Key Point: Do you believe we are living in the most exciting and wonderful time with abundant opportunities in front of us? Or do you think the world is “going to hell” and falling apart? Or perhaps a little of both?
Certainly when we experience horrifying events like the recent mass shooting in Las Vegas, it’s difficult not to feel miserable and wonder if things are totally “falling apart.” Thank goodness we do feel pain and become awash in empathy and compassion for all those suffering. We can never allow ourselves to become numb to violence of any kind. Simultaneously, without attempting to minimize these all too frequent atrocities we humans inflict on each other, some thoughtful observers do believe the world is actually getting better. They also think we are in the midst of a drug epidemic: The drug? Negative news. The drug pushers? The media.
That’s the view of futurist, best selling author and co-founder of Singularity University, Peter Diamandis. In his important book “Abundance: The Future is Better Than You Think,” Diamandis argues that we pay 10x more attention to negative news than positive news. To highlight his argument, the following is a summary of the real trends as outlined in his recent blog (read the entire blog for a complete picture including sources supporting his perspective). He points to the evidence, sourcing data from many credible sources, that the world is advancing and overall things are going in the right direction:
- “Global Economy”
Over the last 200 years, the world’s GDP has *skyrocketed* 100-fold. Humankind has never been more prosperous and productive. - Health
No matter where in the world you are, mortality rates have dropped precipitously over the last 300 years. - Environment
The world is getting warmer but without the Montreal Protocol, the planet would have been about 4 degrees warmer by 2050 (…resulting in more extreme weather events like droughts, floods and hurricanes). - Energy
A key measure of economic growth, living standards and poverty alleviation is access to electricity… More people around the world have access to electricity than ever, and the absolute number of those without access to electricity is dropping (despite population growth). - Food
Despite the headlines, we’re making steady progress in the realm of food scarcity and hunger… Globally, 18.6 percent of the population was undernourished in 1991; by 2015, it dropped to 10.8 percent.”
So, if we objectively look at the data, we truly live in the most progressive time to be alive. And if your mindset enables you to see problems as opportunities, the future is even brighter than the present.
Leadership Moves:
- Embrace an abundant mindset and allow yourself to fully contribute in accelerating the positive trends in the world. Of course, be outraged and take appropriate action in response to human atrocities. At the same time, consume a perspective of opportunity rather than one of defeat.
- Only work on and do things that advance us as human beings. Why invest our precious short time on earth wallowing in what causes hurt or live in fear, hopelessness, and self-proclaimed defeat? Understand the emerging positive power of the technological exponentiality, and how it provides a path to profoundly advancing humankind. Each of us has a role to play. Determine what your’s is.
- Take the following online course… It’s free. If you find it valuable, please pass it on. We can accelerate the forward movement of humankind together.
The world trend is our friend in Personal Leadership.
Lorne
One Millennial View: I took this Singularity University course and found it extremely eye-opening. As a journalism major, we were taught in school to be unbiased. But anyone who has worked in media knows that advertisers (where all the money comes from) are often agenda motivated. Plus, filling a 24-hour news cycle is more compelling if you’re scaring the heck out of your audience. Unfortunately, that is truly how cable media survives. Think about seeing a murdered body on the street… That sounds horrifying, right? But, Joe Rogan’s podcast made a point recently that before around 1950, personally seeing people killed in your lifetime was probably a guaranteed thing. Today, it literally makes news if you do. Let’s keep it as simple as that. Yes, we’re living in the best time ever for human beings, despite what your TV/Social Media is telling you.
– Garrett
Edited and published by Garrett Rubis