A Media Blackout
Several years ago, a multi-millionaire told me to never listen to the news. He said, “It’s negative. Avoid it, but trust if things get bad enough, someone will tell you!” And that’s pretty much how I’ve been doing things ever since.
I generally only read the back page of a newspaper and I do it in a shop without buying it. I hardly watch the news on TV, though occasionally I do get caught by a story when I’m on the Internet.
What I’ve noticed about the media is that it can hook us and when it does it’s usually fear based: the fear of bad things happening to children in a street, going out after dark, the effects of war, debt and killer viruses, to name a few.
While we have half a mind on these things, we’ve got the other half running on survival. So there’s little room to think about developing life beyond the current struggles.
The foundation for developing life – give space…
We have to know where we’re heading; and in order to get a clear view of that, the first thing we may have to do is lighten the load we’re carrying i.e. let go of the things that hold us back.
This could mean blacking out the media. It could be removing anything that doesn’t work for you, so you can create the space to do things that help you develop and connect with the people important to you.
Recently a farmer cut through an electric cable and 27 homes were not just without power for several days, but all their electrical items blew. I asked one of the residents what it was like…
He said, “It was amazing. We lit candles and we sat in front of the log fire and talked. We don’t usually do that.”
So the foundation I’m talking about is giving yourself the space.
Where will it all take you?
To develop our life and create something better, we need to know what we want at the end. As Stephen Covey says, “Start with the end in mind.”
When you make a little space, you can create the strategy that will keep you on track. It’s this type of space that coaching creates – a space to step back and be objective.
But it all begins, by making a little space and knowing what you want.
Love and best wishes
Neil
August, 9th 2010 at 6:19 pm
Thanks, Neil. Great advice. It always reinforces my own avoidance of negativity-laden media via tv, papers, etc when I hear that someone else feels the same and realizes the benefit. I know there are those who feel that I’m living in a ‘dream world’ if I neglect tuning in to the atrocities happening globally… I would so much rather put my energy into loving where I am, who I am with and ‘tuning in’ to learning all I can about the magic of life so that it can be shared. I will definitely put some time into making that space to know what it is i truly want… so that the efforts are fruitful for all. Love to you as well! Maureen
August, 10th 2010 at 12:27 pm
I don’t read newspapers either and have’nt done for years but I still know whats going on in the world. Give someone a gift of praise every day or a little of your time in a busy day, make someone smile and give yourself time to look outside the window.