Poet Maggie Smith on embracing ambiguity

Worklife with Adam Grant

TED

Management, Worklife Podcast, Worklife With Adam Grant, Work Life Balance, Ted Talks, Podcast About Work Life, Ted Adam Grant, Adam Grant Podcasts, Ted Podcasts, Adam Grant, Organizational Psychologist, Business

4.8 • 9.4K Ratings

🗓️ 21 November 2023

⏱️ 45 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Poet and author Maggie Smith isn’t sure where she falls on the spectrum from optimism to pessimism. But her viral poem “Good Bones” and her bestselling books have inspired countless readers with profound insights on the messiness of being human. In this episode, Maggie and Adam discuss strategies for handling complex emotions, sustaining hope while acknowledging reality, and accepting ambiguity in life and art. They explore the value of asking questions that may not have a satisfying answer — or any answer at all. Transcripts for ReThinking are available at go.ted.com/RWAGscripts

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Ted Audio Collective.
0:02.0	Audio Collective.
0:04.0	Hey listener, a quick favor.
0:09.0	We are conducting an audience survey and we'd be really grateful if you could take just a few minutes to respond.
0:14.0	Please visit survey.PRX.org slash work life to take the survey today.
0:20.0	That's survey dot PRX.org slash work life.
0:24.0	Thanks.
0:25.0	Hey everyone, it's Adam Grant.
0:29.0	Welcome back to Rethinking,
0:30.0	by podcast on the science of what makes us tick.
0:33.4	I'm an organizational psychologist, and I'm taking you inside the minds of fascinating people
0:37.9	to explore new thoughts and new ways of thinking. My guest today is Poet Maggie Smith.
0:47.0	Her beloved and best-selling collections of poetry and prose
0:50.0	include Good Bones, Keep Moving, and Goldenrod.
0:54.0	And she recently published her debut memoir,
0:57.0	You Could Make This Place Beautiful.
0:59.0	If you haven't read it, it's a poignant exploration of rethinking her life in the wake of divorce.
1:04.0	It sparked many thoughts and questions for me as a writer and a psychologist,
1:08.0	especially about how we manage our emotions and forge our identities.
1:17.0	I think I'm a few minutes late because despite showing up in studio five minutes before start, I was so engrossed in rereading your book
1:25.4	that I lost track of time. That's the best excuse ever even if it's not true I'm
1:30.4	going to believe that it's true. It actually is true.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from TED, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of TED and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.