Adversity and Resilience in Human Flourishing (video)

Thought leaders President of Women in Africa and Nigerian Human Rights Activist, Hafsat Abiola; Harvard social scientist professor, Arthur Brooks; Bishop of Oxford, Rt Revd Dr. Steven Croft; University of Pennsylvania Character Lab’s founder and CEO, Angela Duckworth; President of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, The Honorable Shirley Ann Jackson; AGRA President and UN Special Envoy, Agnes Kalibata; internationally acclaimed musician and advocate of American culture, Wynton Marsalis; and Yale University cognitive scientist, Laurie Santos share how grit, the ups and downs of life, and post-traumatic growth impact our capacity to flourish in the fifth installment of the Stories of Impact video series.

Key ideas from this video:

• We can't flourish without adversity because we need purpose in our lives to truly flourish. Purpose requires learning, growth, challenge, and tension.
• Grit means that you're working towards something so meaningful that you persevere despite setbacks. When we face crucibles, we understand more about what we're made of. If you embrace the notion that there's no challenge you can't meet, it's a superpower.
• A flourishing life is not always a uniformly happy life. Flourishing means negotiating a range of experiences. Moments of peace and happiness and joy in our lives are needed in order to sustain us through the more difficult areas. In times of difficulties, it's useful to have strategies for navigating negative emotions.

Templeton World Charity Foundation’s “Stories of Impact” videos by journalist and senior media executive Richard Sergay feature human stories and critical perspectives on breakthroughs about the universe’s big questions.The inspiring narratives and observations in these award-winning videos portray the individual and societal impacts of the projects that bring to life TWCF-supported research.