I begin my day with a mug of high-quality freshly brewed tea and reading a few pages in a good book. Most people begin theirs with coffee and the news. Many a t-shirt has a logo announcing that the day really doesn’t begin before that first hit of caffeine. I understand that principle. I’m not, by nature, a morning person. I like the ritual of having my cup of hot tea before I engage in conversation or activity. For many people that daily ritual accompanies the morning newspaper, TV or radio. Can’t begin the day without being informed of current affairs in the world and in our country. And for most people, they can’t finish their day without a repeat of the same daily ritual….watching or listening to the news.
I’ve read a lot about today’s journalistic efforts to supply entertainment to an eager audience. It sickens me to realize how gullible we are as a society and how much we crave being entertained. I know a lot of very intelligent people who buy into the entertainment provided by local and national news networks and believe it to be gospel. I also know many people who feel they simply must stay informed as a responsible citizen.
Inc magazine wrote recently about an article in the Harvard Review by a team of psychologists whose research showed …
People who watch just three minutes of negative news in the morning have a whopping 27 percent greater likelihood of reporting their day as unhappy or depressing six to eight hours later.
They further report that watching the news can have a negative effect on work performance and that “the majority of news stories showcase problems in our world that we can do little or nothing about.”
And here is something interesting from this report…. “….when we’re optimistic — in a positive state — our brain thinks it has more resources to solve problems and come up with solutions, so it actually lets in more opportunities.” Hard to stay optimistic when we are continually bombarded with bad news.
I don’t listen to the news. It is a rare day I would ever turn on the TV, radio or pick up a newspaper (are there still some out there?) to be “informed”. I don’t have to. I hear it from everyone around me. And it’s mostly gloom and doom. And, like the research article said, I can do little about what is happening in the world, the country or even the state I live in. I don’t have a problem with FOMO (fear of missing out) if I don’t stay informed of who raped, pillaged, lied or corrupted.
You’ve heard it a million times….we all have choices. I love, and often use, the quotation by Barbara Bush who stated,
“Your success as a family, our success as a nation, depends not on what happens in the White House…but what happens inside your house.”
What influences your mood for the day? I love that Dan includes a “Good News” section to his weekly podcasts and gets so many affirmations from others who think this is a refreshing way to look at life. He also hears from listeners who have stopped listening to the daily news and are astounded at how much it has increased productivity and mood change.
It’s unfortunate we live in a world of gloom and doom. But I choose to take seriously what Barbara Bush stated and concentrate on what I can do to enhance the beauty and success around me in my own home, neighborhood and community.
Are you willing to go on a news fast? I’d love to hear what that does for you!
You’re so right. The more I avoid the news in the morning, the better my mood that day. The news reporters have an agenda and their agenda does not have to be mine.
You better believe they have an agenda…and it is their job to keep us entertained. Thanks for your comment, Pam.
I love the beginning of the day. And I sure don’t want the first thing I see or hear to be about all the negativity in the world. Enough of that will creep in but I love that we’ve decided to stop the “news” from diluting the peace in our home.
Amen to that! There is so much around me….people and projects where I can help…..And I am appalled at what most people find entertaining these days! Thanks for commenting, Dan..
The morning coffee with my hubby is absolutely first in my morning routine. I have the dog in my lap and local news and weather is on.
We don’t watch national news because they are so noisy (talking over each other) and they are politically driven. I’ve noticed local news tends to be more cheerful and carries that TN warmth.
As an author that writes about human behavior, I tend to be more curious about things people do than be negativity affected by it. It will often light a fire – giving me a day of research and writing. But I do need to shut all that off – painting and camping are my top favorite ways to do that.
I LOVE coming to the Sanctuary there Joanne! It is every bit a sanctuary that brings peace and creativity to every soul that enters the door. It exudes your being. Thank you for sharing!!
I have my recliner sitting at the side of our “entertainment” (yeah right, some entertainment!) center. I strategically sit it there so I couldn’t see the TV. I don’t hear it either unless I want to, because I’ve usually got my headphones on listening to good music on YouTube and learning how to play more songs for our Sunday morning church services.That’s pretty much my main passion right now. I LOVE my guitars, and I love playing on Sunday mornings, or any other time for that matter. Sorry if I got off subject. 🙂
Anyway, yeah, me too Ms. Joanne. To me it seems like as soon as the TV is turned on at our house, the real world that matters most kinda comes to an end. And I am more a fan of the real world where it is about family and good friends. Thus, I look at a TV as an opponent, rather than a part of my life.
Archie, I am thrilled you are enjoying your guitars so much. There are so many things we can do besides watch TV and listen to the news. Dan and I play games a lot in the evening and lately we have been sorting through thousands of old family photos, getting rid of some, passing some on to the kids. You posted a great comment and I appreciate it!
This is a very good reminder for me. I still believe that one of the biggest reasons I was able to quit drinking was because I was living in my car and didn’t watch any TV.
I’ve had a knee injury recently and started watching a bunch of news while I sit all day with ice on my knee. Not good, hahaha! There has never been a better time to be alive than right now but if you watch the news you would think the world is coming to an end! Here are some of the good things going on right now:
-44 Indians come out of extreme poverty every MINUTE!
-a woman born in 1910 had a life expectancy of 54. A woman born today has a 50/50 chance of reaching 100!
-since 1990, 285,000 people gained access to safe drinking water every day for a total of about 2.5 billion people.
-extinction rates of birds and mammals have been falling since 1990
-the price of electricity has not changed since 2007, which is a drop in price once you figure in inflation. This happened despite the lowering of carbon emissions.
-since 1950 the infant mortality rate has dropped from 15% to 3%.
My knee is better now and it’s time to get on with it and get back to the basics. Thank you for the “check up from the neck up”. And I’ll have to thank Archie for reposting this because I missed it the first time. Thanks for sharing Joanne!
LOVE this comment, Sutton! To add to your amazing statistics, the unemployment rate is at an incredible low and jobs can be found everywhere……Yet the news will give us so much to worry and fear. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if people thrived on good news rather than eagerly watching for the next disaster??!! So sorry about your knee and hope it heals rapidly. Hard to keep a good man down!