Download or read book You Can Be an Optimist written by Lucy MacDonald and published by The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc. This book was released on 2017-07-15 with total page 156 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Optimism is a key ingredient for happiness and success in life. Optimistic people have more fun, they're healthier, and they achieve more of their potential. Unfortunately, many people believe it is impossible to learn optimism. However, optimistic thinking is a skill anyone can learn. In this simple, practical title, readers will find twenty engaging exercises – including simple practices such as journaling, affirmation, and physical exercises – that will teach them to be optimistic. Readers will learn how to recognize and deal with problems as they arise, nurture a positive outlook, and be happier and more successful in life.
Download or read book The Optimist s Telescope written by Bina Venkataraman and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2020-08-25 with total page 338 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Named a Best Book of 2019 by NPR “How might we mitigate losses caused by shortsightedness? Bina Venkataraman, a former climate adviser to the Obama administration, brings a storyteller’s eye to this question. . . . She is also deeply informed about the relevant science.” —The New York Times Book Review A trailblazing exploration of how we can plan better for the future: our own, our families’, and our society’s. Instant gratification is the norm today—in our lives, our culture, our economy, and our politics. Many of us have forgotten (if we ever learned) how to make smart decisions for the long run. Whether it comes to our finances, our health, our communities, or our planet, it’s easy to avoid thinking ahead. The consequences of this immediacy are stark: Deadly outbreaks spread because leaders failed to act on early warning signs. Companies that fail to invest stagnate and fall behind. Hurricanes and wildfires turn deadly for communities that could have taken more precaution. Today more than ever, all of us need to know how we can make better long-term decisions in our lives, businesses, and society. Bina Venkataraman sees the way forward. A journalist and former adviser in the Obama White House, she helped communities and businesses prepare for climate change, and she learned firsthand why people don’t think ahead—and what can be done to change that. In The Optimist’s Telescope, she draws from stories she has reported around the world and new research in biology, psychology, and economics to explain how we can make decisions that benefit us over time. With examples from ancient Pompeii to modern-day Fukushima, she dispels the myth that human nature is impossibly reckless and highlights the surprising practices each of us can adopt in our own lives—and the ones we must fight for as a society. The result is a book brimming with the ideas and insights all of us need in order to forge a better future.
Download or read book The Making of an Optimist written by Hamilton Fyfe and published by . This book was released on 1921 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Learned Optimism written by Martin E.P. Seligman and published by Vintage. This book was released on 2011-08-10 with total page 338 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: NATIONAL BESTSELLER • The father of positive psychology draws on more than twenty years of clinical research to show you how to overcome depression, boost your immune system, and make yourself happier. "Vaulted me out of my funk.... So, fellow moderate pessimists, go buy this book." —The New York Times Book Review Offering many simple techniques anyone can practice, Dr. Seligman explains how to break an “I–give–up” habit, develop a more constructive explanatory style for interpreting your behavior, and experience the benefits of a more positive interior dialogue. With generous additional advice on how to encourage optimistic behavior at school, at work and in children, Learned Optimism is both profound and practical—and valuable for every phase of life.
Download or read book The Optimistic Workplace written by Shawn Murphy and published by AMACOM. This book was released on 2015-10-28 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: While you can't personally transform the corporate culture, you can influence the workplace climate and create meaningful and lasting change. Supported by the latest research, this eye-opening book argues that our best work is the product of a positive environment. When it comes to work these days, we're expected to do more with less--but is this nose-to-the-grindstone philosophy the best way to run a business? Alarmingly low employee engagement numbers indicate otherwise. So, if pushing everyone harder isn't the path to productivity, what is? Advocating a steward model of management, The Optimistic Workplace reveals how to: Explore personal and organizational purpose--and align them for astonishing results Overcome resistance and skepticism Build camaraderie and deepen loyalty Increase intrinsic motivation Help your team find meaning in their work Identify goals collaboratively and track progress Examples from companies large and small demonstrate how this people-centric focus ignites employee potential, increases innovation, and catapults the organization to new levels of performance. The Optimistic Workplace presents an array of surprisingly simple strategies as well as practical 30-, 60-, and 90-day plans designed to focus your actions and make employee optimism not just a worthy goal--but a real and measurable result.
