Protect Yourself from the Negative Media

No matter who you are or where you live, it is difficult to separate yourself from the 24-hour news culture we’ve created – especially from the negative pieces that seem to permeate our reporting services.  Turn on any TV, open up any computer or pick up any newspaper and you’ll be immediately inundated with images and stories on war, poverty, famine and disease.

It isn’t that our world has become angrier or more violent than ever before – it’s just that the globalization of the news process has given us a never-before-seen level of exposure to all the ills that can be found in the world.

According to yogi and mystic Sadhguru:

“In reality, the world is less violent than ever before. Sitting in Los Angeles a thousand years ago, if a thousand people had died in Chennai, you would be looking at the sunset, looking at the ocean and the bay and thinking that the world is absolutely, wonderfully peaceful. Now, if something is happening in Egypt the fires of Cairo are burning in your own house through your television and internet.”

By constantly exposing ourselves to different news sources, we allow these “fires” to burn in our minds – clouding out more positive thoughts and leading to a more negative demeanor.  If left unchecked, a mind that focuses too closely on negative media stories becomes negative itself, leading to dissatisfaction with life and outright frustration over the state of the world.

So what can be done to prevent this from occurring?  Consider taking the following actions to prevent negative media stories from controlling your life and your mind:

Limit exposure to traditional news sources

Negative news stories dominate traditional media sources because it is these news pieces that make money.  At the end of the day, media sources are a business –their only goal is to maximize their number of visitors (which, in turn, maximizes their ad revenue).  Because sex and sadness sell, the news media will always continue to feature these stories prominently in their lineups.

However, this doesn’t mean that you need to consume the content distributed by traditional news sources mindlessly.  Consciously make an effort to minimize the amount of media you expose yourself to – especially those stories that focus on violence and other sad topics.  While it is important to be informed on the topics that have the potential to affect your life, mindlessly consuming news stories without a concern for how they’ll affect your own health and well-being serves no good purpose.

Seek out more positive stories

Once you’ve eliminated unnecessary media consumption from your life, replace these gaps in your schedule with more positive stories.  These can come from a number of different sources, including blogs, specialized news sites or even speaking with the people around you instead of relying on an external source of information.

Despite what these media sources would have you believe, the world is full of wonderful, peaceful, joyful, loving human beings who are doing extraordinary works of good every day.  While it’s important to be aware of the negative things that are happening alongside these good deeds, it’s impossible to do anything to fix them if you’ve allowed the negativity and violence of todays’ media to take up residence in your heart and mind.

The next time you find yourself feeling frustrated or angry over a negative story on the news, turn off your TV or shut down your web browser.  Focus instead on the positive things that are happening in the world.  By nurturing the positive, you will eventually find the strength needed to fight the negative.