Headlines right now are extremely dismal, steadily counting out coronavirus cases, deaths, and unemployment numbers as the country sinks further into isolation and anxiety. So the podcast Here’s Something Good wants to inject a little positivity into your life! Each weekday, a new short and sweet episode detailing “the good news, the silver lining, the glass half-full” promises to help you remember that “there is good happening in the world, everyday. We just need to look for it, and share it.” These uplifting and inspiring stories about how people are reaching out, helping others, and having fun (while still social distancing) will help the world seem a little less gray in these trying times.
Staying positive isn’t just a healthy emotional state – it also has a huge impact on our physical health. Practicing gratitude is a great way to focus on what’s going well, instead of what’s not, and Harvard Health says that it can help you better deal with adversity and even makes you less susceptible to the common cold. Practicing gratitude also helps train your brain to see things more positively as a habit – and it only takes a few minutes a day. Now that’s something good.
“Look for the helpers,” Mr. Rogers always said, and he’s right. But you can also be the helper. This episode focuses on how the Girl Scouts organization is finding ways to be helpful to their communities: five- and six-year-old Daisy Scouts are sewing thousands of masks per day; some troops are delivering meals to the elderly or helping family members with childcare; and people are buying Girl Scout cookies online to donate to healthcare workers and their families. “The best antidote to a feeling of helplessness and hopelessness is doing something to benefit others" – what can you do for someone else today?
Research shows that emotions like enthusiasm and joy are more contagious than any virus, and positive energy can actually have healing effects. For patients battling Covid-19, the window of their hospital room is their only connection to the outside world, and their nurses are making the most of it: hanging signs that say, “We’re going to get you home!” and playing uplifting songs like “Here Comes The Sun” when a patient recovers. Simple words of encouragement and acts of selflessness can be really helpful right now. Who do you know that could use a little lift?
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