In my graduate program on sustainable business, we talk about voices of judgment that need to be channeled effectively so they do not serve to curb our creativity and delight in innovation.  Perfection is one voice of judgement held by many, the notion that something must be perfect before it is launched, rather than allowing evolution to take place in real-time and with community input.  A voice of judgment I too often fall victim to is “Doomsday Don,” the personification of my stream of consciousness focusing on all the bad news in the world.  We live in challenging times, and it is easy to only see the doom and gloom when one reads articles about the expansion of people living in poverty.

Yes, the poor are getting poorer and larger in numbers, but in the same week, I also read an article about good things happening in Africa.  Times of crisis are on the flip side times of innovation and times when communities come together.  The only thing to fear in a crisis is missing out on the opportunities.

Hold the good news and bad news in balance; for every piece of sadness you read, seek out one of joy.  Remember, every storm begins with a calm and often beautiful sunrise, ending with a fantastic sunset.

Sunset in Tonkossare, Niger