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Self-Help Stuff
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A future chapter by Adam Khan, the author of Self-Help Stuff That Works:
IT STARTED OUT innocently enough. I asked a friend of mine whether he thought the world would be a better or a worse place 100 years from now. Worse, he said. We had a little discussion about his answer and then went on about our business. A few days later, he said he wanted me to look at a magazine called Colors. Published in Italy, it illustrated some of our global problems graphically. For example, on the back cover were two pictures: One was a man in a polyester jump suit standing on a well-manicured lawn with a nice house in the background, and he was feeding a tidbit to his well-groomed poodle. The other picture was five or six young boys, dirty and ragged, living in a hole in the street. The magazine did a good job contrasting how wealthy many of us are in industrialized countries with how horribly many people live in developing countries. Later, my friend asked me how I liked the magazine. I replied, It was disturbing. It's REAL! he said with a kind of I'm-not-afraid-of- facing-the-truth-like-most-people self-righteousness. And that was the beginning of my crusade against bad news. What disturbed me was not the reality of it. I'm well aware of how miserably much of the world lives compared to how even a poor American lives. What bothered me was that the "information" in the magazine was delivered in a context of hopelessness. There wasn't one tiny scrap of any indication anywhere in the magazine that you, the reader, can do anything about it. The world is a horrible place, it seemed to say, and you are helpless to effect it. If the information had been delivered in the spirit of Here's some bad news, but here's what you can do about it, the same information would have been motivating. But if the reader feels helpless about it or thinks the situation is hopeless, the magazine did harm, and the reader would have been better off without it. Studies have shown that most television news leaves the viewer depressed because it is primarily bad news that the viewer can do nothing about. The problems are too big or too far away or too permanent to be able to effect. This sort of news encourages a pessimistic view of the world. Pessimism produces a feeling of helplessness and hopelessness. In other words, pessimism produces depression. This is not just an opinion. Lots of research has been done on this subject. A tremendous amount of evidence exists and it all points in the same direction. Pessimism makes people less capable of acting effectively, even in their own best interests. It produces apathy and lethargy. It makes people give up. Pessimism is bad for your health, bad for your relationships, and bad for the planet (because pessimism not only stops constructive action, but IT IS CONTAGIOUS). Raw, in-your-face reality is good, but only halfway there. The other half is what can be done about it? If nothing can be done about it, why tell anyone? If something can be done about it, why not give that news too? It is a crime against humanity to do otherwise. Because of the shock value and attention-getting power of tragedy, horror, and cruel irony, a pessimistic, unconstructive attitude is infecting the minds of more and more people. It must be stopped. And you can help. Here's how:
Optimism will give you the strength to confront difficult realities with open eyes. Optimism has the potential to be even more contagious than pessimism. If nothing else, optimists tend to have more energy. But there is something else: Optimism is more ethical. It is more life-giving, more enjoyable. It is more right. If you would like some information about becoming optimistic, check out Optimism, Optimism is Healthy, Maybe It's Good, and Positive Thinking: The Next Generation. Those will get you started. In the Recommended Reading section, you'll find more resources. If you would like some information about how to help other people become more optimistic, read Here Comes the Judge, Refuse to Flinch, and Dale Carnegie's How to Win Friends and Influence People. Go to these sites and get the email addresses of your representatives and senators and put those addresses in your address book, and write to them now and then. Urge them to vote on the bills you feel strongly about. Let them know what you think. This is an easy way to have an effect. Search yourself. Learn more. Take action.
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