Like moths drawn to a flame.
The earthquake in Turkey. A tsunami in Indonesia. The debt crisis in the U.S.; the Euro crisis in Greece. Iran wants the bomb. Unemployment is at 9%. Al Qaeda lurks. The environment is in peril. The Democrats are ruining the economy. The Republicans too.
We never have to go far to find bad news.
People love it. Many are drawn to it like moths to a flame.
News stations thrive on it. The starker, the more catastrophic, the better. And the more graphic, the more enthralled and fixated the doom mongers become.
It’s a waste.
I grew up in a household of worriers, worrying incessantly about what might go wrong, stewing in the grimmest of possible outcomes: the economy is sure to collapse, there won’t be enough money to pay the bills, the mole is sure to be cancer, the weather will be the worst it has ever been.
Seth Godin writes in his blog this week: “Worrying is not a useful output. Worrying doesn’t change outcomes. Worrying ruins your day. Worrying distracts you from the work at hand. You may have fooled yourself into thinking that it’s useful or unavoidable, but it’s not.”
The events of our lives have as much probability of turning out just fine as not. Worry is a waste.
The same can be said about bad news.
Bad news sucks our spirits, dims our hopes, dulls our sense of possibility.
Why fixate on the bad? There is so much good.
Seek what is good.
Seek out the good. Soak in it.
I have three practices I want to share and recommend for your consideration:
- Keep a gratitude journal. Every morning, as part of my journaling practice, I list a dozen or so things for which I am grateful. For example, my morning list might include: “I am grateful for my health.” “I am grateful for my home.” “I am grateful for the opportunities I have.”
- Make a “good things” list. And the end of the day, when I review everything that unfolded, I write down at least three good things from the day, things that went particularly well, things in which I found joy. The list might include the new client that came in the door, the wonderful dinner with good friends, or the magical dawn light on my morning run.
- Ask about what’s good. Most often, when we see someone we know, we ask, “How are ya?” This, of course, elicits a broad range of responses like “busy,” “hangin’ in there,” and “same shit different day.” Instead, consider being a herald of the good. I like to ask “What’s the good word?”
Joel Osteen, in his new book Every Day A Friday, writes, “Whatever challenges you face, whatever circumstances are weighing you down, you can choose your response. It’s not what happens to you or what you have or don’t have that is important; it’s how your mind is set and the decisions you make. How you live your life is totally up to you. It’s not dependent on your your circumstances. It’s dependent on your choices.”
What you focus on expands. Focus on the good.
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Walt Hampton’s new book Journeys on the Edge: Living a Life That Matters now available. CLICK HERE to order your signed copy.
Walt – I love the idea of a gratitude journal and recognizing what is good. At dinner every night, we go around the table at our house and everyone shares the best thing that happened to them that day. For important milestones, we light the celebration candle in that person’s honor. For our five teenage kids, I hope it helps them to learn to focus on the positive.