Most of the times, when someone asks “how are we doing” our first reaction is a murmuring one. I have the feeling that the ‘auto-mode’ is turned on negative.

Yes – I know how tough life can be for everyone. I also get, that we live in peculiar days. Fake news. Unsafety feeling. Environmental hazards. The ‘doom’ perception out of our financial and personal challenges.

Yes – I also know the stories about Trump, European scepticism, Crime rise, Putin and conspiracy theories, the effects of Brexit, and all the issues around feminism, sexism, human rights, ageism, privacy and security. All countries are somehow affected by these.

Despite all these, I think we need to be optimistic in 2019. At least I’ll be one. You ask why? Because a lot of positive things are happening around us:

• The global adult literacy rate is at 86%, while the youth literacy at 91% (you see? our smarter kids).
• The global average life expectancy has increased by 5.5 years at an all-time high. (the new 67 is 72)
• Unemployment, a constant struggle for all economies, is having small wins in many countries.
• Prosperity index 2018 is increasing in many countries (hopefully in my country, Greece, sometime…).
• Extreme poverty, one of the critical 2030 SDG’s, has declined but its rates are slowing down, so the World Bank advice for more pro-poverty measures, in order to reach the 2030’s “below 3% globally” target.
• We are healthier on a global average, although great challenges exist (especially with Infectious Diseases). For example, according to WHO the HIV incidence has declined to 0.26 per 1000 uninfected population.
• We are smarter, as we gain approximately 3 IQ points per decade
• AI, ICT solutions and R&D in medical sciences promise that we can expect cures for heart diseases and cancer in the next decade.
• We are cleaner. The hole in the ozone layer over Antarctica shrank to its lowest in 20 years.

Is everything so ‘green’ and fine? Not at all! The human race will continue to have challenges every day, every year. But my point is that developments are happening around us and improve our foundations. How do we exploit those developments have been always the issue in question.

Innovation and new players disrupt and improve Health, Social Services, Work and productivity, global partnerships, e-commerce and automation, and education with the use of technology tools/solutions. Younger generations are more into communities, NGO causes, and socially responsible practices. They wish to improve our non-sustainable, old world.

We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.

We must be Optimists to re-focus on the needed solutions – not in murmuring and miseries. Our feelings and stance to life should be a positive one, to inspire those around us. Our kids. Peers and colleagues. Start thinking what we can make out of challenges. Stop seeing dead-ends. They exist in our mind if we let them be.

This is my formula for years and my approach to 2019. And believe me, it’s working.

Let Optimism be your partner in life for 2019 and on. Happy New Year.