Wow! How much more negative news can we handle? Does anyone else feel like every time they turn around there is more bad news being reported? Yes, Facebook is usually filled with positive messages and laughs, and Instagram with joyous photos and smiles, but the news is another story these days. Sad news upon weird news upon more sad news. Of course, there are many hopeful stories mixed in, but violence, rape, fraud, cancer, overdoses, war, terrorism, racism, death, and financial ruin seem more prevalent than the positive, the hopeful, and the good.

I often struggle with keeping a positive, hopeful, faith-filled head when I watch or receive constant dreadful news. At the moment, it really knocks a little bit of the wind out of me and makes me wonder if there is any good left in the world. In some instances, I find myself asking myself why this or that happened. Thereafter, I usually utter a “God, help me” put everything back into perspective, and realize more and more that living to the fullest is the only alternative to the negative surrounding us. Herein lies the good news: the more I attempt to live life to the fullest the more I realize and believe that there is still more positive than negative in the world.

Some time ago, I began thinking about how often fearful negative things actually happen to me or people I know. Throughout this exercise, I found that overall the chances of the negative prevailing over the good were lower than my fears would lead me to believe. This does not mean that bad things will not or cannot happen to me or the people I know. It just means that negative and discouraging events may happen, but they are far less prevalent than the blessings around me. The challenge for us is to keep looking for the blessings and the good.

If life does not feel positive right now, keep living, and eventually, the numbers will straighten themselves out. Maybe the positivity and optimism we all seek lie inside of us all.

So, protect your optimism, then, share it with the world.