Why Good News Is Good For Us

We're only a month into 2021 and so far ..

• The BBC has launched Soundscapes for Wellbeing which brings together nature sounds and soothing music for those moments when you can't get out in nature. 
• Disadvantaged families in 37 local authorities are to be offered free broadband to help with home schooling, 
• Companies are moving to 4 day weeks while paying their staff a full time wage and seeing benefits for the companies. 
• An International ban on Nuclear Weapons came into force.
  
• And sales of sweatshirts and other merchandise sporting a meme of Bernie Sanders wearing a pair of mittens has raised $1.8 million for charities.

Nice to know eh? 

So here's a question for you. How does it feel to read those stories? And how often do you read positive news? 

I really hope you're reading at least one good news story a day as you could argue it's more important right now than ever.

First The Bad News

Negative news stories are known to raise our cortisol and adrenaline levels causing us to feel stressed and putting us at risk of anxiety, depression and insomnia. And we can't deny that there is a lot of negative news around. We need to stay informed but we also need to ensure that our bodies aren't constantly flooded with these chemicals. Reading positive news stories can help put things in perspective.

Negativity Bias

Finding positive stories to read is also important due to our natural negativity bias. This is the tendency we have that gives greater weight to negative events than positive ones. You may have experienced this when you've had a great week but find your mind keeps going over that one moment where someone ignored you in the street. Likewise those bad news stories are going to dominate your attention even on a good week. Consuming positive news can help us to feel less stressed and more hopeful about the future.

The Good News Is

There's no shortage of good news out there. In fact there are websites dedicated to only sharing good news. You might like to check out Positive News, The World's Best News or Reasons To Be Cheerful just to get started. You might even want to consider bookmarking them so you can visit them regularly.

Avoid The Echo Chamber 

If you find you're receiving the majority of your news from social media you might want to consider avoiding reacting to, or commenting on, negative posts. It can be too easy to leave an angry or sad emoji on people's posts or to enter into arguments. But as you may know, social media algorithms work by detecting the information that we seem to be interested in so that it can give us more of the same. Put simply, the more we react to negative stories, the more of those we'll see. Before you know it, it seems as though bad news is all there is. But start reacting to stories of good news or images that uplift you, and you'll see more of that instead.

Be The Change

Even better, why not be the one who helps make social media a more positive experience for everyone? Share something beautiful. Or something that makes you laugh. Or maybe share a bit of good news you've come across? Just seeking out positive things to share will help lift your mood. Alternatively make it a social experience and start a thread asking your friends to share their good news.

It's not about pretending that everything's rosy right now, it's about acknowledging that it is not all bad either. And it's about helping everyone to get through it.

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Can I Help?

If you found the suggestions in this article interesting you might wonder what else you could be doing to improve the quality of your life - and I'd be happy to help. Life coaching isn't therapy but it can help you to enjoy greater happiness and wellbeing by making realistic and sustainable lifestyle changes such as the ones above. I work with you to help you focus on strengths not weaknesses, on solutions not problems and on what is working not on what is not. We'd also focus on those times when you feel capable, confident and resilient in order to help you feel the way you want to feel more often. 

Get in touch if you'd like more information or to book a free 30 minute consultation.

Finding The Good In Difficult Times

It would be a bit of an understatement to say that things haven't been easy this year. One glance at social media or the news is more than enough to remind us all of the difficulties around right now even if you've managed to escape the worst of it all personally. But that doesn't mean that things are all doom and gloom. As is often the case in a crisis there are many people coming forward to help friends, neighbours, strangers in all sorts of ways and that can be a real source of joy for everyone involved. Even hearing of others kindness can lift our spirits. And deliberately looking for that which is good can help us all to be more resilient whatever challenges we're facing. But this can take a bit of practice because to do so means going against our natural instincts.

I'm sure you've had one of those days where everything has been pretty good. Maybe you've had a successful day in work or enjoyed some time catching up with friends. And then something happens to change it. Maybe someone makes a rude remark or another driver cuts you up at a junction (and stares at you as though you're in the wrong). It may be that you witness something that makes you feel angry or sad. Suddenly all that was good and enjoyable from the day are forgotten. Not only do those negative experiences outweigh the positive, but we tend to remember them much longer too.

This is our negativity bias at work. It's not a fault. In fact it's perfectly normal and may even be part of our success as a species. After all, noticing an approaching threat is rather important if we are to survive. But it can become overwhelming, particularly in difficult times, if we don't make efforts to find a balance.

Luckily finding a balance is as simple as looking for the good in every day. It could be ..

a good coffee ... 

a compliment... 

a funny cat video ... 

a beautiful sunset ... 

a job well done ... 

a quiet 5 minutes ...

being safe and warm at home.

You get the idea. They don't need to be major achievements (though of course you can include those too) just the everyday things in your life that are good.

You can also look for the opportunities in a particular challenge. The silver lining if you like. Jumping in puddles anyone?

The key here is practice. Seeing the negative comes naturally and we've all been practicing it for years. No wonder we're so good at it. So we need to be kind to ourselves and not expect to be experts at focusing on what is good after one attempt. And just as you wouldn't expect to be able to run a marathon after one jog around the block, the same principles apply. The more we practice, the better we get at it and the easier it becomes. You can even make it a social experience by asking a friend or colleague what has been good about their day.

Stick with it and you'll find you start to see the good, and find joy, almost everywhere. And that can make a big difference - especially during difficult times.