Choosing Optimism

Happy Thursday, everyone!

“There is good in us, and it does good for us,” says Jamil Zaki.

I recently tuned into another great podcast, #HelloMondayPodcast, and this past Monday (1/30), Jessi Hempel interviewed Professor Jamil Zaki, a researcher at the Stanford Social Neuroscience Lab. He’s spent over 15 years studying human interactions, and his insights really resonated with me.

While the podcast delves into some scientific discussions that can be a bit dry, the underlying message is deeply powerful: trust, the words we speak to ourselves, the importance of embracing curiosity, and finding ways to remain optimistic, even in a world where the news often feels overwhelmingly bleak. And let’s be real—the news cycle in the U.S. lately has been hard to digest.

In the episode “Choosing Optimism with Jamil Zaki,” the conversation covered several thought-provoking topics:

• What humans need to learn in order to trust each other again.
• Reframing optimism as a muscle that needs to be strengthened.
• The power of storytelling in uniting people around a shared vision for the future.
• Why optimism is still merited—even now.

I really encourage you to take a listen to the Choosing Optimism with Jamil Zaki episode. It’s a great reminder of how optimism isn’t just about ignoring the negative—it’s about strengthening our emotional resilience in a world that often feels fractured.

As for me, I’m all in for strengthening my optimism muscle in 2023. How about you?

Let me know if anything in the podcast resonates with you! I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Happy Thursday to you all!

-srt