“You have to watch the news. How else will you know what’s going on in the world,” says most human beings. In fact, those same people couldn’t imagine life without it.

Fear

I cut off the news many years ago when I decided to focus on living a more positive life. I realized the news was bad for my well being. It focuses on fear and impedes my creativity and ability to think for myself. Once I cut it off I became a happier person because I no longer consumed things that didn’t directly impact my life. It is proven that watching too much news increases our personal worry. I have enough to worry about without the added stress of the news.

“The news is completely manipulated. Everything you hear, every single day is designed by corporate media to do one thing only. To keep you living in fear.”  

— Matt Ferrell in Live Free or Die Hard

Chess Not Checkers

If you think back to all the news stories you consumed in the past month, how many helped you make a better decision for your life, family, career or business? Watching the news is time consuming and not relevant to you making improvements in your life. Big media wants to you believe that you are ahead of the game by watching, but if everyone’s watching who has the advantage? In fact the less news you watch, the bigger edge you have. Think about it!! The game of life is chess not checkers.

Mind Control

In the past, we got the majority of the news from watching the television. But even though less and less people have tvs in their home, people are still consuming a whole lot of news. The news now gets shoved down our throats through social media, Youtube, mobiles apps and notifications that get sent directly to our phones. We also have fake news that spreads misinformation to increase readership, online sharing, and Internet click revenue. Everyone wants to get in the game of mind control. Once your mind is controlled, you will keep tuning in and you’re vulnerable to being controlled through your actions, spending habits, and so much more.

Creativity Killer

The news kills your creativity. Cut on the TV in the morning or scroll the CNN feed on Facebook when you first get to work. It dictates your mood and impedes your ability to imagine and think. Instead of using the limited time you have to read and allow your mind to explore, you are stuck on watching the news story and later discussing with co-workers around the water cooler and in your social circles. Oftentimes when I am in the gym in the morning, MSNC is on the television screen. From time to time I may glance at a headline ‘about Donald Trump’ and shake my head. Then I quickly cut up the music in my headphones to continue to block out the distractions.

False Sense of Reality

The news is depressing and a bad portrayal of reality. If you watch too much news, you will catch yourself saying that, “God has to be coming back soon.”  You believe that things are so bad and it will only get worse. You start to believe that everywhere you go is bad and everyone you interact with is dangerous. So you live in your bubble with the news being your reality of the world. I learned this wasn’t true when I started traveling more and more especially out of the country. While everyone back home was panicking about the housing bust, the folks I met on vacation were loving every minute of life. The world isn’t all sunshine and rainbows but maybe it can be if you train your mind that way.

Will Never Know it All

Why do you need to be so informed? You will never know it all and the news isn’t giving you the information you need to crush life anyway. Having a positive outlook despite the challenges you encounter is vital to having success in every aspect of life including your career, health and relationships. So why do you need to stay up-to-date watching the news that affects your emotions and thoughts in a non-positive way? Try to cut off the news for a day and then a week, read more and see how your mood and attitude improves. You can’t do anything about the news so focus on what you can change and improve.

Prevents Sleep

Try to get a good night’s sleep after watching the news. More than half of Americans say the news causes them stress, and many report feeling anxiety, fatigue or sleep loss as a result, the survey shows. Read a book, meditate, go to the gym or do yoga before you go to sleep and see if you sleep better. You can also repeat some affirmations and positive quotes before you go to bed. Here is what I try to do and what you can do before you call it a night:

• Focus on what you are thankful for
• Think about how you will crush the next day (put off the to-do list for the next day)
• Grab a drink or do something to help you relax
• Don’t check email or think about work
• Limit any social media, Youtube and the Internet all together

So start the next day off on a positive note by getting a good night’s rest. Cut off the news and start living a happier and more productive life.