Beyond Awareness: Exposing the Problem won't Energize the Solution

While awareness days have good intentions, they constantly spotlight disease, violence and abuse and unintentionally amplify fear and hopelessness instead of the solutions we actually want to see.

The law of attraction perspective reminds us that “you get what you focus on”, so if our focus is mostly on the problem, we risk energizing more of the same, rather than the healthy, loving and safe world we long for. 

Awareness vs focus

The law of attraction is built on a simple idea: whatever we repeatedly give our attention and emotional energy to grows in our experience, whether positive or negative. When awareness campaigns are dominated by images of suffering, statistics of death, and messages of fear, they keep collective attention locked on the problem-state instead of the desired healing-state. This does not mean “ignore the problem”; it means becoming very intentional about centering our energy, imagery and language on the outcomes we actually want to manifest.

What the numbers show

Even with decades of activism and awareness, many of these issues remain severe and in some cases are rising in impact. Globally, at least one animal is abused every 60 seconds and close to 10 million animals die from abuse or cruelty every year in the United States alone, while reported cruelty cases in some regions have risen sharply in recent years.

 In South Africa, gender-based violence is still described as an epidemic, with femicide rates about five times the global average and thousands of women murdered in a single year despite laws, campaigns and “16 Days” awareness drives.

Breast cancer tells a similar story: worldwide incidence is rising and is projected to increase significantly by 2050, with deaths also expected to climb, especially in regions like Africa where access to early detection and treatment is limited.

 HIV is an area where medical progress has reduced new infections and deaths since the early 2000's, yet millions still live with HIV and tens of thousands are newly infected every year in countries like South Africa, reminding us that awareness alone has not solved the deeper drivers of unsafe sex, inequality and stigma.

A new kind of “awareness day”

If “you attract what you focus on”, then it makes sense to design days that magnetize solutions, not just rehearse wounds. 

Imagine shifting from: World AIDS Day to Healthy Sexuality Awareness Day, centered on pleasure, consent, respect, communication, and body-positivity.

GBV Awareness Day to Radical Kindness and Respect Day, spotlighting everyday behaviours, the roles of women and girls in society, good relationship and communication skills and community norms that make violence completely socially unacceptable.

Breast Cancer Awareness Month to Healthy Living and Early Detection Month, filled with stories and practices of nourishment, movement, stress healing and empowered screening.

Animal Abuse Awareness Week to Compassion for All Beings Week, focused on humane choices, adoption, ethical food systems, and joyful human–animal bonds. 

By deliberately putting our collective attention on safety, kindness, health, respect and compassion (the states we actually want) we align both consciousness and action with those outcomes.

The problems still get addressed, but we no longer dominate the energetic centre of the conversation around fear, pain, harm and death; instead, the ideal becomes the magnet that pulls culture toward love and real healing.