By Rosemary Smith, Getting Better Foundation, Managing Director
“When the bad outweighs the good, for many, whether we realize it or not, it erodes our ability to have compassion and our ability to put ourself in someone else’s shoes. Because when one person buys into negativity online, the effects are felt exponentially. It’s time to not only reflect, but act,” Says Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at Time 100’s Awards. “As we approach this November, it’s vital that we reject hate speech, misinformation and online negativity.”
One of the very first books my aspiring novelist sister gave me when I was about 12 or 14 was “As a Man Thinketh” by James Allen. You know – if you want to learn a new idea, read an old book.
Mind is the Master power that moulds and makes,
And Man is Mind, and evermore he takes
The tool of Thought, and, shaping what he wills,
Brings forth a thousand joys, a thousand ills: —
He thinks in secret, and it comes to pass:
Environment is but his looking-glass.
The premise is that what we read, what we watch, what we consume and what we think has an effect on our success. On the polarization of communities… And on world peace. What we think can attract kindness – or hate. What we think can attract us to success.. .or failure. Our thoughts… can even attract happiness.
Based upon the Bible’s Book of Proverbs, “As a Man Thinketh” – written in 1903 – can be a lesson we learn today. What if… what if we turned off the negativity, fake news and hate speech? What if we started embracing our youth and started playing the “Glad Game” from Disney’s “Pollyanna”? Would we get called “Pollyanna-ish”? What if we did? What if we all attracted thoughts of gratitude on a daily basis and got called “Pollyannas”? Who’d care – We’d all be happy. We might all even start trusting one another more. You know what happens when people trust one another? They start helping one another. People of all colors, races, religions and sexes become more resilient and empowered. Progress is enabled.
If you want to be empowered and enable progress, you need to learn how to consume media. Our unreleased documentary, “TRUST ME”, can show you how! Request to host a private screening for your family, friends and/or community here.
Prince Harry is calling on us to educate ourselves about fake news, misinformation and negativity bias…