You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty.
-Mahatma Gandhi

If you find that you’re increasingly unable to feel hopeful about the state of humanity and the future of our society, you may be losing faith. There are many understandable roads that may have led you to your current mindstate. But no matter how you got here, it doesn’t have to be permanent. Here are three ways to heal and restore your faith in humanity.

1. Be the Change You Wish to See

The first way to restore your faith is to start within. Be the change you wish to see. Whichever acts of kindness or displays of philanthropy are the peak of inspiration in your eyes, go out and recreate those. You don’t need to wait for other people to prove that goodness and love still exist in the world. Prove it to yourself first. In turn, you will inspire so many others, creating a chain reaction of positivity.

1. Change Your Filter 

The next step is to change your filter. You are in control of what you expose yourself to. Are you listening to negative media? Are you only reading sad news? Do you watch particularly violent television shows that focus on disturbing topics? What type of conversations do you have with the people around you? What topics are most prevalent in your day-to-day discussions? Repeatedly exposing yourself to the same type of media, people and topics will result is a skewed overall view. To change, you must filter out the negative and prevent it from entering your space and ruining your faith in people. 

1. Change Your Lens

The last step is to change your lens. Perspective is everything. If you’ve lost hope or faith in humanity, try viewing things from another angle. Be mindful of how you are interpreting situations. Ask yourself whether you are judging people’s intentions from a place of optimism and empathy and whether you are choosing to see the best in them. Psalms 139:14 says that we are all fearfully and wonderfully made. Try to keep in mind that God created each of us for a divine purpose. Place your faith in the humanity He designed. 

It’s easy to fall into the trap of believing the world is all doom and gloom. People can be disappointing, and at times, it’s difficult to have hope in mankind. But there are many more good people than bad who are working every day to make the world a better place. So, try these three ways to restore your faith in humanity and change your outlook for the better.