The dead-simple secret I use to be less anxious and scared of the future
“What you think, you become. What you feel, you attract. What you imagine, you create”
Doesn’t the world just seem … terrible?
There’s just so much stuff happening. The war between Israel and Palestine. Russia and Ukraine. Hundreds of unreported small wars.
Rumors of wars-to-be.
Rumors of economic downturns so great, it seems like entire civilizations hinge on it.
Riots in the streets.
Changing social norms.
Amoral societies. Plastics in our food. Corruption in our governments.
And that’s outside of our personal struggles.
Finding sources of income, finding good relationships, trying to build a great life in a world that seems, by all accounts, about to collapse. All of that, and more.
Often, things just seem too much.
But I have a secret, one that protects my mental health despite how everything is crumbling to dust. And that secret is:
I don’t watch the news.
My family hadn’t owned a TV for more than a decade now. One day, what we had broke down. And we just … never bought one again.
And let me tell you, I’m much happier for it. I certainly seem to be less bothered about things than the average person.
But why?
We create our own reality
Do you know about cognitive biases?
Simply put, they’re shortcuts that our brains take to make our lives easier. We need these shortcuts — otherwise, we’re going to be so bogged down by every minute detail of our everyday lives that we can’t function.
But as much as we need them, cognitive biases can also lead us astray.
There are tons of cognitive biases, but I’ll only focus on one: confirmation bias. This mental trick is a shortcut where we cherry-pick proof to confirm things that we already believe in.
In other words, we literally create our own reality.
And there’s nothing that exemplifies it more than the news.
Media outlets are not our friends
We are bombarded 24/7 with fear, violence, and overall negativity, so much that we believe that the world is burning and there is no tomorrow. But not necessarily beacuse it’s true.
Instead, it’s because news stations and media outlets are factories, churning out in-demand commodities in exchange for cash.
Unfortunately, news outlets know that negativity is always on demand.
And you know it too.
I may not watch the news, but I scroll through Twitter: and the negativity there boggles the mind. I avoid it as much as I can, but sometimes, I see a shocking headline, and then I click before I realize what I’m doing.
Then I get angry or scared. Sometimes, if I’ve had a particularly rough day, this negativity fuels me to seek out more negative stuff.
A self-perpetuating cycle that is difficult to break out of.
So I chose to stop. I unfollowed news outlets, even from Twitter, and even actively avoid engaging posts with uber-controversial topics.
I’m much happier.
But I know what you’re thinking. What about sensitivity? What about our moral obligation? What about not being ignorant?
The secret, the better way
You want to be informed? Do your research, don’t be baited with surface level rage. Read peer reviewed research. Read books.
You want to do something? Engage with your immediate community, make a better life for yourself and your family.
You want to be more sensitive? Then care about the people you watch.
The secret to a better outlook for the future is simple: focus on action, not on negativity. We’re building something here, something great. The news does nothing for you.
Don’t watch the news.
