No. The world is not falling apart.

well here we go again imagine you have a friend a friend who has seen and heard all about the terrible things in the world and has since become convinced convinced that nothing good is likely to come the realistic view they argue is that we can only assume the worst for the planet and for Humanity the good is at best a cute but unobtainable fiction we tell ourselves to feel better what could you say to this friend to change their mind to convince them otherwise well this is exactly what I set out to do this past

year to write a defense of optimism and the result is this film I call it The Optimist Playbook four Concepts four ideas that offer a different look at the world around us pieces of advice and philosophy that inform my worldview and that go to show that optimism is not a mere delusion and May in fact be the correct stance with which to confront reality what better way to start the year than by addressing Humanity's biggest desire and need the desire for meaning and need for Hope can I tell you what I think when I look

out when I look at the world around me I've got this feeling that something good is going to happen I read the news I hear all about the tragedy of life and I feel it I do but I'm not cynical you have to understand is that people are selling you a narrative they want you to be scared because they're scared it's a worldview built on fear guilt shame power but it's only half the picture the other half o wonderment abundance optimism I mean that's the new Rebellion the most Punk thing you can be nowadays is

an optimist because it's the most indefensible thing to see the world as it is and be an optimist are you mad to see the suffering that we cause and still believe in humans yeah actually yeah and I will lose every debate and every argument against people smarter than me rational people but that's just it this this this is not a rational place this is a place between everything and nothing7 [Music] just arrived in St Louis Missouri I'm going to spend the next 5 days making a song with a guy I met on the internet there's

two reasons I've come 4,000 mi from home to meet and work with Owen first he has experience arranging and recording string instruments something I've never done before and he agreed that if I made my way to his hometown he could organize recording sessions for violin Viola and cello and show me how it's done what how are you doing good to see you good to see you ome this is nice it's just to the right size and second he like me is an optimist when I first discovered his music it was clear that he poured his

heart and soul into it that he was contending with all the problems of life and the world but through it all still looking to find the silver lining if I want to tell a story wor about optimism and Express in musical form what I've been feeling I couldn't wish for a better collaborator than him we're both we're both sitting here like we're about to push each other out of this box and I love it cuz we're going to make some cool [ __ ] I mean what's also good is I'm still barely awake don't yeah

so optimism what can I tell you about optimism well there's actually a tweet that I want to read to you and yeah Twitter is not usually where you go for great life advice but this is a really this is a really good tweet honestly the number one reason to stay alive is just to see what happens next when you realize that it makes sense to take risks and try new things and meet new people and make bold decisions because those actions often result in being pleasantly surprised by how your life turns out this is Blake

by the way a friend of Owens who is kind enough to come and play all the viola and violin parts for the song if you go in with the expectation that things are not going to work that your ideas are bad that is exactly what you'll find and equally if you go in wanting a very specific thing wanting to control the outcome that too often doesn't work but if you let chance and Circumstance into the process you let say a couch you find on the side of the road influence the entire music video you set

yourself up for surprising weird things to unfold [Music] you won't believe it gray hair my age I started taking flying lessons recently you know what my flying instructor told me if you are starting here wish to get here and you have a crosswind you will drift and you will land here so you have to do what we Pilots call crabbing he told me CR a crabbing you have to head for north of this Airfield and you have to fly that way you see as if you headed in this direction if you are heading here above

this Airfield then you will actually land here but if you head for here you are landing here this holds also for for man I would say if we take man as he really is we make him worse if we seem to be idealist and are overestimating overrating man looking at him that high here above we promote him to what he really can be so we have to be idealists in a way because then we'll find up as the true the real realist if we take man as he is we make him worse but if we

take man as he should be we make him capable of becoming what he can be this was not my flight instructor this was not me this was [Music] good stop quiet down you don't need to have it all figured out a tragedy I forgive you for trying to make me believe that I I was in the RO for shaking things up and not playing along but I hear a Melody that may lead me astray but it's calling for me f but getting closer reaching back to myself on my way on my way I'm on my

way I more in between the lines oh I get lost all the time but you you'll have to wait and see for I'll make it back to the big bang theory proposes that in the beginning whole energy of the universe was concentrated into one point space didn't exist because there was no difference between up or down left or right time didn't exist because everything was everything forever before and nothing would change that but then miraculously something changed a disturbance in this one point of energy and as a result everything quite literally all energy in matter

came spilling [Music] out whereas before matter was pulling itself tightly together it is now ripping itself apart free to expand into space and time free to take shape and to lose it to rise and to fall spreading all energy out across Infinite Space but to what end to nothingness every form exists briefly before disintegrating before being pulled apart once more until finally the universe reaches its resting state one uniform blanket with no bumps no Peaks no troughs no distinction between up or down left or right time will cease to exist just as it wasn't there

before so we find ourselves in a place between everything and [Music] nothing I like to think about that there was no perfect world in the past that we desperately need to return to and there is no perfect world that awaits us ahead there is the in between the gray the unexplainable and there is a crosswind a cosmological force downwards mat falling down decaying breaking apart yet in the midst of all that we find life doing quite literally the opposite you can think of humans as bad if you want as being on a downward trajectory as

being destructive or as I do you can see that the downward trajectory the destruction is the norm is universal has always and will always be the thing that is exceptional is our ability to create to imagine good and to bring it into being to live to stand to make beautiful things the pessimist will see the good as the Baseline and reality as a grave disappointment The Optimist will see the bad as the Baseline and any good at all as a rare gift really it's it's just a choice That's What It ultimately is sure I can

tell you about how your expectations of Life influence the life you live or Victor Frankle can tell you that we should do what we Pilots coal crabbing and overestimate and idealize in order to reach a realistic outcome or I can tell you to zoom out even further than that forget all the human crap and see that we are taking part in a cosmological phenomena that shouldn't even exist yet it does but it's not about those things those are interesting thoughts but at the end of the day it's a choice do you choose to love life

in spite of everything do you choose to love life that's optimism that's optimism us the moment you could fall never mind doubting trust something I'm finding through it allness the business that bother and bordom and makes me so anxious I'm finding truth to be gorgeous the laughter of course so [Music] gracious getting closer reaching back to myself on my [Applause] [Music] way [Music] my in between the Li oh I get lost all the time but sure you'll have to wait and see or I'll make it back to [Music]