No more negative

There is just too much negativity around us. I don't think I'm the only one stressing, over-stressing to be honest, about things I can do absolutely nothing about. World events, national troubles, etc. We're hammered with them 24/7 in this age of a non-stop news cycle. And it wears us down and exhausts us.

I remember when news was on for thirty minutes, maybe an hour if you add in local stations' contributions, a night. People would watch, tsk, wonder what would or could be done, and then returned to focus on their own lives. There might be great outpouring at noteworthy events - i.e. JFK's assassination (before I was born), the moon landing (I remember that) or other significant happenings. We weren't drowning in continual news, most of it terrible, horrific and tragic.

And then people go around tut-tutting and wondering why we're all so stressed out, trying to drown our sorrows with alcohol or drugs, over-eating, with medical conditions that our grandparents would have shaken their heads in bewilderment about.
Duh. Millions get spent on studies that tell the blazingly obvious.

So, first thing I'm doing is shutting off the news. I know - in this day and age, it'll be nearly impossible to do. But I am going to. I can feel the difference in my mood, the tension in my body, especially my neck and shoulders, and the doctor can certainly tell in my blood pressure.

I figure I'll still know what's going on. I'm not going to go around with earplugs or a blindfold so I'll still pick up on things, but... just imagine. Not being so mentally and emotionally exhausted because I'm so damn wrapped up about things I can do absolutely nothing about. Am I sorry that tragedies happened around the world? Absolutely. But I can't do anything to prevent them.

What I CAN do is focus on my corner of the world. I CAN focus on my mood, my emotions, and my health. I CAN care about the people I come into daily or regular contact with, and pay attention to what they're going through. I CAN do something in my local region to make the world better. Maybe, just maybe, if enough people do that, the positive will spread.
I am going to focus on the positive this year, focus on what I CAN do, and turn it into WILL do and then DID.