I don’t know about you but paying attention to the news can dampen confidence with faith in humanity. But then a year ago I turned off the radio and stopped watching TV to focus on the interactions I was having with the people in my daily life.

I began listening to podcasts and reading more books and starting focusing on how I can contribute more to society.

I guess you could say I’m deluding myself,  but no more than those people who are watching biased news sources or obtaining their news through a filtered social media. So many people are led to believe that the world is a brutal and heartless place. All that bad news breeds fear, distrust and consumerism. after all, why would we want a life filled with lower life satisfaction, higher material aspirations, and more anxiety?

“There are many things of which a wise man might wish to be ignorant.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson

                                                                                TELEVISION

Is a poor representation of society- “Anybody who has ever been a policeman, a lawyer, a psychiatrist, a doctor, or an FBI agent will attest to the truth that television does not accurately portray their life. In almost all aspects, television rarely depicts the world and life accurately. Too much television results in disillusionment about what to expect from the world around us. This can most commonly be seen in people’s expectations of love, romance, and sexuality“Joshua Becker Minimalist.

 It is influencing and distorting your worldview –the media exaggerates negative news, this one-sided reporting can limit critical thinking, robbing us of our awareness and independent thinking. one could say this is propaganda.

It is influencing your spending habits to the point of consuming beyond your needs. Australians on average spend up to 65 hours and 11 minutes a month watching TV. Does consuming enough advertisements over time for Kmart and target then become your go-to place when averse cravings kick in. the oportunity cost is too great, thats time you could have spent enjoying a hobby, reading a book, fulfilling a dream, enjoying exercising, meditating the list goes out. 

It is taking you away from the real people all around you . have we forgotten how to spend quality, present time engaging with the people around us, television is taking away time in which you could be contributing to others. 

 

Sometimes all it takes is a change of perspective, it’s not about counting the numbers on each side, but rather what can I do to make a difference in this world. How can I positively impact at least one person today? How can I be good in this world? What’s one small thing that you can do today to positively impact another?  shift your attention and focus on the real issues