On this Music Monday episode of Happiness Through Creating, we take a deeper look at Pink’s 2012 song “Try,” moving beyond its reputation as a motivational anthem. Rather than a song about confidence or winning, we reframe “Try” as a meditation on endurance, desire, and the discipline of continuing to create when outcomes are uncertain. Drawing from Pink’s personal context, psychology, and creative philosophy, this episode explores the difference between pain and failure, forward-facing purpose versus backward-facing rumination, and why meaningful creation always involves risk. Together, we’re invited to see discomfort not as a signal to stop, but as evidence that something meaningful is happening—and to understand trying not as a guarantee of success, but as an act of identity.

Here is a link to the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTCDVfMz15M

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In this episode, we take an analytical deep dive into the 2025 World Happiness Report—not as a list of rankings, but as a research document that reveals how happiness is created, sustained, and undermined at both individual and societal levels. Rather than asking who is happiest, we examine what the data suggests about the conditions that allow happiness to emerge.

We explore the report’s focus on caring and sharing as measurable social behaviors, along with key findings such as Finland’s sustained high life satisfaction, gaps between expected and actual generosity, the role of social trust, shared meals, and the growing impact of loneliness. These insights help frame happiness as a collective, system-level outcome rather than a purely internal emotional state.

This episode highlights trust as a form of social infrastructure, relationships as a key creative resource, and everyday behaviors as powerful drivers of well-being. The data points toward a clear conclusion: happiness is not something we simply feel—it is something we help construct through norms, institutions, and repeated acts of connection.

As creators, we are invited to see happiness not as a personal achievement, but as something we continuously build together.

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In this episode, we explore the life of Jesse Owens as more than a sports legend—and as a powerful example of what it means to create your life in the face of opposition. From his childhood in poverty and segregation to his historic four gold medals at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, Jesse Owens’ story shows how identity, expression, and integrity can exist even when the world resists them.

Through moments of triumph, misunderstanding, and quiet perseverance, we reflect on creativity as an act of self-definition. Owens didn’t set out to make a political statement—he simply ran his race—but his honest expression challenged ideology, connected people across divides, and left a lasting mark on history. This episode invites us to consider how creation refines us, how recognition isn’t guaranteed, and how happiness comes from continuing to create anyway.

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