That’s right: one way to stay positive is to turn off the news. From CNN (ironically):
“For somebody that’s unemployed right now, you need to turn off the news,” he said. “It will affect the positive attitude you need to have. You’ve got to be positive, because it’s not easy. All you read is the job cuts: It can be very depressing.”
The suggestion is made in the context of unemployment, but I think it’s a good suggestion that apply to many situations. I won’t be as drastic as recommending you to cut off the news completely (though some people literally do that), but I think it’s a good idea to reduce your news consumption. There are at least two reasons why reducing your news consumption is good:
- Most news is negative. As the quote above says, there is a lot of negativity in the news. While you may treat the news as just facts, exposing yourself continually to them may affect your subconscious mind. Reading negative news about the economy, for instance, may make you think that you have no chance, that there is no way for you to get the great future you want. It won’t do you any good since it will only make you discouraged. Even worse, the negative thought may eventually become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
- News is biased in nature. To understand what I mean, you might want to watch this video from TED. In the video, you will see that news coverage is not proportional. Some issues get covered more than they deserve while some important issues don’t get the level of coverage they need. Reading news may make you overestimate some issues while underestimating some others. This will eventually affect your actions.
I can still think of other reasons but these two already make the point: excessive news consumption could distort your thoughts and actions.
So what should we read and hear instead?
I don’t have a conclusive answer to this question, but I have an idea: consume timeless materials. Consume materials that will be useful and relevant for you not just now but also in the future.
One activity that meets the criterion is reading books. Reading books can give you timeless principles and lessons that will always be useful for you. Instead of reading something that doesn’t last, why don’t you read something that lasts? So, if I may suggest, reduce your news consumption and use the time instead to read good books. You may start with some recommended books or classic books.
It’s just my opinion, of course. What’s yours?
Photo by Evil Erin
Post from: Life Optimizer
译文:
想保持积极的心态吗？那就别看新闻了
这是事实：保持心态积极 的方法之一就是不看新闻。 据CNN报道 (够讽刺的)：
“现正失业的人最好不要看新闻了，”他说，“积极的心态是你现在最需要的东西，而新闻将会影响你的积极。你得保持积极，因为失业的难关不容易过。你所看到的新闻都是关于裁员的，这只会令你非常沮丧。”
以上的建议是在失业的背景下提出的，但我觉得它对其它的很多情况都管用。我不会偏激到建议你隔绝所有的新闻（尽管有些人的确是这么做的），但我认为减少你的新闻摄入量是个不错的注意。为什么？这里有至少两个理由：
- 大多数的新闻都是负面的。 如上述报道所说，新闻中含有大量的消极元素。如果你把新闻当事实看，潜移默化地，这些新闻会下意识地影响你。例如，看关于经济的负面新闻会让你感觉自己没机会得到你想要的美好前途了。这对你一点好处都没有，相反只会让你灰心丧气。更糟糕的是，这消极的想法可能会最终成为自我实现的预测。
- 有些新闻本身就不真实。想明白我的意思，你大概要看一下这个TED录制的视频。在这个视频里，你会看到新闻报道是失实的。一些不值一提的新闻被大肆宣传，而有些应受到大家关注的新闻却鲜有报道。看新闻会让你高估不重要的事件，低估重要的事件。这最终会影响到你的行为。
我还能想出别的理由，但以上两点已足以说明问题：过度的新闻信息摄入量会扭曲你的思想和行为。
那我们该看和该听什么呢？
对这个问题我不能提供确凿的答案，但我有个建议：吸收永不过时的信息，那些不但现在而且将来都对你有帮助的有用信息。
跟这个建议相符的一项活动是阅读书籍。阅读能让你学到永不过时的总对你有所帮助的道理和教训。如其去读一些暂时存在的新闻，倒不如阅读一些长久存在的著作。 所以，不妨考虑我的建议，减少你的新闻接收量，用原来看新闻的时间去看一些好书。你可由一些 推荐书 或 经典著作读起。
当然了，这只是我的个人观点。你怎么看呢？
由 Evil Erin 摄
文章来源： 生活最优化