“What’s happening in the world today?”
How many times have you heard this in 2017? It’s a question we throw around a little too frequently, implying the world is falling apart. It’s not surprising given the news we’re constantly exposed to via the various channels – as a result of the infamous media strategy “fear sells”.
Yet, we should be mindful of our words and thoughts and consider if things are really getting worse?
Johan Norberg (2016) challenges the recent mainstream narrative of the “fear world”. In an extensive study using official data, Norberg found that in contrast, we’ve made more progress over the last 100 years than in the first 100,000. While there is undoubtedly much room for improvement, Norberg highlights the areas we’ve seen positive change advocating for progress. For example, 285,000 more people have gained access to safe water every day for the last 25 years and world poverty has fallen by more in the past 50 years than the preceding 500.
For the field of well-being and mental health, we can thank Positive Psychological science for paving the way towards positive change. No longer is the idea of being positive or living a good life reserved for left-minded thinkers. Today, solid and practical takeaways are being derived from this relatively new science, improving the well-being of individuals as it disseminates into the various areas of our lives. Not only positively impacting individuals but also families, schools, large corporations and communities as a whole, who now look to the field for hope of depending on their new findings as an answer for increasing well-being and happiness.
So, as another year draws to an end, it’s the perfect opportunity to turn our attention to the past and reflect on the efforts and progress achieved. For the field of positive psychology, it has certainly been another year of growth and momentum. Here we summarise the state of positive psychology today with seven reasons it’s been a positive year.
READ THE FULL & ORIGINAL ARTICLE WRITTEN FOR THE POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY PROGRAM HERE >