Escape the Negative Narrative!

I’ll admit it, the past few weeks have been a struggle. I’ve been pulled into the news and sensationalism of news stories and doom and gloom. As a result, I found myself cynical, negative and on edge. I’ve always guarded my mind from the news. It’s been a discipline to ignore the news since 2008 when a coach challenged me to give it up for a month and see how my life changed. Well, it changed in an incredible way! During one of the most challenging economic times to run a business, ours grew 43% and I’m a big believer that it was because of the positive mindset I adopted during that time!

Some may say that missing the news is naïve.  I’m here to challenge that way of thinking and ask that you consider that if anything absolutely critical is happening in the world, it will filter through to you. You’re going to find out the major news that impacts you directly and that watching the news on a loop is one of the worst things you can do to your mental health!

Here’s how you can reframe your thinking to the positive and escape the negative narrative! Take back a sense of control and agency over what’s happening in YOUR world by filling your mind with positive, uplifting, and empowering thoughts.

See, I’ve experienced most of COVID maintaining a positive, cheerful attitude and life was pretty great! Then I was sucked into the negative narrative, and I quickly spiraled over the past two months. Did life change where there was no negativity prior to me watching the news? No, of course, the negativity was always there but I wasn’t consuming it. Will there always be negative news to consume? Absolutely. So the only way for me to keep my peace is to escape the negativity and be mindful of what I feed my mind.

Gratitude

My coach lovingly challenged my negative thinking by having me shift my thoughts back to gratitude. I believe it was Tony Robbins who said that you cannot be angry and grateful at the same time. It’s true! When we’re in a state of genuine gratitude we cannot be bitter. When we look around us and realize how fortunate we are, we realize that we have so much more than most people in the world. Simply writing down three things you’re grateful for can immediately shift thoughts from a dark place to happiness.

Prayer and Meditation

There are some major shifts happening in our world that are very unsettling. I never thought that I would live through a time where people’s freedoms were taken from them and oppression was rampant and power seemed to intoxicate world leaders on both sides of the podium. I stayed in a fearful place about this recently and the only thing that brought me a sense of peace in my day was prayer. For some of you, you may prefer meditation. For me, I have found peace when I’m on my knees and recognize that this craziness is not a surprise to God and that to feel a sense of calm, I needed to surrender what was out of my control. Each day I’m striving to be “transformed by the renewing of my mind” during this quiet time.

Podcasts

Podcasts have been an important part of my growth plan for a few years now. I do my best to listen to one inspirational podcast each day to expand my thinking, learn strategies or create new shortcuts learning from those who have gone before me. While my mind was ripe with positivity, I was carefully selecting podcasts that planted seeds of hope. During the past couple of months, I realized that I was listening to podcasts that covered current events and controversial topics and instead of being inspired, I found myself angry, drained and worried. One of the best and most consistent podcasts for positivity is The Ed Mylett Show. One podcast in particular, while old, is very relevant and helpful and I’ve included it here. https://www.edmylett.com/podcast/trevor-moawad-destroy-negative-thoughts/

The Mack Daddy of a Mindset Shift!

My coach challenged me to listen to The Strangest Secret in the World each day for 30 days. This used to be a “nice to do” when I was feeling positive and upbeat. It has now become an integral part of maintaining my mental health. Each morning while I work out, I listen to the wise words of Earl Nightingale and each morning I have a new insight that keeps me focused on the positive. The main message of his words are that we literally become what we think about. If we think in positive terms, we will get positive results. If we think in negative terms, we will get negative results. The great philosophers all agree that our mind is an incredibly rich and fertile land, and we must control our thinking in order to control our lives. The seeds we plant, like the news, will produce negative, bitter thinking. The seeds we plant, like gratitude, prayer, love, meditation, inspirational stories, poems and podcasts, will also flourish in our minds.

My challenge to you today is this, will you join me on a 30-day news diet and replace it with either a gratitude journal, prayer and meditation, podcasts OR listening to The Strangest Secret in the World? I’d love to hear how your journey goes and how massively impactful this shift will be!

“Whatever we plan in our subconscious mind and nourish with repetition and emotion will one day become a reality” - Earl Nightingale