Have you lately been thinking that our world is not a good place right now, that there is more bad than good news and things are getting worse each day?
The focus on social media is clearly and increasingly on the negative, outliers are pictured as standard. Hence our perception that the world is a bad place, inducing fear and anxiety. We think there is rarely positive news, but in fact there is – we just need to actively start looking for it.
A good place to go to is Fix the news. Here you find what is actually going right in the world: stories of real progress that we rarely hear about because mainstream media are just not interested in them.
Some examples:
- Did you know that there is a breakthrough in search for an HIV cure?
- Or that Japanese researchers have developed a biodegradable plastic that dissolves in seawater within hours?
- Another hopeful story: India has managed to significantly reduce the number of people living in extreme poverty.
The list goes on – from improving access to electricity and water in third world countries, to decreasing litter in the oceans, boosting renewables, cutting pollution in cities or setting up new nature reserves. Behind all of this are always people who have not given up yet.
…progress happens not through some invisible hand of history, but through the visible hands of people who refuse to give up on it.
Angus Hervey
At all times, on this planet, there has been collapse on the one hand and progress on the other. Night and day, yin and yang. They co-exist and are interdependent. Like the Buddhists say: without the mud there is no lotus.
But because the side of collapse appears to be increasingly over-amplified through the media, do we overlook these opposites co-existing, and instead tend to believe the world is doomed. It’s easy to fall into this trap.
Our forefathers’ legacy, to always be prepared for disaster, makes negative and scary things stick even more intensely in our brain. But we can take a different viewpoint.
The world is always horrible and beautiful at the same time, it always has been. But how we look at this paradox is up to us. We decide what we focus on, and that impacts how we live, work, communicate or raise our children.
Everything has different and sometimes conflicting aspects – it depends on the viewpoint we take.
Life’s complexity and ambiguity are of course difficult to take in. Holding space for two conflicting positions asks a lot of endurance and self-reflection.
Deep inside we know that, but black and white scenarios are much easier to grasp. That’s why we are striving for simplification, but life is far more complex.
We live in hope—that life will get better, and more importantly that it will go on, and that love will survive even though we will not.John Green
How does it sound to choose the bright side more often for a change, by giving preference to hope over anxiety?
Even if I am struggling in my life, I can nevertheless enjoy happy moments. It never has to be either one or the other – I can hold and unite opposites within me.
When I am not feeling well, I can still enjoy the sight of a blooming tree at the roadside.
I can feel desperate about climate change progressing, but still be happy about the achievements of The Ocean Cleanup.
Which side do we want to be on? Which story do we choose to be part of? Angus Hervey asks these questions in his inspiring TED talk.
Do we want to give in to despair or do we choose to be hopeful?
This choice people always had to make, in all circumstances at all times, and it’s never an easy one.
How does it influence our thoughts and actions? How does it make us feel? Which choice do you think better equips us to deal with our daily struggles?
We set things in motion through our choices. What do we share with others, what deserves our time and energy, what do we believe in?
We change our lives by deciding which story we give preference to.
Ultimately, we change the world that way. Everything we do has repercussions, influences others. And it is sometimes so easy to inspire another human being, through the stories we share with them.
Holding space for life’s inevitable contradictions requires acceptance of life, the willingness to differentiate and living with nuances.
Whenever I worry about the future, I remind myself that somewhere on this world – unknown to me – something always goes right.
How do you deal with life’s contradictions? What do they teach you?
The Positive Choice 
This is a great message, no matter how badly things seem to be doing in the world, there are many, many good things going on. We need to focus our energies on the positive and on things that we can do, so we don’t fall into feeling powerless.
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Thank you, Tamara! We need to indeed remind ourselves – especially in these times – that there is a lot of good on this world. Since I read “Fix the new”s regularly, my focus is shifting;-)
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Shifting our focus is definitely key to feeling more peace. While we may be powerless to change the huge negatives, we still need to live our lives, and by choosing the positives to focus on, we can help ourselves not to feel depressed or angry all the time and possibly letting it out on the people around us!
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