November 4, 2026

Good News for Humankind 🌏

Your daily spark of possibility — one real milestone for change from around the world.

China’s mangroves have nearly tripled since 1998

China’s mangroves more than doubled in area from 1998 to 2020, from about 26,000 acres to about 70,000, according to a study by Ningbo University researchers in The Innovation. Recorded bird species in those forests rose from 148 to 397, and recorded threatened species from 11 to 21.

Policy, planting, and warming helped the forests grow, and the authors suggest cleaner coastal water and richer plankton fed the birds.

The bird counts may partly reflect more birdwatchers, and thicker mangroves can crowd out mudflats that shorebirds need. China also holds only about 0.2% of the world’s mangroves, so the gains are real but small on a global scale.

Chapter 5: Passion | 5-7 Aspirational and shadow values

Embodying our values is a continuous, lifelong practice. First, we state our values. Then we spend our lives trying to better embody them.

When our actions reflect our words and our words reflect our beliefs, we can say our values are fully actualized. We can say we are living in full integrity.

But most of us fall short of this in one way or another. We are human. We profess to live by values that we don’t truly live by. We might call these aspirational values.

Likewise, many of us live by values we haven't stated at all. We are largely unaware of them and their power in our lives. For example, we might say we value generosity, peace, and courage, but actually live by frugality, striving, and agreeableness. We might call these shadow values.

Shadow values are not necessarily bad. They are simply unseen. Often, they drive our very worst behaviors. They reflect our deepest fears and shame. But they can also be a place of deep beauty, aspects of our genius so powerful and brilliant that we deem ourselves unworthy of them. For example, the world may see us consistently choosing to act with courage, but we may not yet be able to see and claim that courage within ourselves. When we finally see and claim it, we can express it even more powerfully and clearly than before.

Our genius ultimately amplifies whatever is within us. But what it amplifies is not the values we profess, but the ones we actually embody, the ones we actually live by. Seeing and stating them clearly just amplifies them further.

Working on our personal values, then, isn't simply about thinking through what you believe you value most or want to value and then calling those your personal values. You must look inward and examine honestly what values you actually embody in practice.

This is an excerpt from my upcoming book The Antihero's Journey: From Burnout to Real Contribution in Polycrisis Times. To read other excerpts, go here.

Peter Schulte Burnout & purpose coach, recovering hustle hero. ​​​

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