Why I'm using hope over fear to motivate people to act

These days in Switzerland the Swiss state is planning to remove millions from education funding. This could mean that tuition fees for higher education will double.

Switzerland has very low tuition fees. Something that is pretty great for people like me who come from a modest background, because it means that I could get a Masters without debt even without being rich! Which is pretty great!

As this change is being planned, univiersities and student groups are mobilizing through lobbying and petitions. As someone who taught from the first day I had something to teach, starting back when I was a teenager with tutorials on some weird niche forums, I feel it's important to support these actions.

Having worked also on political advertising back in the days, I know what are some of the best ways to make people act. Play with their deepest instincts. Which often means: provocate the fear and the outrage. Been there, done that.

But frankly, as I'm getting older, I don't want to contribute anymore to a world that is already filled with outrage, pessimism and negativity.

My poetic side is telling me to rather work with gratitude, hope and positivity.

That’s why instead of sharing outrage about the glass being half empty, I’m taking the weird approach of acknowledging that there is even more than a glass half full! There is a glass!

In this case the glass is the fact that many univiersities and student groups are working hard to change the minds of the politicians. The glass is the fact that for years we have had the possibility for people coming from modest backgrounds, like myself, to give them a higher education without being overwhelmed by debt.

These are all things to be thankful for and that can also motivate us.

As I wrote last year in the Service Design Principle Rebuild your hope by seeing all what has changed

[...] hope seems to make people more motivated to act as some academics like Maria Ojala suggest:

"Young people who have constructive hope about climate change are significantly more likely to engage in positive environmental behaviors, compared with young people who lack hope and those who have hope based on denial of climate change."