How to Be a Better Human How to find your purpose (w/ Yara Shahidi) (video)
Mar 16, 2026
Yara Shahidi, actress, producer, activist and Harvard grad, talks about optimism as practice, creating a “Hard Yes” list, and using a family ‘highest order’ tool to shape purpose. She reflects on studying before speaking up, balancing identities, and why curiosity and amateur play fuel meaningful work.
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Optimism Is A Daily Practice
- Optimism is a practice not naive belief.
- Yara learned pessimism got her nowhere, so optimism became the active choice to do more than nothing even amid complexity.
Use History To Anchor Hope
- History can reframe despair into possibility by showing cumulative progress.
- Yara cites her 1963 tattoo as a reminder of generational work that made her present life possible.
Create A Hard Yes List
- Build a Hard Yes list of things that reliably bring you joy and energy.
- Yara and her mother tracked specific items (colors, people, concerts, coffee dates) to use as immediate, material resets when overwhelmed.