EPISODE · Jul 31, 2025 · 9 MIN
1525 || the case for tragic optimism
from Make Your Damn Bed
Because humanity has been here a while, and books exist where people write down what they do to deal with hard shit, there are plenty of first hand accounts of people not just surviving but thriving after dealing with the impossible. Survival is context based and has no rules or generalizations that would be fair, so I’ll skip that - but beyond surviving, if you want to feel like you’re actually filling that deep, dark void that has been strategically implanted into all of us when we were born into a society that puts profits over people, you have to sometimes face or shoulder shit that shouldn’t be your responsibility to face or shoulder. So how do we do it? Victor Frankl makes a case for tragic optimism. Today we discuss what that means. The Sources: Victor Frankl's "Man's Search for Meaning" and "The Case for Tragic Optimism" https://antilogicalism.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/mans-search-for-meaning.pdfA blog post breakdown of "The Case for Tragic Optimism" https://www.rewriting-the-rules.com/self/tragic-optimism/ Lit Charts for "The Case for Tragic Optimism": https://www.litcharts.com/lit/man-s-search-for-meaning/postscript-1984-the-case-for-tragic-optimismResources for Resisting a Coup: https://makeyourdamnbed.medium.com/practical-guides-to-resisting-a-coup-b44571b9ad66SUPPORT Julie (and the show!): https://supporter.acast.com/make-your-damn-bedDONATE to the Palestinian Children's Relief Fund: www.pcrf.netGET AN OCCASIONAL PERSONAL EMAIL FROM ME: www.makeyourdamnbedpodcast.comTUNE IN ON INSTAGRAM FOR COOL CONTENT: www.instagram.com/mydbpodcastOR BE A REAL GEM + TUNE IN ON PATREON: www.patreon.com/MYDBpodcastOR WATCH ON YOUTUBE: www.youtube.com/juliemerica The opinions expressed by Julie Merica and Make Your Damn Bed Podcast are intended for entertainment purposes only. Make Your Damn Bed podcast is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/make-your-damn-bed. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
What this episode covers
Because humanity has been here a while, and books exist where people write down what they do to deal with hard shit, there are plenty of first hand accounts of people not just surviving but thriving after dealing with the impossible. Survival is context based and has no rules or generalizations that would be fair, so I’ll skip that - but beyond surviving, if you want to feel like you’re actually filling that deep, dark void that has been strategically implanted into all of us when we were born into a society that puts profits over people, you have to sometimes face or shoulder shit that shouldn’t be your responsibility to face or shoulder. So how do we do it? Victor Frankl makes a case for tragic optimism. Today we discuss what that means. The Sources: Victor Frankl's "Man's Search for Meaning" and "The Case for Tragic Optimism" https://antilogicalism.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/mans-search-for-meaning.pdfA blog post breakdown of "The Case for Tragic Optimism" https://www.rewriting-the-rules.com/self/tragic-optimism/ Lit Charts for "The Case for Tragic Optimism": https://www.litcharts.com/lit/man-s-search-for-meaning/postscript-1984-the-case-for-tragic-optimismResources for Resisting a Coup: https://makeyourdamnbed.medium.com/practical-guides-to-resisting-a-coup-b44571b9ad66SUPPORT Julie (and the show!): https://supporter.acast.com/make-your-damn-bedDONATE to the Palestinian Children's Relief Fund: www.pcrf.netGET AN OCCASIONAL PERSONAL EMAIL FROM ME: www.makeyourdamnbedpodcast.comTUNE IN ON INSTAGRAM FOR COOL CONTENT: www.instagram.com/mydbpodcastOR BE A REAL GEM + TUNE IN ON PATREON: www.patreon.com/MYDBpodcastOR WATCH ON YOUTUBE: www.youtube.com/juliemerica The opinions expressed by Julie Merica and Make Your Damn Bed Podcast are intended for entertainment purposes only. Make Your Damn Bed podcast is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/make-your-damn-bed. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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1525 || the case for tragic optimism
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