Your perception is the reality you work with.
As we begin a new year, how's your hope? How optimistic are you that you'll get better, life will improve, that the world is getting better?
Is the world getting better?
Well, check out what some people are saying (taken from Time, January 15, 2018 issue):
- "Thirty years ago, 1 in 5 children in Ethiopia didn't live to their fifth birthdays...Ethiopia wrestled down its morality rates for children under five by two-thirds from 1990 to 2012—an impressive feat for a low-income nation." Bill Gates
- "In 1776, America set off to unleash human potential by combining market economics, the rule of law and equality of opportunity. This foundation was an act of genius that in only 241 years converted our original villages and prairies into $96 trillion of wealth." Warren Buffet
- "We've seen the devastation in the world. But we've also seen the giving. There is an opportunity for everyone to create change. In this world of technology, we have the opportunity to engage with activists on the ground level." Trevor Noah, host of the Daily Show
- "In 1990, the city (New Delhi) saw 3000 new paralytic cases of polio; since January 2011, India has seen zero new cases, but for the victims, polio is forever. Doctors like (mathew) Varghese are assisting with therapy, surgery and more...'I am able to do this little bit,' Varghese says, praising his staff. 'But there is so much potential out there that is not tapped.' " Nate Hopper
- "The need for a treatment (Alzheimer's disease) is dire, and in the search for new medicines the rates of success are not high...But it is misleading. When we consider each 'failed' study, we can often uncover answers to the question, Why didn't this work? And those answers have propelled our understanding of Alzheimer's disease forward—bringing us closer to finding a treatment...One of the greatest advances...is the ability to use a positron-emission tomography (PET) scan to confirm if a person has amyloid plaque or tau tangles in their brain before they begin a clinical study...I believe we can deliver a treatment to the millions of Alzheimer's disease patients and their families who are waiting. And my optimism is rooted in the science, which continues to evolve and advance right before our eyes." Budd Haeberlein, VP of clinical development at Biogen
"I think it's pointless to be hopeless. If you are hopeless, you waste your present and your future." Malala Yousafzai, founder of the Malala Fund and author of Malala's Magic Pencil
Time magazine presented these individuals as optimists. How optimistic or pessimistic are you?
If our information diet consists of a lot of news, it's likely we're pretty pessimistic. Yes, there's plenty to be concerned about but so much of it is not actionable on our parts and much of the good across many fields goes unreported.
"If you don't read the newspaper, you're uninformed. If you do read it, you're misinformed," Denzel Washington
Moreover, if we don't get balanced servings of positive progress and their beautiful benefits, we're missing out on a significant side of reality, especially in areas where we can effectively contribute time, energy, and resources.
This is even more important when it comes to our personal growth, fulfillment, and health. If our perceptions, much of it based on default beliefs, consistently major on the negatives, disproportionately to the things we could be grateful for, we are not effectively engaging ourselves and others to get better.
Pessimism fosters fear.
Optimism is powered by love, even against all odds.
Even if the world wasn't getting better, it is essential we are getting better. Message me to talk more about getting better in 2018 and beyond.