[VIDEO] Savor, Sub, Spark: 3 Ways To Find Hope In Troubling Times

With the state of the world being what it is, it can often feel challenging to keep hope alive.

However, there’s a crucial insight to understand: oppressive systems thrive on our negativity bias.

Our brains are wired with 200 cognitive biases – negativity bias being particularly powerful. We are naturally more likely to:

• Recall insults over compliments
• Respond more intensely to adverse stimuli
• Dwell on unpleasant events
• Focus quickly on negative information

Social media platforms exploit this bias, flooding our feeds with rage-inducing, traumatizing content that keeps us stuck and prevents progress. But there is a way to reclaim our mental space and energy.

Like Maxine Waters says, I am reclaiming her time and developed a three-word approach to combat doom scrolling and negativity I call Savor, Sub, Spark.

Ground yourself by engaging your five senses. Notice what you’re feeling, hearing, smelling, and seeing. This helps you stay present and connected to your body.

Replace negative consumption with inspiring alternatives:

• Listen to an uplifting podcast
• Read a book from your shelf
• Choose music that aligns with your values

In those moments, I typically seek out four types of content:

• Untold history with inspiring solutions to insurmountable problems
• Creators from overlooked and underrepresented communities
• Critical media analysis to challenge the misinformation we’re bombarded with 
• Inspiring prose/poems art that gets me to think differently

Create something meaningful. After savoring and substituting, generate an idea, thought, or belief. Capture it through writing, voice memo, video, or image.

(Watch the full video to hear how Christina uses this practice, in her own words.)

This practice helps redirect the energy of our imaginations from constantly being hijacked by the tomfoolery that is all over the internet and in social media, towards a more nourishing, supportive vision of the future. As a speaker and facilitator, I have witnessed how important social and cultural knowledge and unconventional wisdom is for changing our wellbeing, relationships, and impact, but these powerful practices are often overlooked or under-taught. 

Remember: Our ancestors faced far more challenging circumstances. We come from a lineage of walking miracles. Refuse to let your joy and hope be stolen by fear and hatred.

You have the power to reclaim your time and design a practice of hope that can help you envision and create a better future. I hope you join me in building a more intentional, hopeful approach to navigating these complex times.

If you’re looking for a place to get support on changing your habits like this, finding new communication practices, and setting new goals, Christina is launching The New Quo Learning Communityfor mission-driven individuals seeking meaningful change. Over six years, she’s trained 14,000 people across nine industries, focusing on social and cultural knowledge often overlooked or under-taught. She’s been featured in the New York Times, Forbes, Business Insider, and Nasdaq.com among other outlets. As a Utah native and resident of NYC for the past 15 years, she knows far more uses for jello than she’d like to admit.

The community is open for sign ups now and officially open next Wednesday January 15th, get more information here: bit.ly/TNQcommunity.