More than ever, staying positive feels harder than it used to be. We turn on the news, scroll through our phones, or check our favorite social media pages, and we are surrounded by anger, fear, and division. It can feel like too much. That doesn’t mean everything online is bad. Social media and the internet have also given us good things, like ideas for healthier living, inspiration to improve our finances, and motivation to become better versions of ourselves. Hope is still out there. Some days, it just feels harder to see
Still, most of us wake up every morning and push forward. We go to work, we take care of our families, and we keep things moving because production doesn’t stop. Bills don’t pause. Responsibilities don’t wait. There often isn’t much room to sit with sadness or frustration, even when it’s heavy. And let’s be honest — February doesn’t help. The cold, snow storms, gray skies, short days etc. Unless you love winter, it can add another layer to how we feel.
So we start searching for answers. We look for something that will help us feel better, something that will give us clarity. But sometimes we get stuck in our own little worlds — worlds we may have helped create ourselves. I’m not just talking about social media algorithms. I’m talking about real-life algorithms. The routines, habits, and thought patterns that keep us from seeing new solutions. Sometimes we build our own walls without even realizing it.
Simon Sinek, in his newsletter “The Secret to Staying Optimistic (That Nobody Talks About),” shared an idea that really resonated with me. He wrote, “Real optimism isn’t about pretending everything is fine. It’s about knowing that even when things aren’t fine, we have the strength, the support, and the capacity to move through it together.” That matters, especially for our communities. Optimism isn’t denial. It’s resilience. It’s showing up even when things are uncomfortable.
So where do we turn when things feel heavy? For some of us, the answer is family or close friends. Some people are lucky to have that kind of support system. Others have to build it slowly, over time. One thing I keep coming back to is the idea that life itself is the journey — a journey that includes bumpy roads… It’s about finding the strength to hang in there, to fall, to fail, and to get back up again. Over and over.
That’s where the real work happens. When we find enough strength to lift ourselves, we often discover we can lift others too. Families, communities, and even workplaces get stronger that way. No matter how heavy things feel today, many of us still hear that quiet inner voice saying, “It’s going to be okay. Hang in there.” In times like these, listening to that voice—and to each other—may be exactly what we need. Sometimes, that’s enough to keep us moving forward.