I don’t watch the news. Not because I don’t care. But because I want to focus my energy and mind on things I can impact. Good thoughts foster good action and worried thoughts more worry and despair.
I always said that one day I was going to start a ‘Happy News Channel’. Where journalists would go out in the world to capture the good stories, bring them back and edit them into news clips that would bring hope, inspiration and action.
A former Reuters journalist I talked with on the plane years ago understood my urge but concluded that some students had tried it once… It doesn’t sell as many tickets, it doesn’t get viewers. I get it: our brains are wired to look for danger and you get more reactions from people around you if you bring a big drama compared to sharing a story around what a smooth, easy day you had because everything worked out exactly as you wanted it to.
It’s encouraging that so many of us are passionate about creating a better world, but when we frame it ‘war against waste’ or ‘war against…’ we bring more attention to the unwanted state – and make it a fight instead of a concerted solution. Turn it 180 degrees and language what it is you want more of. That’s powerful.
We change the world from where we are. And if that’s in the couch worried, I’m not sure a lot will actually change.
If you start changing your own focus, start helping your mind along to spend more time appreciating and being curious about all the wonders of the world, your reality will change. The amount of change you can then make happen in the world around you will astound you. Your choice. I know mine. The Good News Channel.