Should we be optimistic about 2022?

As the pandemic fills hospitals, inflation outpaces wage growth, threats to our democracy fester, and climate change accelerates, I remain hopeful that 2022 will be a far better year than 2021.

What choice do I have? I'm a parent.

I've also become convinced that being pragmatically optimistic is a choice we should make even when faced with overwhelming odds.

In seventh grade, my English teacher invited students to compete in the Optimist International Essay Contest, which "give[s] young people the opportunity to write about their own opinions regarding the world in which they live." Although I lived in an affluent community with two loving parents and attended excellent schools, my pre-teen cynicism compelled me to dismiss this organization and its attempt to force young people to write rosy paragraphs for money.

Now that I'm approaching my forties, I crave optimism so long as it's informed by reality, not wishful or magical thinking. It's not enough to say that the pandemic will eventually end, the economy will right itself, our democracy will prevail, or the planet will recover. I want to know how. What concrete steps can we take to achieve these lofty, worthwhile goals? In other words, what practical policies and projects must we pass and implement?

We're more likely to overcome challenges when we believe they're conquerable.

We're more likely to design solutions when we believe they're possible.

And we're more likely to treat ourselves, our loved ones, and our neighbors with compassion and dignity when we believe in a brighter future for all.

For these reasons, I choose to be a pragmatic optimist, a choice that shapes how I react to daily events, how I treat my loved ones and neighbors, and how I model an approach to living for my children.

May 2022 be the best year yet!

Photo by CARL HUNLEY JR on Unsplash