Feel Good Stories about Overcoming Challenges
Tell yourself a story.
We’ve said it before: learning history is really consuming “stories about how humans across time and space have confronted challenges and made choices.” It is any wonder we’re especially thirsty for inspiring stories to light the path ahead? Neurologically speaking, engaging with a triumphant character-driven story actually releases oxytocin (the “love” neurochemical). On a more basic level, stories from the past reveal important truths: that people overcome seemingly insurmountable challenges, that we all (no matter how ordinary we may feel) can do extraordinary things—and that meeting daunting challenges reveals our true character. We found the stories that make us want to put on our good sweatpants and take on the world.
Actually, it is rocket science.Think you know how long it took to put a man on the moon? Well, there’s a reason they called it the Apollo 11: It was over a decade. We loved this amazing PBS special about the space program, from audacious inception through failures and loss—to ultimate triumph. It reminds us the impossible is sometimes within reach. We keep this clip bookmarked for an inspiring burst complete with a soaring M83 soundtrack.
Success: a mess.You know that famous illustration showing what success looks like (a hot mess) versus what we think it looks like (a straight line)? Consider How I Built This the audio version of that premise. The stories behind some of our best-known companies reveal a lot of misfires on their way to the top. One of our favorites: Instacart’s founder first conceived of a social network for lawyers, an idea that didn’t hold up in the court of public opinion (newsflash-lawyers don’t have time to be social).
Hope in harvest.A dog. A run-down farm. A young couple from the city. This documentary has every element of an epic man (and woman) vs. nature tale. You might say not everything goes as planned, but the couple’s resolve—along with the community of helpers surrounding the farm—is so encouraging. You might even be moved to plant a victory garden of your own (or at least hug your dog).
Earth-shattering evolution.Faced with his own rare cancer, impending financial hardship and his father’s dramatic decline, Bruce Feiler came to the logical conclusion that our lives are increasingly nonlinear. In his book Life Is in the Transitions: Mastering Change at Any Age he recounts his and others’ “lifequakes” (a pile-up of life disruptors), showing us the way to manage these ever-increasing major transitions. Just in time for 2020 and its magnitude 8 quakes.
Good trouble. We lost a true American treasure this year when Congressman and Civil Rights leader John Lewis passed away. In his memoir Walking with the Wind: A Memoir of the Movement, he recounts his journey from son of a sharecropper to young force in the Civil Rights movement to US Congressman. Follow up your read with this well-timed new documentary.
