4 min
#Good News
Out of office: on. Time to zoom out.
I’m finishing the last to-do’s, and getting ready – along with many others — to step away from the world of targets, to-do lists, and Teams calls.
I’m looking forward to it. And… I’m also wondering how I’m actually going to do it: really zoom out while grim headlines keep flooding my phone, no matter where I am.
Sometimes I miss the days when I’d call home once a week from a phone booth to say I was still alive, and that international crew I was ‘renovating’ a castle with, paddling and cooking in rural France, was my entire universe. Now I wake up to push notifications about migration laws, climate disasters, wars, and a sense of total helplessness. Taking time off from the news feels naïve and a luxury I can’t afford.
But maybe, just maybe, it’s time to explore different destinations, even when it comes to news. Instead of my daily “what-is-wrong-with-the-world” scroll, could I try something else?
What if good news is out there and I just need to learn to see it again? Not by closing my eyes to reality, but by actively searching for it. Like arriving in a new place, hungry to learn everything about this unfamiliar region I’ve landed in.
Paris, but different.
This summer, I’m going on a Good News Expedition. I’ve already done some scouting:
- Protecting the environment has always made economic sense. Now we have proof – Nick Hutley in The Guardian (17/07). Link to article.
- JR – (street) artist I’ve followed for years. His work shines a spotlight on the invisible: from women in the favelas to refugees at the border. With love, humor and radical collaboration, he makes complex issues tangible — and hopeful.
- And closer to home (for me, at least): Het Geluid van Vooruit – a Dutch platform where change makers, entrepreneurs and thinkers share ideas and real, positive impact.
Join me?
Let us know what you find.
Enjoy your summer!
Annemarie de Jong
annemarie@better-future.com
#Summer tips from the Better Future team
Loeke – Podcast ‘De Vogelspotcast’
This podcast is your weekly reminder to look up from your screen and into the sky. Every episode, professional birder Arjan Dwarshuis takes his childhood friend Gisbert van Baalen—who knows absolutely nothing about birds—on a bird safari. The podcast is in Dutch, so if you don’t speak the language, take this as a friendly nudge from Loeke to go outside this summer and see what feathered friends live near you.
Annemarie – ‘All The Beauty In The World’ book by Patrick Bringley
In All the Beauty in the World, Patrick Bringley leaves his high-pressure job to become a guard at the Met after losing his brother. Among art and quiet, he finds space to grieve and reconnect with life. Annemarie especially enjoys the way Patrick observes the people around him—something she relates to, as she used to do the same on childhood museum visits with her parents.
Lieke – Album ‘In Limerence’ by Jacob Alon
In Limerence is an album with soft guitar, poetic lyrics, and a dreamy folk sound, Jacob Alon captures the intensity of longing and the delicate ache of love and loss. This vulnerable debut explores themes like queerness, love, and self-acceptance—with a palpable tension between shame and embracing who you are. Lieke saw Jacob Alon perform this album live at Best Kept Secret festival and was blown away.
Vincent – ‘Voorbij de Bergen’ book by Maud Ankaoua
In Voorbij de Bergen, Maëlle—a successful financial director—has her fast-paced life upended when a favor for her best friend takes her to the mountains of Nepal. What begins as a physical trek becomes a journey of self-discovery, purpose, and letting go.
Vincent appreciated this book because it reflected, confronted, deepened, and tied together experiences he encountered in different forms on my own path.
Daria – Podcast ‘Verder denken dan de waan van de dag’ with David van Reybrouck
Historian and storyteller David Van Reybrouck invites you to look beyond the hustle and bustle of daily life. In this podcast, he offers a clear, hopeful, and realistic perspective on the world in transition. His ideas are thought-provoking: what happens when you zoom out—or zoom in differently?
As Van Reybrouck puts it: “Innovation is the buzzword everywhere in the business world—except in democracy.” For Daria, this podcast was an eye-opener, encouraging renewal in places you might not expect.
Boris – ‘De Stad’ book by Marcel van Engelen
In De Stad, Marcel van Engelen tells the story of Amsterdam from the 1980s to today. He describes how the city recovered from decline, was transformed by forces like activism, policy, and market dynamics, and now grapples with the downside of success: a housing crisis, overtourism, and growing inequality. A compelling portrait of a city in constant transformation.
Just like with cities, building organizations is complex and multi-layered. Boris recommends this book because it shows how societies — and teams — evolve, in all their chaos and creativity.
