With so many awful world events happening, it is easy to get caught up in negativity. The news highlights all the bad stuff, and can be overwhelming. “Doomscrolling” has become part of our vocabulary. It takes effort to resist taking in the doom and tragedy…but there is also good news out there! You may need to look for it.
One good source is The Happy Pod from BBC World Service, which is a weekly collection of the happiest stories in the world. Another is Reasons to be Cheerful, founded by David Byrne of the Talking Heads. It is a non-profit online magazine that calls itself “a tonic for tumultuous times”. Neil Pasricha, best known for his books of awesome, has made it his life’s work to think, write, and speak about happiness, trust, and resilience. His website and books are a real inspiration to find the awesome in every day.
Looking for happy news doesn’t mean ignoring what is going on in the world. Of course we want to know, and there are issues we want to respond to or get involved in… Looking for good news is a counter-balance and a reminder of the human capacity and efforts to create progress, empathy, beauty, kindness and joy.
We live in the local and the everyday. That is what we experience and can influence the most. Beyond seeking out the good we can also create good.
To quote Shirzad Chamine, the creator of the Positive Intelligence program:
“Each of us gets to vote. Every day, through our actions, we cast our votes for the kind of world we want. We trust that our small positive actions could lead to massive, positive outcomes. We do our part and trust in life’s grand mystery unfolding.
Become part of the solution. Ask yourself now: What’s one small action I can take to make the world a better place? Commit to taking that action.”
What we focus on shapes our reality. You can choose to focus on being kind and thoughtful, to get involved in causes you believe in, to forgive, to connect, to really see and value those around you. You can choose to create some of the good you want to see in the world.