If you watch the news every day, you’d think the world is spinning out of control and that life in America couldn’t possibly be worse. Chaos is everywhere. Nothing is working. Everything is broken.

Here’s something worth remembering as we step into 2026. The news isn’t a record of normal life. It’s a record of exceptions.

Roughly 100,000 airplane flights land safely every single day. No one reports on that. What makes the headlines is the one flight that nearly misses another by a few thousand feet. One rare, frightening moment becomes the story, while the ordinary success disappears into the atmosphere. I was on a flight that made an emergency landing in Oklahoma City after a cockpit fire.

We consume the world the same way.

Some people struggle, some far more than most. The economic imbalance in this country is real and long-standing. The top 10% of Americans hold nearly 60% of the nation’s wealth and control over 93% of the stock market. Meanwhile, the bottom 50%, most of us are included here, share only about 2.5 to 3% of total wealth.

That gap didn’t start yesterday, and it isn’t shocking anymore, which is exactly why it rarely makes headlines.

What doesn’t get covered is the homeless family struggling day after day, because that story has become tragically ordinary. Ironically, the moment that family does make the news is when a Good Samaritan shows up with a check and a camera, because that visible act of generosity is the exception.

I know my life isn’t newsworthy. I do well enough to get by. I’m not worried about myself. I’ll admit that I often feel stuck when I wonder how I can actually make life better for someone else in 2026.

I don’t have thousands of dollars to give away. I’m not going to trend on social media for doing the right thing. Maybe that’s the point.

What One Person Can Do in 2026

Making a difference doesn’t require a headline. It requires consistency. Here are a few ways I’m thinking about showing up quietly and imperfectly in the year ahead:

• Support locally and repeatedly. On “Giving Tuesday,” I donate $5 to a bunch of small nonprofits. I either know someone who works there or have received services from them. Small and consistent giving matters more than one dramatic gesture. The image is from a night the Bethel Methodist Church volunteers served dinner at the Boulder Homeless Shelter.
• Pay attention to proximity. The people who need help most are often the ones closest to us, like our neighbors, coworkers, and families in our community. Noticing is the first step.
• Use skills, not just money. Skills such as teaching, writing, mentoring, repairing, and organizing can improve life in ways cash alone doesn’t.
• Tell better stories. Share stories of resilience and dignity, rather than those about crisis. Remind people that struggle doesn’t erase humanity.
• Vote with time and intention. Where we spend our time, our energy, and who wins our votes, quietly shapes the future more than outrage ever will.
• Be a steady presence. Showing up again and again, especially when no one is watching, is how trust is built.

Widen your lens 2026

The start of a new year is when we usually turn inward. We resolve to lose weight, get a better job, quit gambling, drink less, and do more yoga. Those are good, necessary goals. Taking care of ourselves matters.

I don’t know anyone who truly wishes ill will on others. I don’t know anyone who doesn’t, at least in principle, want the world to be better than it is. Most of us are overwhelmed and not cruel. I get tired. I’m unsure where to begin.

In 2026, here’s where I’m starting.

Do good, and do no harm.

If you can help, help.
If you can’t help, don’t hurt.
If you’re unsure what to do, choose kindness over indifference.

I know that I can’t fix everything in the world. I doubt that I’ll grab a headline or a viral Facebook moment.

As we move into 2026, my hope for myself and for anyone reading this is that we strive to improve our own lives while remembering we’re not alone in this. Each of us needs to make one choice today that leaves someone else a little better off than they were before they crossed your path.

It might look like patience.
It might look like listening.
It might look like showing up when it’s inconvenient.

Those choices aren’t newsworthy, but they make life livable.

That’s a future worth building.