All is well.
Nobody, so they say, wants to read a message like this.
Sometimes when I write a blog post, I think people might find my life pretty boring. I’m not the damsel in distress, nor do I like to create any sorts of disaster.
When I run into a problem I look for a solution. When I’m ill I don’t want to make a fuss about it, but stay in bed and see that I get better fast.
I like to feel good and take care so that my life runs smoothly and in a self-directed manner. So, I may have too many good news to tell. No click bait, after all.
It’s a human paradox that we all strive for good feelings. But at least for an observer nothing seems to be more tedious than being confronted with continuing happiness and well-being.
What is making the news
Good news are no news. This is the principle you have to follow, if you want to catch attention.
Back in my days at the newspaper, I learnt this lesson well. All of a sudden, my journalistic career rose, fueled by a catastrophic event that made the headline.
And I was at the right place at the right time taking the chance to write the lead story.
I had been around as a free-lancer for quite a while. People liked my stories, but they were small scale. Good enough to fill the columns and entertain the readers.
Meanwhile, the big news were taken care of by the established, hard-boiled old men.
One day, for the first time, I was asked to sit in for the night shift.
It was just a couple of days before Christmas, and everybody wanted to go shopping for presents and be home on time for a warm dinner.
They all assured me, it was an easy, quiet job, doing some updates if any came along. Additionally, it meant being well paid for having an undisturbed, almost leisurely evening.
No comparison to the noisy, hectic, stressful day shift I was used to manage.
And then my stomach dropped
It all began as they had predicted. Almost boringly idle.
Until at about 8:30 pm.
The message alarm on the press agencies‘ telefax machines started to flash a violent red light and gave a pervasive ring. My stomach dropped down to my knees …
I must have some inborn crisis management talent – anyway, with the help of a few colleagues who kept feeding me with the latest updates, I was able to cover the event and rock the show.
On the next morning, in my perception, I felt a little exhausted, but I was just the same girl.
For them however, I was a different person. Suddenly I had a name. Suddenly I got noticed by the executive floor. Suddenly I was somebody, who could do it. A full-proof journalist.
It really hit me, in the literal sense, over night.
This reminds me of Harry Belafonte’s famous quote: „It took me almost thirty years to become an overnight success.“
In my case, I was at the right place at the right time to publish “bad news” that triggered emotions and got everybody interested.
For myself, I just had done my job as best as I could. For them, my work had the desired impact. And that was the clue.
Actually, nowadays I prefer to be a little boring and spread good news. It’s way more pleasing to see the glass half full and deal with obstacles proactively than lose yourself in fear and negativity.
Because it’s the optimistic attitude that opens up the whole potential of the brain to find solutions and encourage change for the better.
