Instahappiness
Could one online inspirational quote actually change your life?
As New Year approaches, you might be looking for some inspiration to help you 鈥榯urn a new leaf鈥�, or 鈥榖e the best you鈥� or maybe even 鈥榓dd life to your days, not days to your life鈥�. Thankfully, if none of these are inspirational enough, the pithy spark you鈥檙e looking for is probably lurking in your social media timeline, just waiting to help you turn your life around. Right?
Whether it鈥檚 a quote from Einstein, a zinger from Marie Curie, or a simple reminder to Live, Laugh, Love 鈥� it will probably appear with a picture of a warm sunrise, or flowers blowing in a breeze. Glib? Perhaps. Life changing? Also, perhaps. The perfect topic for a fun investigation around an ever-growing trend? Definitely.
India Rakusen wants to get under the skin of this seemingly harmless international phenomenon and find out if one quote can change her life. She鈥檒l be joined by journalist and sceptic Anisa Subedar as they both try and live by a mantra. On the way she鈥檒l discover how the brain responds to inspirational siren calls by talking to behavioural neuroscientist Patricia Riddell and will meet a therapist who tells us when we need to remain wary. She鈥檒l be meeting those, like eternal optimist Basma Fawzy, who swears a quote really can work, as well as those who want to see them disappeared by the great delete button in the sky. Author James Fell explains epiphanies and Japanese writer and lawyer Yutaka Yazawa explores the power of the proverb.
