How to find your purpose (w/ Yara Shahidi) (video)
From How to Be a Better Human by TED
March 16, 2026 · 40 min
About this episode
Yara Shahidi discusses finding purpose and optimism through personal experiences and decision-making.
“Optimism is not what exists in a vacuum on your best day, but how you're pulling through for yourself on your worst days,” says actress Yara Shahidi. Yara is known for her sitcoms Black-ish and its spinoff Grown-ish. She shares what she learned from creating a “Hard Yes” list, why she chose to attend Harvard after acting, and why she thinks anyone can find their highest order if they pay attention. Featured guest Follow Yara Shahidi on Instagram and at yarashahidi.com/ Listen to The Optimist Project podcast Connect with the team Follow Chris on Instagram and at chrisduffycomedy.com Buy Chris’ book, Humor Me Watch How to Be a Better Human videos on YouTube at TEDAudioCollective Follow TED on X , Instagram , Facebook , LinkedIn , and TikTok For the full text transcript, visit go.ted.com/BHTranscripts Learn more about our flagship conference happening this April at attend.ted.com/podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
People in this episode
Host: Chris Duffy
Guest: Yara Shahidi
Topics covered
- finding purpose
- optimism
- self-improvement
- personal growth
- decision making
Keywords
- purpose
- optimism
- Yara Shahidi
- self-improvement
- Hard Yes list
- Harvard
- personal growth
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Harvard, The Optimist Project, TED
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