World Economic Collapse Imminent! Is Your Neighbor a Terrorist! Food and Petrol Prices Continue to Skyrocket! Brad & Angelina's Marital Woes Britney Spears in Love Triangle! The Sky is Falling! Every day the media bombard us with news stories via the newspaper, radio and television.
Unfortunately 95% of these stories are negative, scandalous or promote fear.
(Go ahead, pick up today's newspaper or watch prime time news and you'll quickly see what I mean!) The media use hype and distortions of the truth to increase viewership and readership.
These tactics are used quite successfully to influence everything from the political party you choose to the type of vehicle you drive to the clothes you wear.
While this is NOT news for most, the question begs.
Is this regular consumption of information positively contributing to your happiness and well being? Or could it be that the constant flow of negative information is stealing your precious time and affecting your mental and emotional health? Do You Have A Media Addiction? You might have a media addiction if...
• You have an overwhelming desire to stay up to date with current affairs • You feel compelled to read the newspaper, listen to the radio, watch the news etc on a daily basis (even when you're on holiday) • You find it difficult to limit your time on the internet - (eg: you love to surf and feel the need to constantly check your email and Facebook every 5 minutes!) • You experience withdrawal symptoms if you haven't had your media "fix" for more than a few hours.
This is not to say you shouldn't concern yourself with legitimate issues affecting you day to day life.
Should you be concerned about rising food and petrol prices? More than likely.
Should you be concerned that the King of Siam celebrated his umpteenth birthday by inviting a dancing troupe of 500 naked girls? Probably not.
If something is outside your circle of influence and not something you need to be concerned with, why immerse yourself in it? In other words, it's about being selectively ignorant.
What is Selective Ignorance? To be selectively ignorant is to be conscious of energy sucking, time consuming "vampires" that have the potential to negatively affect your mental and emotional well being.
It's about being aware of everything you "consume.
" For example: 1) What you eat - Your food choices affect your mood, energy levels, levels of immunity etc 2) What you listen to - radio, music.
3) What you read - newspapers, trashy gossip magazines.
4) What you watch - prime time news, violent movies and mind numbing talk shows! And don't forget that the internet can be a HUGE time waster unless you have specific objectives and can ration your time effectively.
Of course, this is not to say that it's not OK to enjoy the occasional Hollywood blockbuster movie or read an entertaining book, it's simply about choosing wisely MOST of the time.
The Low Information Diet If you're suffering from information overload, would like to be more optimistic and happier in general, take the selective ignorance challenge.
The Selective Ignorance Challenge My challenge to you is to unplug yourself from the information superhighway for a full 7 days.
This media detox means NO newspapers or magazines, NO radio or news programs and NO surfing the net.
(By the way, you needn't worry about missing out on any important news as I guarantee a friend or family member will feel obliged to inform you) The goal is to drastically reduce the amount of information you consume.
After 7 days you can selectively choose media that serve a recreational purpose or that positively contribute to your mental and emotional well being.
Selective Ignorance is Good for your Health Going on a low information diet can be VERY liberating.
By eliminating or drastically reducing daily mental clutter you may notice an immediate improvement in your mental disposition and overall level of happiness.
You may also discover that your natural inclination is to see the glass half full.
If that wasn't enough, eliminating media distractions can simplify your life and free up your time to focus on the more important things in life such as spending more time with loved ones, for hobbies and for regular exercise.
Unfortunately 95% of these stories are negative, scandalous or promote fear.
(Go ahead, pick up today's newspaper or watch prime time news and you'll quickly see what I mean!) The media use hype and distortions of the truth to increase viewership and readership.
These tactics are used quite successfully to influence everything from the political party you choose to the type of vehicle you drive to the clothes you wear.
While this is NOT news for most, the question begs.
Is this regular consumption of information positively contributing to your happiness and well being? Or could it be that the constant flow of negative information is stealing your precious time and affecting your mental and emotional health? Do You Have A Media Addiction? You might have a media addiction if...
• You have an overwhelming desire to stay up to date with current affairs • You feel compelled to read the newspaper, listen to the radio, watch the news etc on a daily basis (even when you're on holiday) • You find it difficult to limit your time on the internet - (eg: you love to surf and feel the need to constantly check your email and Facebook every 5 minutes!) • You experience withdrawal symptoms if you haven't had your media "fix" for more than a few hours.
This is not to say you shouldn't concern yourself with legitimate issues affecting you day to day life.
Should you be concerned about rising food and petrol prices? More than likely.
Should you be concerned that the King of Siam celebrated his umpteenth birthday by inviting a dancing troupe of 500 naked girls? Probably not.
If something is outside your circle of influence and not something you need to be concerned with, why immerse yourself in it? In other words, it's about being selectively ignorant.
What is Selective Ignorance? To be selectively ignorant is to be conscious of energy sucking, time consuming "vampires" that have the potential to negatively affect your mental and emotional well being.
It's about being aware of everything you "consume.
" For example: 1) What you eat - Your food choices affect your mood, energy levels, levels of immunity etc 2) What you listen to - radio, music.
3) What you read - newspapers, trashy gossip magazines.
4) What you watch - prime time news, violent movies and mind numbing talk shows! And don't forget that the internet can be a HUGE time waster unless you have specific objectives and can ration your time effectively.
Of course, this is not to say that it's not OK to enjoy the occasional Hollywood blockbuster movie or read an entertaining book, it's simply about choosing wisely MOST of the time.
The Low Information Diet If you're suffering from information overload, would like to be more optimistic and happier in general, take the selective ignorance challenge.
The Selective Ignorance Challenge My challenge to you is to unplug yourself from the information superhighway for a full 7 days.
This media detox means NO newspapers or magazines, NO radio or news programs and NO surfing the net.
(By the way, you needn't worry about missing out on any important news as I guarantee a friend or family member will feel obliged to inform you) The goal is to drastically reduce the amount of information you consume.
After 7 days you can selectively choose media that serve a recreational purpose or that positively contribute to your mental and emotional well being.
Selective Ignorance is Good for your Health Going on a low information diet can be VERY liberating.
By eliminating or drastically reducing daily mental clutter you may notice an immediate improvement in your mental disposition and overall level of happiness.
You may also discover that your natural inclination is to see the glass half full.
If that wasn't enough, eliminating media distractions can simplify your life and free up your time to focus on the more important things in life such as spending more time with loved ones, for hobbies and for regular exercise.
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