- There’s a lot to be said for it. Looking up to make eye contact and exchange smiles is essential to feeling a connection with others. Looking up is how we see the blue sky and the beauty of life all around us. Looking up, research shows, actually makes us more optimistic, feel better about ourselves, and generate positive thoughts.
- But, then again, life is hard. Everything is getting more complicated. Time is short. People don’t get to know each other. The challenges we struggle against today are unlike anything our parents faced, and like nothing our grandparents could even imagine. The headline of a recent news report blared, “Life is Harder Now, Experts Say.” So what good reason do we have for looking up when there is so much weighing us down?
- Up! will give you a good reason—in fact, it will give you 365 reasons.
- In spite of the difficulties, life today is better than it has ever been; better than it was a year ago, a decade ago, a century ago, and before. On every page of this book, you’ll see that in real, meaningful, and important ways, life is not just good, it’s getting better all the time. Up! is an appreciation of what you have, a reminder of all that is good, and of all the opportunities and advantages that surround us in modern life. Each entry makes the case with evidence from surveys, studies, census counts, and the like, while brief real-world examples show how we are decidedly better off mentally and physically, better off at home and at work, better off when we’re seeking answers and when we’re seeking entertainment.
- Each entry is a day brightener, a conversation starter, a source of encouragement, and a chance to put down our fears. More importantly, each entry is a chance to strengthen our future.
- According to the ancient proverb, “what you don’t know can’t hurt you.” That may be a stretch, but what we think we know can hurt us. When we think progress is impossible, we give up. When we think we have no future, we don’t plan, we don’t invest in ourselves. Seeing progress makes our future possible. It allows us to believe in ourselves and in others. When we believe we can, we do.
- But Up! is not simply a call for a sunnier outlook. It’s an answer to doubts and fears and to those who see only what’s wrong or broken.
- When I was a college student, a professor of mine was fond of sharing a story from his college days several decades earlier. He was taking an introductory course on social trends, and it was the first day of class. His professor entered the room and immediately began explaining what was wrong with society. It was a long list. Almost 90 minutes later, just before the class was due to end, the professor paused to take a breath and asked whether there were any questions. Most of the students were numb from all the gloomy talk. But one young man raised his hand and asked, in all seriousness, “But professor, is there no hope?”
- There’s more than hope. There’s proof. There are facts. Life is getting better. It’s time to look Up!
