With the recent ending of the North American leg of Hilary Duff’s Lucky Me Tour, it feels like an appropriate time to return to the luck…or something album for a deeper read. Of the album’s many personal moments, “The Optimist” stands out as a particularly memorable one, illustrating the lasting impact of a complicated relationship […]
Authentic leadership styles can boost job performance, aid in navigating difficult situations, lift employee spirits, and boost productivity. Positivity can be a great attitude to have in workplace settings, but can there be too much of it? The term ‘toxic positivity’ refers to maintaining an optimistic mindset without acknowledging the individual’s situation. It can negatively […]
Amidst all the difficulties surrounding our daily lives, many are tempted to turn to a cynical worldview. Many factors play into one's perspective of the world. Whether it be pandemics of mental and viral illnesses, the threat of impending climate change, social and political upheaval. In his Ted Talk entitled How to escape the cynicism […]
Optimism is a poem by E.C. Belli from her debut collection of poems, Objects of Hunger. True to its title, the poem is about optimism, but not in an obvious sense. The poem speaks of a ‘rust’ morning and how the ‘incompetent’ heart speaks the language of ‘stones’. In this selection of words, one senses […]
Glennon Doyle Melton delivers a moving TED Talk that exposes her struggles with shame and addiction starting from an early age. Using binging and alcohol as shields, she hid her real self from the world, trying to escape her individual pain. Then, as she recovered, she re-claimed herself and found enough hope to face each […]
David Feingold is an artist who was hit by a car when he was a child and sustained a significant traumatic brain injury, which led to both temporal lobe epilepsy and cognitive impairments. The brain trauma that David experienced as a young child eventually manifested itself in the form of Bipolar Disorder as an adolescent. […]
“Invictus” is a short Victorian poem written by William Ernest Henley and published in 1888. He wrote this piece during a lengthy hospital stay for tuberculosis, after he underwent a leg amputation as a result of the infectious disease. Despite the turmoil in his life, he wrote this poem as a message to stay optimistic, […]
This poem, written by Colleen Mulroney, describes the constant experience of pain overshadowing happiness. Despite the overall melancholy tone of the piece, she does end the poem on a positive note, by encouraging people to seek and accept happiness, despite how terrifying it might seem. A Scary Thing - Colleen Mulroney Happiness is a scary […]
“The Final Masquerade” is a rock ballad by the band Linkin Park that implies a sense of negativity and foreboding. Interestingly, however, the instrumentals create a juxtaposition by evoking a powerful sense of optimism to continue moving forward through life’s struggles. The music video, released in 2014, illustrates this contrast further. MusicinsiderU explains: "The message […]
In their song, 'High Hopes', the alternative-rock band Kodaline tries to convey a sense of optimism to the listener through lyrics like, "But I've got high hopes, it takes me back to when we started. High hopes, when you let it go, go out and start again." Steve Garrigan, a member of the band, told […]