positivity

What Is a Man, Anyway? Part 4 – Episode 158

In the fourth part of his series on masculinity, Dara tries to point out the hierarchical nature of masculinity when the idea of manhood is being discussed. The legacy of Western European colonial domination has resulted in the idealisation of white, straight, middle class masculinity. In other words, for many people when they’re asked to consider men and masculinity, they will default to the aforementioned model. But where does that leave other iterations and expressions of masculinity?

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Intentionality, Clarity, Self-Care, and The Belief in Positive Change – Episode 151

In this episode, Dara is doing what he thinks he should have done last week; namely, reflect on the throughline of one hundred and fifty episodes of the podcast. His mission statement from the original blog iteration of The ClearOut in 2013 remains just as relevant over 10 years later – Decluttering. Clarifying. Connecting. Those three imperatives continue to assert themselves on the weekly attempt to offer something of use to the listener. They, attached to an eye-rolling scepticism about toxic positivity, are at the heart of the podcast’s subheading – Wellness with Attitude.

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The Absolute ‘Ick’ Episode – Going Granular on My War with Myself – Episode 140

In this very personal and occasionally difficult episode, Dara decides he can’t not examine his near four-decade-old impulse to destroy himself. A follow-on from last week’s episode in which he spoke more generally and euphemistically about a recent onset of anxiety-fuelled depression, this time he wants more transparency, more openness, more keeping it real. He understands that for some people this type of sharing gives them the ‘ick’, hence the title of the episode.

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Survival, Transcendence, and the Myth of Whatever Doesn’t Kill You – Episode 108

In this episode, Dara talks about the affection for survival narratives and considers the respective legacies of the recently deceased singers and songwriters Tina Turner and Christy Dignam. He wonders whether we should be defined by what we’ve overcome in life. He also questions the value of legacy and argues for the need to be more concerned with our present-tense impact.

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Foundational Beliefs of Identity and Gender-Neutral Parenting, or How I Got Cool With Being a Girl-Father! – Episode 99

In this episode, prompted by Spike Lee’s He Got Game (1998), Dara examines his convictions as a parent, and recalls how an ill-fated Irish journalist helped him get comfortable with the idea of becoming a father to a daughter. He identifies a pillar of his parenting approach that he hopes he will manage to keep intact. He also looks at the idea of gender-neutral parenting, something he tries to adopt with his daughter.

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The Vulnerable Idealism of Living With an Open Heart, or There’s One Born Every Minute! – Episode 96

In this episode, Dara examines the centrality of heart to his own personal philosophy. He recognises that his concept of the metaphorical heart is suffused with his natural idealism, and how that can lead him into situations where he can be easily wounded. He argues against the interpretation of open-heartedness being equal to naivete.

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Looking Adversity in the Eye, or The Things That Make Us Stronger – Episode 70

In this episode Dara talks about the importance of cultivating resilience and positivity, especially in a world that appears to be falling apart at the seams. He discusses the idea of understanding the potential of our response to be a stabilising element in the reality in which we find ourselve

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