Estelle on Trusting Yourself & Being a Light

The Optimist Project with Yara Shahidi

🎶 Creators, Dreamers, and Artists—This One’s for the Light Shining in You.

This week on The Optimist Project, Yara Shahidi sits down with Grammy Award-winning musician Estelle for an intimate conversation on purpose, presence, and the art of living with intention.

In a world that often prizes popularity over authenticity, Estelle invites us to consider a more grounded truth: that being a light matters more than being liked. Estelle unpacks what it means to move through life with optimism—not as blind hope, but as a conscious choice to respond with grace, clarity, and ease.

From the influence of family and the ancestral wisdom we carry, to the personal practices that fuel her artistry, Estelle opens up about self-trust, navigating fatigue, and creating from a place of ease and truth. We journey through the heart of her creative process, her reflections on career, and the freedom that comes from embracing who you are—without apology.

✨ Estelle reminds us that optimism isn’t just a feeling—it’s a discipline. A way of being that lets us choose joy, again and again.

What does it mean to live as your fullest self? Where can you choose ease without guilt?

📩 We want to hear from you—DM us, send a voice note, or leave us a message and share your version of optimism.

📲 @optimistprojectpod // The Optimist Project Podcast

✨ Executive Producer: @yarashahidi // Yara Shahidi

✨ Executive Producer: @chocolatemommyluv // Keri Salter-Shahidi

🎙 Guest: @estelledarlings // Estelle

🎤 Listen to Estelle's new album Stay Alta Out NOW!

📞 Voicemail: [phone]

🎧 Tap in—because optimism feels like home.