Download or read book Optimists Die First written by Susin Nielsen and published by Wendy Lamb Books. This book was released on 2017-02-21 with total page 211 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Award-winning author Susin Nielsen has written a laugh-out-loud and heartrending novel for fans of Robyn Schneider’s Extraordinary Means and Cammie McGovern’s Say What You Will. Beware: Life ahead. Sixteen-year-old Petula de Wilde is anything but wild. A former crafting fiend with a happy life, Petula shut herself off from the world after a family tragedy. She sees danger in all the ordinary things, like crossing the street, a bug bite, or a germy handshake. She knows: life is out to get you. The worst part of her week is her comically lame mandatory art therapy class with a small group of fellow misfits. Then a new boy, Jacob, appears at school and in her therapy group. He seems so normal and confident, though he has a prosthetic arm; and soon he teams up with Petula on a hilarious project, gradually inspiring her to let go of some of her fears. But as the two grow closer, a hidden truth behind why he’s in the group threatens to derail them, unless Petula takes a huge risk. . . Praise: Bank Street Best Children’s Books of the Year “Nielsen writes with sensitivity, empathy, and humor.” —Kirkus Reviews, Starred “Nielsen excels at depicting troubled, clever teenagers in familiar environments.” —School Library Journal, Starred “[An] empathic and deeply moving story, balanced by sharply funny narration and dialogue.” —Publishers Weekly, Starred “A poignant exploration into the nuances of healing.” —Quill and Quire, Starred
Download or read book Believing Cassandra written by Alan AtKisson and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2012-07-26 with total page 242 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A bestseller on Amazon.com within months of its first release, Alan AtKisson's debut book quickly became a modern classic of sustainability literature. Global companies, grassroots groups, university courses, government agencies, and even the US Army ordered it by the box. Now fully revised and updated, Believing Cassandra: How to be an Optimist in a Pessimist's World is even more relevant, fresh, and motivating than when it first appeared in 1999. In a style that's refreshingly candid and vivid, with unforgettable personal anecdotes, AtKisson provides us with a bridge over the sea of despair, and shows us how to catch the wave to an enticing, sustainable future. He empowers the reader to join the pioneers who created the ideas, techniques and practices of sustainable living - the people who prove Cassandra's warnings wrong, by believing in them, and taking strategic action.
Download or read book The Optimism Bias written by Tali Sharot and published by Vintage. This book was released on 2011-06-14 with total page 273 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Psychologists have long been aware that most people maintain an irrationally positive outlook on life—but why? Turns out, we might be hardwired that way. In this absorbing exploration, Tali Sharot—one of the most innovative neuroscientists at work today—demonstrates that optimism may be crucial to human existence. The Optimism Bias explores how the brain generates hope and what happens when it fails; how the brains of optimists and pessimists differ; why we are terrible at predicting what will make us happy; how emotions strengthen our ability to recollect; how anticipation and dread affect us; how our optimistic illusions affect our financial, professional, and emotional decisions; and more. Drawing on cutting-edge science, The Optimism Bias provides us with startling new insight into the workings of the brain and the major role that optimism plays in determining how we live our lives.
Download or read book The Case for Rational Optimism written by Frank S. Robinson and published by Transaction Publishers. This book was released on 2011-12-31 with total page 345 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Case for Rational Optimism tackles a host of challenging subjects in an engaging, accessible, down-to-earth style. It is intellectually serious, ceaselessly intriguing, and devoid of banalities. While other books in this genre tend to be oriented toward self-help, this volume brings evolutionary biology, neuroscience, psychology, sociology, economics, and a keen sense of history to the topic. Robinson begins with three goals: making the case for feeling good about oneself, about humanity in general, and about the global situation. He addresses such seemingly disparate subjects as selfi shness versus altruism, mind and free will, human nature, and issues relating to economics, technology, the environment, and more. Unifying these ideas into a coherent philosophical whole are central concepts: evolution has endowed our species with more good qualities than bad, and why; those qualities, and our use of reason, are the foundations of civilization, and how; and, consistent with our nature, we make a better world by valuing human life therefore enabling others to fl ourish in ways they freely choose. The Case for Rational Optimism argues that the highly challenging conditions confronting early man created a Darwinian selective pressure for cooperation, even altruism, among members of a tribe. Th e author fi nds evidence for this in the way our brains work, and in observable human behavior. He argues against existential despair over the human condition. Even though there probably is no grand celestial design investing life with meaning, he considers this liberating, giving every person the freedom to craft their own meaning. To Robinson, whether sentient beings experience suff ering or joy is the only thing that matters; without emotive highs and lows, the Universe would hardly matter.
