Blue Sky Podcast Celebrates National Optimism Month In March

  Did you know that March is National Optimism Month? Being optimistic is now harder than ever. Politicians not in power describe doom and gloom. Social media is a viper's nest of the worst humanity has to offer. The local news only focuses on the bad stuff -- fires, crime, violence, and even meteorological scare tactics. Intolerance threatens democracy globally as we are expected to conform to a specific lifestyle and religion. 

But there is still plenty of reason to be optimistic. Reason number one for optimism is personal health and wellness. 

An American study of 2,564 men and women who were 65 and older also found that optimism is good for blood pressure. Researchers used a four-item positive-emotion summary scale to evaluate each participant during a home visit. They also measured blood pressure, height, and weight and collected information about age, marital status, alcohol use, diabetes, and medication. Even after taking these other factors into account, people with positive emotions had lower blood pressures than those with a negative outlook. On average, the people with the most positive emotions had the lowest blood pressures.

The results of this research show that compared to optimists, pessimists nurtured little hope for the future and were more at risk for depressive and anxiety disorders, with subsequent impairment of social functioning and quality of life. The role of optimism in the quality of life has also been investigated in depressive disorders emerging in patients suffering from somatic pathologies, (such as acute coronary syndrome, for instance) in which a significant inverse correlation was found between dispositional optimism and level of satisfaction in life on one hand and depressive symptoms emerging after the cardiovascular event on the other hand

What does all this have to do with podcasting? 

Two words. Blue Sky.

  Blue Sky is hosted by Bill Burke, founder of The Optimism Institute, and this weekly podcast features inspiring leaders, authors, researchers, and big thinkers who are taking on some of our world’s toughest challenges with an infectious sense of optimism. Blue Sky takes its name from the meditation reminder that there’s always blue sky above, sometimes you just have to get your head above the clouds to see it.

The show is hosted by Bill Burke, founder of The Optimism Institute and former media executive (president of TBS Superstation, and led the launch of Turner Classic Movies!)

Since March is National Optimism Month, the Blue Sky podcast has a special milestone 50th episode with author / podcaster Kelly Corrigan of the Kelly Corrigan Wonders podcast. 

On the 50th episode, Kelly Corrigan describes to Bill Burke the many things she’s learned in her life and career about optimism and how we all can benefit from life’s setbacks to become better people and forge stronger relationships. Kelly reflects on lessons she learned from her parents, and how facing her own cancer diagnosis and battle with the disease left her with a greater sense of empathy for others with similar hardships. She also explains why she thinks intellectual humility is a key ingredient for an optimistic outlook, and also that “there’s no feeling as good as being useful to someone.”

It is a thoughtful, lively, entertaining, and thoroughly optimistic discussion.  

One of my favorite episodes is with Kathryn Goetzke in August 2023. Following a challenging childhood and the tragic death of her father, Goetzke decided that the best way to tackle depression and despair is to create reasons for hope.  After studying the issue deeply with experts in psychology, she determined that hope was both teachable and measurable and has made it her life’s work to spread this message.   In 2022, she published The Biggest Little Book About Hope, and continues to be a global mental health ambassador. She was recently appointed to represent the World Federation for Mental Health at the United Nations and in this Blue Sky episode she describes how she came to be so passionate about this work and why she remains so committed to the cause of spreading the good news about the powerful effects of maintaining a hopeful attitude.

Check out Blue Sky. Burke is a terrific host with a pleasing voice and humble manner, but he's not a pie-in-the-sky Pollyanna. There are so many energizing episodes where Burke talks with people who have a "get-it-done" mentality instead of a "what's the use" mindset. 

I'll end by stating that I am optimistic that you will listen to Blue Sky. 

As President Dwight D. Eisenhower once said, "Pessimism never won any battle."