Let’s Cut the Cynical Crap, Shall We?

In a world where we are surrounded by 24/7 news updates, we know exactly how much pain, suffering and anger exists today. In such a media saturated society, it’s easy to feel an overwhelming sense of hopelessness and lack of power. So we turn off the news and scroll Facebook hoping to find a funny cat video that will allow us to take our minds off of the mess. 

We don’t need distractions, we need the whole truth.

It turns out, all news isn’t bad news. There is actually good news out there and we need to start reading it, talking about it and taking a moment to relish in it. There are reasons to have hope, to celebrate and to keep working towards progress, just as there are reasons to be sad and angry and to use that energy to create change.

We found a piece on good news in the New York Times that we want to share. points out the fact that 9 out of 10 Americans believe that global poverty has either worsened or stayed constant in the last twenty years. But the truth is that the number of people living in extreme poverty ($1.90 per person per day) has been cut in half since 1996.

This isn’t the only area that has improved–child mortality rates have dropped, as have illiteracy rates and global inequality. In fact, today less than 10% of the world population is living in extreme poverty, down from 44% in 1981. And, the U.N. will come close to reaching its goal of completely eradicating extreme poverty by 2030.

Optimistic, pessimistic, or realistic?

The world is not perfect. Poverty, child mortality, illiteracy and inequality still exist and need our continued attention. But the article’s author, Nicholas Kristof, felt that it was important to acknowledge and celebrate the progress that humanity has achieved. Because if we never pause to take stock of our successes we won’t be able to sustain the energy to push for further growth.

We want to encourage you to not only seek out stories of collective growth and triumphs, but to look for areas in your own life where you have improved. Celebrate your incremental successes, acknowledge areas where you’ve grown and feel confident knowing that you have the potential to change the world. Even though it’s easy to focus on the negatives in life, sustain hope by reminding yourself of all of the the goodness.