Download or read book It s Better Than It Looks written by Gregg Easterbrook and published by PublicAffairs. This book was released on 2018-02-20 with total page 413 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Is civilization teetering on the edge of a cliff? Or are we just climbing higher than ever? Most people who read the news would tell you that 2017 is one of the worst years in recent memory. We're facing a series of deeply troubling, even existential problems: fascism, terrorism, environmental collapse, racial and economic inequality, and more. Yet this narrative misses something important: by almost every meaningful measure, the modern world is better than it ever has been. In the United States, disease, crime, discrimination, and most forms of pollution are in long-term decline, while longevity and education keep rising and economic indicators are better than in any past generation. Worldwide, malnutrition and extreme poverty are at historic lows, and the risk of dying by war or violence is the lowest in human history. It's not a coincidence that we're confused -- our perspectives on the world are blurred by the rise of social media, the machinations of politicians, and our own biases. Meanwhile, political reforms like the Clean Air Act and technological innovations like the hybridization of wheat have saved huge numbers of lives. In that optimistic spirit, Easterbrook offers specific policy reforms to address climate change, inequality, and other problems, and reminds us that there is real hope in conquering such challenges. In an age of discord and fear-mongering, It's Better Than It Looks will profoundly change your perspective on who we are, where we're headed, and what we're capable of.
Download or read book Unbroken Optimist written by Kofi Douhadji and published by . This book was released on 2021-11-28 with total page 165 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Have you ever longed for a life of meaning? This was the dream of Kofi Douhadji, a boy born into scarcity in Togo, West Africa. Surrounded by less-than-ideal circumstances, he believed from a young age that if he remained diligent, he could achieve his goals. Several years later, Kofi began living the purpose-driven life of his ambitions and hopes to inspire others to do the same. From the small town of Afagnan to the sprawling country of the United States, Kofi relates his journey of both success and failure as he unveils his philosophy as an Unbroken Optimist. The key to his persistence through all of life's challenges.
Download or read book The Optimist written by Joshua Mehigan and published by Ohio University Press. This book was released on 2005-05-10 with total page 73 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Joshua Mehigan’s award-winning poetry, one encounters a lucid, resolute vision driven by an amazing facility with the metrical line. Most of the poems in The Optimist unapologetically employ traditional poetic technique, and, in each of these, Mehigan stretches the fabric of living language over a framework of regular meter to produce a compelling sonic counterpoint. The Optimist stares at contemporary darkness visible, a darkly lit tableau that erases the boundary between the world and the perceiving self. Whether narrative or lyric, dramatic or satirical, Mehigan’s poems explore death, desire, and change with a mixture of reason and compassion. In choosing The Optimist for the Hollis Summers Poetry Prize, final judge James Cummins, wrote: “The world is given its due in these poems, but its due is the subjective voice making ‘objective’ reality into the reality of art. To do this Mehigan accesses a tradition of voices—the echoes in The Optimist are, to name a few, of Frost, Robinson, Kees, and Justice; and more in terms of point of view, Bishop and Jarrell—to form with great integrity his own. It isn’t that Mehigan is concerned more with what’s outside himself than inside; nor merely that he travels the highway between the two with such humility and grace. It’s also that these voices, this great tradition, infuses his line with what the best verse, metrical or free, must have: wonder.”
Download or read book The Optimist s Guide to Letting Go written by Amy E. Reichert and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2018-05-15 with total page 352 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Three generations. Seven days. One big secret. The author of The Coincidence of Coconut Cake unfolds a mother-daughter story told by three women whose time to reckon with a life-altering secret is running out. Gina Zoberski wants to make it through one day without her fastidious mother, Lorraine, cataloguing all her faults, and her sullen teenage daughter, May, snubbing her. Too bad there’s no chance of that. Her relentlessly sunny disposition annoys them both, no matter how hard she tries. Instead, Gina finds order and comfort in obsessive list-making and her work at Grilled G’s, the gourmet grilled cheese food truck built by her late husband. But when Lorraine suffers a sudden stroke, Gina stumbles upon a family secret Lorraine's kept hidden for forty years. In the face of her mother’s failing health and her daughter’s rebellion, this optimist might find that piecing together the truth is the push she needs to let go...
