Ever heard of doom scrolling? Its when you consume large amounts of news that makes you feel negatively. I propose instead we do happy scrolling.
Why? Doom scrolling doesn’t help us. We do it and it makes our lives worse. Why would we willingly do something that makes our life worse? Isn’t that crazy?
What I started to do far before the internet and social media is to be aware of the negative things in the world but choose intentional positivity.
No this isn’t toxic positivity. That is when you are positive and it hurts yourself. There is a point where being positive is just a way to ignore reality. You have to always acknowledge reality. But I think its easier to just be cynical intellectually, and so people distort their perception of reality and think things are worse than they are.
Be clear on what I am saying here. We have very serious issues right now. More so than at any other time in our history. We also have people learning from their mistakes, and that is a very positive step. It is a distortion to say that life is going to work out without our efforts each day, or that life is hopeless and that we should just give up.
We always need to work to bring into being that which is helpful to ourselves and others. While it is helpful to be intentionally positive, it is just as important to do as the old Russian saying says: Pray to God and keep rowing to the shore. It takes both and people who want to use their faith as a reason to not work, deserve neither the benefits of faith nor the benefits of the action of others.
Giving up doesn’t help anyone. I never gave up no matter how hard life got. This isn’t about me, but it is about the quality of your own life. We can go through the motions of life, but if you have given up and are a negative and cynical person, you miss out on the most wonderful part of life. Feeling connected and loved by others. It is never easy to be a helpful person in a troubled world, but it is absolutely required of each of us..
Let go of the ease of being a cynic, and embrace the ambiguity and difficulty of being intentionally positive.