We’re naturally wired for empathy and goodness, but doom-scrolling makes us forget. When we pause and get curious about others instead of judging, it reduces our anxiety too.
The story
You know what gets me? We spend so much time doom-scrolling through bad news that we forget something pretty remarkable: we’re actually wired for goodness.
I’m serious. Science backs this up. Our brains come equipped with empathy as a default setting. It’s not something we have to force or fake – it’s already there, just waiting to be activated.
Think about the last time someone cut you off in traffic or snapped at you in line. Your first instinct might’ve been anger, right? But what if that person just got terrible news? What if they’re having the worst day of their life?
When we pause and get curious about what’s really going on with someone – not judging, just wondering – something shifts. That’s cognitive empathy in action. And it doesn’t just help them. It actually calms us down, reduces our own anxiety.
Scott Howard Swain talks about this in “A Practical EmPath: Rewire Your Mind.” He calls it “Street empathy” – taking psychological concepts and making them work in real life. Like when there’s conflict, instead of getting defensive, you ask questions. You try to understand. Suddenly an argument becomes a conversation.
Here’s the wild part: when we practice this intentionally, good deeds and generosity start flowing naturally. Because they’re not exceptions to who we are. They’re reflections of our true nature.
The goodness is already in you. It’s in all of us. We just have to remember to look for it – in ourselves and in each other.
