A year of unfortunate events, but it doesn’t have to stay that way

I am the queen of the worst-case scenario.

Not the greatest title to have in this, the year 2020, a doozy even by my standards (though I can certainly imagine ways it could be worse).

But you don’t actually need me to tell you how bad things are because the media is thoroughly covering the killer virus (which has now infected the President of the United States), the prospect of election chaos, and the fraying of our social fabric (just to name a few concerns). And true to form, I’m worried about those things too. Even to me, though, it seems unhealthy to marinate in doom and gloom 24/7, and it might even make the worst-case scenario a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Garbage in, garbage out

If we continually feed our imaginations with a constant barrage of negative analysis, doomsday predictions, and toxic discourse, I fear we’ll weaken our ability to confront the problems we’re facing today. No one ever said, “I think it’s impossible to go to the moon, and we’re sure to blow up on the way there, but I think I’m going to try anyway, just in case.”

Whatever happens in the election, whoever is elected, we still need to overcome polarization, discord, disease, and economic tragedy in order to have a better future for the country and for ourselves.

No news is good news

One unique feature (or, perhaps in this case, it’s a bug) of our current situation, is that, unlike previous tumultuous years in US history, we have instant access to a barrage of news stories as they happen. Add to that the fact that disaster gets eyeballs quicker than positive stories of things working, and you’ve got the perfect recipe for paranoia to fuel your mind. We’re not going to see headlines like “Local Democrat and Republican find out they agree on 7 out of 10 issues” or “Big business keeps America afloat during a challenging recession.”

Changing our tune

If we want to change the tune of 2020 or sing a better one in 2021, we can’t wait for the news headlines to bring us a boost. We have to choose to look for reasons to hope and then cling to those reasons when the media, the statistics, and our leaders tell us otherwise. We need to take matters into our own hands and act from that hope, however small it may be. Out of these little bits of light and optimism we will find our way out of the mess in front of us.

I’m not saying you should discard the evidence before your eyes or be unprepared for real trouble, but I am saying that if you are perpetually preparing for war, peace may be hard to find.

This week’s 5 links are stories and ideas that are giving me hope right now. I hope they add to yours and encourage you to look for more in your daily life.

5 links worth your time