Resilient Optimism: How to Stay Hopeful When Life Is Hard with Michelle Gielan | 437

“Just stay positive” might be some of the most useless advice ever given when life is falling apart. Because resilient optimism isn’t pretending everything is fine, ignoring reality, or slapping a silver lining on something that just plain sucks. It’s believing that even when we can’t control what happens, we still have agency over what we do next. Michelle Gielan is a positive psychology researcher, bestselling author of Broadcasting Happiness, former CBS Morning News anchor, and author of Resilient Optimism: The Science of Sustaining a Positive Mindset in Tough Times. Her research explores how optimism impacts happiness, resilience, performance, productivity, and our ability to navigate stress, uncertainty, setbacks, and change. In this episode, Michelle and Nicole unpack why optimism isn’t just a feeling — it’s a behavior. We explore: What resilient optimism is — and how it differs from toxic positivity Why optimism is a behavior we can practice, not just a personality trait How to hold two truths at once with a “yes, and” mindset Why our brains naturally focus on threats and negative information The five trainable behaviors of resilient optimists How to recalibrate perspective without ignoring reality Why strategic rest and recovery can improve performance The impact of negative news, social media, and our information diet Why relationships and social connection are critical to happiness and optimism Optimism isn’t believing everything will work out exactly the way we want. It’s believing there’s still something worth doing before we know how the story ends. Thank you to our sponsors! Protect your loved ones without spying on them. Go to HeyPolo.com/work or use code WORK and get 70% off your first year Connect with Michelle: Book: https://www.resilientoptimism.com/ Substack: https://michellegielan.substack.com/ LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michellegielan/ Related Podcast Episodes Your Brain Is a Filthy Liar with Bizzie Gold | 361 The Stress Paradox: Why We Need Stress (and How to Make It Work for Us) with Dr. Sharon Horesh Bergquist | 294 Invite the Tiger to Tea: How to Turn Stress Into Strength with Dr. Rebecca Heiss | 340 Share the Love: If you found this episode insightful, please share it with a friend, tag us on social media, and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform! 🔗 Subscribe & Review:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | YouTube Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices