Adopting Stubborn Optimism – Political Strategist Tom Rivett-Carnac Makes a Case for Optimism (TrendHunter.com)

After joining the United Nations, political strategist Tom Rivett-Carnac was astonished at the banality and slow rate of change that occurred during UN meetings. After a number of meetings, and little significant change, the speaker began to feel as though he only had control over day-to-day actions, such as riding a bike to work, or choosing a sustainable lunch option — this was disheartening for him.

The speaker then goes on to explain the tricks your mind will play in order to protect you so you don’t feel completely out of control. These include convincing yourself that the issues aren’t important, or as imminent as we’ve been led to believe — this, according to Rivett-Carnac, results in a mindset that allows for people to stop caring in order to protect themselves form losing control. Instead, the speaker encourages the audience to adopt a mindset of blind, and stubborn optimism, that hopes and fights for change even when the light at the end of the tunnel isn’t visible. As Rivett-Carnac himself puts it “”Stubborn optimism can fill our lives with meaning and purpose.”

Image Credit: TED