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.
Bill Gates explains his optimism: 'things are tending to improve'
Speaking with Bill Gates is like reading multiple Wikipedia entries. Ask a question, and you typically get a slight pause before he delivers a thoughtful paragraph or three of an answer that, in the age of Twitter haikus, is refreshingly comprehensive. To get a sense of that level of discourse, Read More...
Deepak Chopra designed apartments to maximize joy
Happiness guru and alternative health practitioner Deepak Chopra — who gained mainstream attention after his appearance on Oprah in 1993 — is now venturing into home design. Chopra helped design the apartments in a new complex, Muse Residences, in Miami, Read More...
A workspace filled with green plants boosts productivity and morale
Calmness. Focus. A strong immune system. These are all benefits that come with being in nature, something usually not found in the office workspace. To spruce up an office that might otherwise be dull and sterile, a firm in Lisbon has added 1,000 plants of varying sizes to create a space that not Read More...
For the first time since 2007, every EU economy is growing at the same time
Economically speaking, the European Union is performing better than it has in a long while. For the first time since 2007, all 28 of the union’s member economies are growing at the same time, on an annual basis. Unemployment is also at its lowest point across the region since 2009, and the GDP Read More...
4 tips for dealing with negative thinking when the world seems doomed
Whether you’re wringing your hands over the unpredictability of Trump or Brexit, or distracted by anxiety towards your relationship, there’s nothing fun about being plagued by negative thoughts. A recent survey by Harris Poll for the American Psychological Association showed that the divisive Read More...
Massive universal basic income trial set to rollout in Kenya
Despite trials in the 1960s and 1970s in the US, Canada, and India, we still don’t know if universal basic income reduces poverty while enhancing quality of life. In the coming years we may find out as a universal basic income program is set to begin in Kenya. The program, called GiveDirectly, Read More...
Want to help fight legal battles? There’s a crowdfunding site for that
When online crowdfunding sites like Kickstarter and GoFundMe debuted, people hoping to invent and sell a better bottle opener, those in need of help with medical bills and all sorts of personal would-be fundraisers talked about the concept in grand, world-changing ways. This, they said, was a Read More...
4 inspiring TED talks that will help you (finally) spend less time on Facebook
Do you think you spend too much time on Facebook? If you answered yes, you're probably right. The social media giant revealed last year that its 1.8 billion users spend an average 50 minutes on its services (including Instagram). That's more than one sixteenth of your time awake, or one eighth of Read More...
Online gaming as a tool to finance microloans for Third World entrepreneurs
What if a little bit of every in-app purchase made by online gamers went to help microloans to entrepreneurs in developing countries? PlaySeeds, a new product, is working on making this happen by integrating itself directly into the game environment to encourage gamers already playing the game to Read More...
This new technology could make globalization work for everyone
There are many good things about globalization. The blending of cultures and races creates a global human family that could live in more harmony and peace with each other and the planet. The challenge is that globalization—as we know it—doesn’t work well enough. There are too many people who Read More...