiet despair and lighting a path out of the void.” - Adam Grant BY Kristy Jansen and Summers McKay This year, big, audacious, expansive resolutions seem a bit on the absurd side. Nearly the entire first week Read More...
Greenwashing: The Conscientious Consumers Conundrum
“You have to hold yourself accountable for your actions, and that’s how we’re going to protect the Earth.” – Julia Butterfly Hill By Arielle Tiangco I have to admit, there was a time when I would shamelessly spend all my disposable income, from pouring smoothies at my part-time job, Read More...
8 Trends from 2021 We’ll Carry to the New Year
“Year's end is neither an end nor a beginning but a going on, with all the wisdom that experience can instill in us.” - Hal Borland It’s the time of year for reflections and projections as we take stock of all that has happened over the last twelve months and peer with hopeful curiosity Read More...
Book Excerpt: ‘Adaptable’ーHow to Lead with Curiosity, Pivot with Purpose, and Thrive through Change
“The path from dreams to success does exist. May you have the vision to find it, the courage to get on to it, and the perseverance to follow it.” - Kalpana Chawla What would happen if each time you failed you tried just one more time? What if you applied to one more job? Ran one more mile? Read More...