Download or read book Memoirs of an Eternal Optimist written by Thione Niang and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2015-09-09 with total page 220 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Memoirs of An Eternal Optimist is a riveting story that tells the personal journey of international business leader and political strategist, Thione Niang. The story chronicles Niang's life as a young boy raised in a modest polygamist family of 28 in Kaolack, Senegal, to becoming the national Co-Chair of GEN44 Barack Obama's presidential campaign for voters under 40, called Gen44. Thione Niang, undeterred, persevered despite numerous obstacles, learning valuable life lessons from each achievement. Niang presents his journey to inspire those who hope to construct a better world for today and generations to come. He created Give1Project, a global nonprofit organization, for youth empowerment and it is currently in 30 countries.. This captivating book highlights the numerous adversities that Thione encountered as a young man, and is a testament to dreaming big. "In the moments when despair awaits, try to remember that you are acting not only for you, but also for your parents, friends and relatives, your city, your country. You do it for the youth of the world. In braving difficulties, by moving one step forward, you allow the youth of the world to improve, you make the world better. Thione Niang
Download or read book Contagious Optimism written by David Mezzapelle and published by Cleis Press. This book was released on 2013-06-11 with total page 411 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: David Mezzapelle was inspired to write this uplifting book based on his life's experiences and his own contagious optimism. He has influenced many people with his outlook and this book offers optimism to others around the globe. Contagious Optimism includes stories and parables of amazing life turnarounds from real people world-wide. A compendium of encouragement, Contagious Optimism also includes advice and guidance from business leaders, visionaries and professionals. Nowadays, many people have lost confidence in themselves and the world around them due to personal hardship along with economic and political uncertainty worldwide. Contagious Optimism shows readers that it’s possible to FIND the silver lining in every cloud. Developed by the team that brought you Random Acts of Kindness, this book is like Chicken Soup for the Soul meets Pay It Forward, on steroids! Contagious Optimism is pure inspiration that will lift hearts, open minds, and create a movement of pass-it-on hope and happiness. Featured stories and endorsements from "contagious optimists" such as: Michael Beckwith - Founder of the single largest interfaith church in America: LA's Agape. Nancy Ferrari - The "Oprah of AM Radio" Daniel Tully - Chairman Emeritus of Merrill Lynch and one of the top executives to ever grace Wall Street.
Download or read book No Time Like the Future written by Michael J. Fox and published by Flatiron Books. This book was released on 2020-11-17 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A moving account of resilience, hope, fear and mortality, and how these things resonate in our lives, by actor and advocate Michael J. Fox. The entire world knows Michael J. Fox as Marty McFly, the teenage sidekick of Doc Brown in Back to the Future; as Alex P. Keaton in Family Ties; as Mike Flaherty in Spin City; and through numerous other movie roles and guest appearances on shows such as The Good Wife and Curb Your Enthusiasm. Diagnosed at age 29, Michael is equally engaged in Parkinson’s advocacy work, raising global awareness of the disease and helping find a cure through The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, the world’s leading non-profit funder of PD science. His two previous bestselling memoirs, Lucky Man and Always Looking Up, dealt with how he came to terms with the illness, all the while exhibiting his iconic optimism. His new memoir reassesses this outlook, as events in the past decade presented additional challenges. In No Time Like the Future: An Optimist Considers Mortality, Michael shares personal stories and observations about illness and health, aging, the strength of family and friends, and how our perceptions about time affect the way we approach mortality. Thoughtful and moving, but with Fox’s trademark sense of humor, his book provides a vehicle for reflection about our lives, our loves, and our losses. Running through the narrative is the drama of the medical madness Fox recently experienced, that included his daily negotiations with the Parkinson’s disease he’s had since 1991, and a spinal cord issue that necessitated immediate surgery. His challenge to learn how to walk again, only to suffer a devastating fall, nearly caused him to ditch his trademark optimism and “get out of the lemonade business altogether.” Does he make it all of the way back? Read the book.
Download or read book The Rational Optimist written by Matt Ridley and published by Harper Collins. This book was released on 2011-06-07 with total page 482 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For two hundred years the pessimists have dominated public discourse, insisting that things will soon be getting much worse. But in fact, life is getting better—and at an accelerating rate. Food availability, income, and life span are up; disease, child mortality, and violence are down all across the globe. Africa is following Asia out of poverty; the Internet, the mobile phone, and container shipping are enriching people's lives as never before. In his bold and bracing exploration into how human culture evolves positively through exchange and specialization, bestselling author Matt Ridley does more than describe how things are getting better. He explains why. An astute, refreshing, and revelatory work that covers the entire sweep of human history—from the Stone Age to the Internet—The Rational Optimist will change your way of thinking about the world for the better.
