CHIN UP: WE HAVE A GREAT PLACE TO LIVE
NOTHING makes any sense…
While the words of an alltime favourite song, I Can See Clearly Now, are being hummed in my head, the truth is I cannot see clearly right now.
Can anyone really work out where we are heading with any assurance of what our economy will look like in three, six or 12 months’ time? Can we make decisions with confidence?
Added to this is the emerging cold war between the US and China, concern about the upcoming American election, racial disunity, Europe’s political uncertainty, and the ongoing Middle East conflict. The world stage is in turmoil as we try to sift through the news and discern fact from distorted storytelling.
Does a sense of hopelessness pervade our thinking? Do we fear what is ahead? Are we anxious about the unknown and the lack of certainty that keeps us awake at night?
Well, if you feel that way, you’re certainly not alone.
Those feelings have become so widespread that economists, political scientists and futurists have begun to study them seriously and use them to predict the future of entire nations and regions.
Do our feelings about the future become self-fulfilling prophecies? It seems that people’s feelings about the future do play a big part in determining their outlook.
By most measures, research shows that those with a hopeful, optimistic view of the future do better over the long term than those who see through a lens of negativity.
The Gallup Global Emotions Report has not yet been released for 2020, but it will reveal interesting results on the pulse of the globe’s emotions during the past year.
National Australia Bank’s Australian Wellbeing survey released its first quarter report last month, showing increased anxiety across all demographic groups. Yet despite our concerns, Australians reported somewhat higher levels of life worth and life satisfaction.
Sentiment plays an enormous role in shaping our feelings about current circumstances and how we view the future.
But no matter what is happening in our individual lives, no matter what is playing out on the global scale, we must have confident hearts to anticipate the future with assurance, courage, trust and faith. When the heart is confident, all the trials of the world will be as child’s play.
It is how we think about our approach to tests, difficulties and concerns, that shapes our attitude. Have patience and trust. Wait, but do not sit idle; work while you are waiting; think creatively about our new environment and what it offers; be joyous knowing that our country is where the rest of the world would like to be.
On the Gold Coast, we have the added bounty of the best beaches, an unparalleled hinterland and the best weather in Australia – impressive natural resources for which any citizen would yearn.
This makes me think we will see many more of our friends from the Western world looking across the ocean at the bounty of being as remote as Australia, yet with the best lifestyle offerings for many to call home.
I somehow feel we will become not only the holiday destination of choice when the borders open, but also be high on the list of where people wish to relocate and live.