“There's so much more to us and to the world than just what's broken.” - Dr. Lindsey Godwin

How do we find joy when the world feels overwhelming?

In this episode of Standing Up Strong, guest host Dr. Jillian Coppley sits down with Dr. Lindsey Godwin to talk about resilience, hope, and the power of paying attention to what’s good. Lindsey says joy isn’t about ignoring life’s challenges—it’s about finding the strength to face them. She talks through the science behind our tendency to focus on the negative, the importance of creating space for what truly matters, and the little moments of beauty and connection that help us keep going. This conversation is a reminder that joy can exist alongside struggle—and that noticing it may be one of the most important things we do.

Dr. Lindsey Godwin is the Robert P. Stiller Endowed Chair and Professor of Management at Champlain College, where she teaches leadership, Appreciative Inquiry, and positive organizational change. She serves as the Academic Director of the David L. Cooperrider Center for Appreciative Inquiry, partnering with organizations around the world to design strengths-based approaches to leadership and change. Lindsey is also the co-founder of Bellflower Street and co-author of the #1 new release Ditch the Ditty: Doing What Matters Instead of Doing It All, a practical guide that helps women move from over-obligation and overwhelm to greater clarity, purpose, and intentional decision-making.

Dr. Jillian Coppley is a visionary executive recognized internationally for her expertise in character strengths, wellbeing, and organizational transformation. With deep experience in positive psychology, strategy, and change, she has led large-scale collaborations, built global programs, strategic partnerships, and thriving organizational cultures that empower individuals, teams and organizations to flourish. Her leadership blends strategic vision, research-based innovation, and deep personal care for others —creating environments where people and programs thrive and where meaningful, lasting impact takes root.

This series is part of the Cynthia & Harold Guttman Family Center for Storytelling at the Nancy & David Wolf Holocaust & Humanity Center in Cincinnati, Ohio, where the science of character strengths is integral to our work creating a community of upstanders.

https://www.holocaustandhumanity.org/

https://www.youtube.com/@holocaustandhumanity

Our thanks to the Mayerson Foundation and the VIA Institute on Character for their support of this series

https://www.mayersonfoundation.org/

https://www.viacharacter.org/

Episode Resources

Follow Jillian

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jcoppley/

Follow Lindsey

https://www.linkedin.com/in/drlindseygodwin/

Dr. Lindsey Godwin
https://www.lindseygodwin.com

David Cooperrider Center for Appreciative Inquiry
https://appreciativeinquiry.champlain.edu

Books & Authors Mentioned

Ditch the Ditty: Doing What Matters Instead of Doing It All
By Lindsey Godwin & Stephanie Jones
https://www.ditchtheditty.com/

Positive Psychology Research
Barbara Fredrickson's work on positive emotions and Broaden-and-Build Theory:
https://www.positiveemotions.org

Rick Hanson
(Referenced for the "Velcro for bad, Teflon for good" concept)
https://www.rickhanson.net

Maria Sirois
https://www.mariasirois.com