Being apathetic does not stop hopelessness. In fact, it feeds it.

More and more, Gen-Z and millennials are not only losing hope for the future, but they are becoming apathetic to it.

The constant barrage of tragedy on our feeds can make us feel so small. Sexism, racism, fascism, war, genocide – it all can become so overwhelming.

Many of us become apathetic. We shut down and go, “The world is on fire, there is nothing I can do except lay in bed and wait for the sweet embrace of death.”

In a way, I feel that many of us think that it will protect us: “We can not be let down if we never had our hopes up in the first place.”

But apathy is not the solution.

This idea that we can shut off our emotions and ignore the problems until they go away will only work until the problems start banging on your front door.

What are you going to do then?

One of the main causes of this apathy is the media we consume. If all we watch is negativity, our brain is going to be trained to only recognize the negative things that happen to us.

It does not help when algorithms feed you content in order to keep you scrolling on their app. If they know you are more likely to stay on the app after watching tragedy after tragedy, they have no problem feeding it to you.

Ultimately, to combat apathy there is one truth you need to know: every action you take has an impact, positive or negative.

Not every impact will be massive, but that does not make it any less important.

The choice to stop doomscrolling, to hang out with friends, to volunteer at your local animal shelter: none of those choices are going to change the world, but they are going to change someone’s world.

The solution to apathy is not hope, but rather a combination of “positive action” and “positive belief.”

Without belief your actions have no foundation, and without action, your belief has no proof. Together, they work to create hope.

In the abstract, this sounds more difficult than it really is. In actuality, this is what you are already doing, just negatively.

You believe you can not do anything to change the world, so you lay in bed and do nothing. Because you do nothing, nothing changes and the cycle continues.

In reality, it is all a mind game. You change your mindset, it will change your actions. Change your actions and it will change your beliefs.

Be better. Believe in something.