Child abuse is a dangerous and pervasive problem, and it’s easy to feel like there’s not much you can do to stop it from happening. Today, in honor of National Child Abuse Prevention Month, I am going to discuss the nature of the problem, and what you can do to prevent child abuse this month and the rest of the year.
Feeling genuine compassion for others who are struggling can be difficult and painful. In order to not constantly be sad about all of the terrible things happening in other people’s lives, human beings have grown adept at suppressing our kindness and compassion for one another when it suits us, and a lot of the time we don’t even realize we are doing it. In a way, this is a necessary skill, but sometimes we take it too far. Here are some tips on how to be more caring, without sacrificing your own sanity or happiness.
Standing up for a disadvantaged or oppressed group takes great personal strength, and can sometimes feel like an uphill battle. This week I am pleased to be joined by Felicia Johnson, Mental Health Advocate and Author of Her the Book, a novel which explores the real-life complexities of struggling with mental illness and what it means to be a survivor. This type of advocacy (or any type, really) is stressful and can take a toll on a person, but it also can pay off in a big way. Today’s post offers some tips for staying motivated and achieving your goals as an advocate for a cause.
Once upon a time, the “goodness” of an individual person or entity could only be measured in vague perceptions of public opinion, and “well-being” could only really be measured in terms of financial comfort. Interestingly enough, despite the fact that philanthropy and social welfare have existed as concepts for hundreds (if not thousands) of years, the concept of thinking strategically about social problems is very new, just gaining in popularity over the past few decades. We are still new to this age of organized efforts to improve the world we live in, and though we have not yet come out with one standardized measure of social impact or well-being, we have come out with many different tools for measuring benefit to society and well-being. Do-gooder culture is indeed shifting in favor of us data nerds (or perhaps us data nerds have just been more effective at doing good?). Continue reading
First off, I want to say that I think that it’s wonderful that the Random Acts of Kindness Foundation teaches children the importance of being kind, and I very much agree with the idea that kindness is contagious (in fact, it’s been backed up by science). However, the randomness factor is one I never understood. Showing kindness is not a random act, and it doesn’t even need to be a selfless one. Many studies have demonstrated helping people not only makes them happier, it also makes you happier. This led me to the belief that being compassionate and being logical are actually the same thing. So why are we labeling acts of kindness as “random”? Here are some reasons why I think we need to look at kindness from a more strategic perspective:
Hi all – my post this week is just going to be a short announcement. I created this blog to be a resource to people who are looking to have a positive impact in the world, but truth be told, there are already lots of existing resources to help you have a better impact on the world, statistically speaking. That’s why I created this handy resource page. That page is there to link you to other sites that will also help you on your journey to be a better, smarter person – whether it’s through philanthropy, volunteerism, ethical business, or simply having the facts you need to tackle the big issues.
Know a cool resource you think a missed? Please shoot me a message and let me know. While you’re at it, here are some other good reasons to send me a message:
Like many of you, I was deeply saddened to learn of Leonard Nimoy’s passing this week. Since this is a blog about being both compassionate and logical at the same time, I think it is pretty clear that I, like so many of my fellow nerds, hope to follow in Mr. Nimoy’s footsteps – not just in being an intelligent, accomplished person, but also in being a caring and compassionate one. Today, in his honor, I wanted to talk about the many ways in which being compassionate is actually a quite logical choice.
We all want to be a caring and supportive friend to the people in our lives, but we are also all human beings, so we’re not 100% good at it all of the time. Here to help me lend a little insight into the art of being a good friend, is Licensed Mental Health Clinician Christy Paul. Christy is Head of Personnel and Training at TalkSpace – an innovative new app that lets you talk anonymously to a therapist in real-time, making mental health care more accessible to those of us who can’t afford to visit a therapist regularly and in person. Today, Christy is helping me reflect on being a supportive friend, even over long distances and in times of crisis, with these tips:
I did a post recently about getting beyond “slacktivism” and actually posting on social media in a way that is impactful. Today, I wanted to dive a little bit into what NOT to do. When you’re a person like me who cares a lot about a cause, or even many causes, it’s very easy to get worked up and start posting things that make you feel good and use some activist language, but are not actually effective at creating social change. Here are a few examples of things that might make you feel good, but do not actually do anything to improve the world we live in.
This week’s post is for those of you looking to take the concept of helping others and having a positive social impact to the next level by making it the center of your career aspirations. Joining me on this topic is Professor David Campbell, Chair of the Department of Public Administration at Binghamton University. Not only could I not have written today’s blog without his help, but I also wouldn’t have been able to launch a career in public service myself! Today, we’ve decided to tackle some of the big questions about entering a career in this field. Continue reading
The Goodness Geek 