You Ain't Missing a Thing: The Value of a News Detox

A few years after finishing drama school a funny thing happened. I started browsing the aisles of my favorite book stores looking for biographies on people like Bobby Kennedy, Nelson Mandela, and Martin Luther King, instead of Marlon Brando and James Dean. I was suddenly fascinated by politics and the world beyond the stage. I even applied to grad school again for a Masters in Public Policy. I'd sit in acting classes daydreaming about famous speeches, or thinking of ways I could make an impact in my community. During this time I didn't listen to news, I devoured it. I'd start my day off with NPR, read The Economist, and often spend an entire Sunday morning perusing the newspaper.

I was starting and ending my day with car chases, deficits, robberies, and murders. I felt my normally buoyant spirit suddenly weighted and my body literally taking on the stress of the world. What's more, all of this information wasn't helping anything. Yes, I knew more, but was inundated with knowledge of events I couldn't directly influence. I was also blinded by the fact that the news no longer informs but works to instill fear.

This year I decided to go on a "news detox." I'm happy to report the results have been overwhelmingly positive. I'm happier, calmer, and still somehow know enough to be informed, which I still believe is important. The difference is I now put my energy towards issues I can affect and much of that starts with the quality of my own presence in the world. 

As Paramahansa Yogananda once noted, "Change yourself and you have done your part in changing the world." 

 

It's Not About Where It'll Get You

When you're a kid you're conditioned to believe if you just work hard enough all your dreams will eventually be realized. As you get older in life you begin to appreciate the undeniable role luck plays in reaching exceptional heights. 

Maya Angelou was once asked about the remarkable qualities leaders like John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr., and Nelson Mandela possessed. She argued they weren't any more talented than you or I, they were just in the right place at the right time and "grabbed on to something."

The point is that we may or may not reach our carefully scripted dreams even if we work incredibly hard and have immense talent. But that alone should not stop us from working hard and putting our best effort towards being better than we were yesterday. 

When we rejoice in hard work and the act of striving for its own sake great things can still happen even if they are not in harmony with what we thought we once wanted.

Get Around Better

One of the best ways to improve at a craft is to get around someone who does it better. If you want to become a strong creative writer read the works of exceptional authors. 

If you want to improve your public speaking, study Martin Luther King, John and Bobby Kennedy, and Joel Osteen. 

Maybe you want to improve your relationship with your partner, look to someone who has a thriving relationship.

It's not about emulating someone else but allowing their energy to infuse you with a sense of confidence and belief that you too can make great strides if you put in the work like they did. (I assure you they did.)

Even better, the more you surround yourself with like-minded people who excel at something you want to do you'll gradually begin to cut yourself off from the toxic people and environments that don't support your vision.  

Get around better.