Yes, it’s true. The world can be a scary place. Especially in today’s complex world where there seems to be so much going on these days. I want to be in the know. I want to be informed. I want to know what’s going on. However, there’s a lot to absorb, and there’s so much to worry about. ISIS. Terrorism. Mass shootings. Travel warnings. Gang violence. Domestic violence. School violence. The first minutes of my local newscast are, quite honestly, difficult to watch. It can, at times, cause you to pause before you so much as step out of your house. It can be a convincing factor to stop you from traveling. It can paralyze you with fear. Don’t let it!
We can’t stop living and crumble to the chaos. We have to remind ourselves that the bad news only occupies the first six minutes or so of our newscasts. The remaining 24 minutes are filled with other, non-threatening pieces of information. Just get past the first few pages in the newspaper and you’ll find uplifting stories. The bad news doesn’t span front to back. It’s just that in a world of 24-hour news access, we are constantly bombarded and constantly reminded of the ills of society. It can, and it often does, affect our psyche. The trick is to balance your news feeds and not allow yourself to be inundated by 24-hours of bad news.
Since most people are connected to some sort of social media, and since most of us subscribe to “breaking news” feeds, it is important to find a way to limit them. One suggestion – keep separate news feeds, so you can control your intake. Have one feed of only NEWS, and get those breaking news stories only during the middle hours of the day. This way, you’re informed, but not burdened. There’s too much else going on – kids, jobs, spouses, bills, errands, etc. You can’t let yourself get bogged down because life is pushing you forward. Then, have another “news” feed purely to feed your soul with positivity. For me, I follow travelers, adventurers, wanderlusters. I find these people to be optimistic by nature. I follow the national parks and hikers and climbers and those who love the great outdoors. They post pictures and quotes that move me and inspire me and make me want to travel – the antithesis (antidote?) of the real news, you might say. I seek out those positive news feeds at the beginning and at the end of the day. I want to start each day and close out each day wrapped in optimism and inspiration. I want to constantly remind myself that there is so much more to life than the first six minutes of the news!