2019.
You’ve been quite a year.
Is it just me, or do you all feel like 2019 came in and was like, “I’m going to blow some things up in this club?”
As if it was so seriously offended “Party Like It’s 2019” never became a song, it wrote it’s own lyrics.
Let this be a lesson to us all to NEVER, under any circumstances, let a year write it’s own lyrics.
Leave that to the professionals.
Who’s up to write the 2020 song? Anyone?
Let’s get on this right now.
But back to 2019…
While it might have been a challenging year on many fronts, it also was a great year.
And I don’t want to head into the new decade until we give 2019 the credit it deserves.
Last year, I kicked off the year with good news stories of 2018 and I loved it so much I’m making it a tradition.
So let’s get all hopped up on happy and party like it’s 2020…’cause it almost is! WOOO!
Good News Stories for Diversity
One would think by the headlines that 2019 was a cruddy year when it came to advancing our communities’ diversity, inclusion, and overall love and acceptance of each other.
But that’s not necessarily the case.
A lot of really positive things have happened to move diversity issues further:
- The first-ever woman pilot joined the Indian Navy.
- The 116th Congress became the most diverse in US history.
- Austria named its first female chancellor.
- Chicago elected its first African-American female mayor.
- The European Commission elected its first female President.
- Five of the major parties in Finland’s parliament are now led by women.
- All major pageants were won by women of color.
- Montgomery, Alabama, home of the famous Bus Boycott, elected its first black mayor in 200 years.
- Two words: Megan Rapinoe.
There is a lot of work to do here, but don’t let people convince you it’s hopeless.
It’s not.
It’s just up to you and me to keep moving things forward.
Good News Stories About Animals
We need to step up for animals in 2020.
This year the U.N. reported as many as a million species are threatened with extinction because of humans.
But the good news is WE also have the power to help them.
And there are many humans who did work really hard for the good of animals in 2019 and it’s paying off:
- Scientists in the Galapagos islands found a female member of a tortoise species believed to have been extinct since 1906.
- A new resolution prohibits wild African elephants from being caught and sent to zoos.
- Nine animals received protections from international trade.
- Over 130 species of animals won improved protection at this year’s Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), the global agreement that regulates cross-border trade in wildlife.
- Animal cruelty is now officially a federal felony.
- Humpback whale populations have grown from mere hundreds in the ’80s to over 25,000 today.
- Sea turtle populations officially increased by 980% since becoming protected in 1973.
Good News Stories to Remind You People Are Basically Good
If this year has done anything, it’s reminded me people will show up for you when you need them.
And they sometimes show up in the most unexpected places.
Sure, there are a lot of jerks in the world, but they are not the majority.
They just get the most attention.
So in 2020 can we try to stop letting these folks have so much attention, brain share, or power in our lives? They don’t deserve it.
But these people do:
- People joined together around the world to find a blood donor for this two-year-old.
- Complete strangers banded together to finish this quilt.
- These volunteers helped get Zeus home for Christmas.
- This church paid off $5 million dollars in medical debt for low-income families.
- The EU banned single-use plastic. A move that could save over 25 billion in environmental pollutants by 2030
I’ve had a lot of people just like this show-up for me this year.
I’ll forever be grateful.
Need More Good News Stories?
Of course, you do!
Here are some go-tos for the good news stories you need:
And remember, good news stories are ALL around you.
You just have to look for them.
I guarantee if you start your day on the lookout for good people doing good things (for you and for others), you’ll see them everywhere.
Not to mention the fact you can create your own good news.
That’s the fun part of being human, we always have the choice.
(Need help with this? Check out my post on optimism and our first day of Christmas gift to you: mindset work.)
Your Turn!
And now I turn the floor over to you.
What are your favorite good news stories of 2019?
How do you plan on making good news a bigger part of your life in 2020?
