The world is a dangerous place, on the brink of disaster. Armageddon is just around the corner. North Korea and Iran are going nuclear. Iraq is lost. The economy is in the tank; it’s never been worse. Millions of unemployed, homeless people wherever you look. Your chances for advancement in your job or profession are dwindling because outsourcing is sending your job overseas or downsizing is about to claim another victim. The things that you love to eat will give you cancer. School shootings happen every other day. We are going to hell in a handbasket. Consumer confidence is down. Gas prices are down, but they’re going back up. The future is bleak.

If you believe the media, that is. If you watch the TV news, or listen to the radio talk shows, that’s what you’ll hear.

If you consistently watch tv or listen talk radio, you should be afraid—be very afraid: you are destroying your mind.

Our experience of reality is based on a couple of things: the information we take in, and what we focus on. Your reality becomes what you think about and what you focus on.
Do you really think that inundating yourself with all of the negativity of the daily news has no effect on your mind? Here’s a simple test: after you watch the news, what kind of mood are you in? Are you upbeat and positive, or dour and depressed? I’d wager on the latter.

I heard a statistic that over 90% of news coverage is negative in nature. That doesn’t suprise me. Even positive news is presented negatively. “The economic growth figures for March dropped to 35% below February.” What wasn’t said that March was still a record month for growth. (Those were just examples, by the way.) But in order to get you to pay attention, the news has to be presented in a way that makes you stop and take notice. In order for news organizations to stay alive and make a profit, they have to get people to pay attention to them. That’s how they do it.

So use your emotions as guidance. If you’re watching a program and it isn’t making you feel good, turn it off. If you listen to talk radio, and what the Democrats are doing in Washington is making you fume, turn it off. Bush did this, Cheney did that, Clinton did it again. Turn it off.

I’m not saying to bury your head in the sand. There is a need to be informed about the world around you. But don’t let it overwhelm you. Get the overview and leave. Don’t let the stupidity of the rest of the world dictate your own reality.

You control your own reality with your focus. So do it. Take control of your information intake and only let in and dwell upon what is going to benefit you. Don’t let others control your emotions like a puppet on strings.

If you want some tips to rid yourself of the daily news addiction, read this.