“Don’t mistake what you hear or read on the news to believe that you are informed. The most reliable information is what you feel in your gut.” ~Charles F. Glassman
While enjoying breakfast in the kitchen, one of the headlines on the radio news shows a murder.
One of the boys started asking me questions, but I couldn’t answer any of them. They were questions about the details of the murder that I didn’t know, as well as questions about the larger life issues that were plaguing me at 7am.
I decided to turn off the radio, told the boys I would talk about it later, and removed it from the kitchen. This was in 2019 and he has never missed a radio since.
I always had a radio in my kitchen and listened to talk-based radio stations all the time, so it felt a little awkward for the first week or so, but as time went on, I found myself chatting with my family in the morning. became. Not everyone had one ear tuned to the news.
My mentor and friend, she told me she stopped watching the news a while back. This gave me permission to feel the need to embrace this news-free new way of life. I knew something inside me was upside down. I was no longer going to consume the news. This has come to mean radio, television, paper and social media for me.
I had to develop some new habits regarding my news consumption. I have some charging cables to hook up old CDs and my phone so I can listen to audiobooks and podcasts the next time I’m driving. I used to watch the 10 p.m. news headlines all the time, but at 9:59 I decided to leave the couch and jump straight into bed at that time. I turned off all news notifications on my phone.
My husband sometimes says, “Oh, did you hear all that on the news?” And I say, “No, remember, I don’t have the news anymore,” and then start talking about something else.
I understand that the news puts the spotlight on human interests, and part of our desire to feel connected to one another may be satisfied by incorporating news stories, but it’s too much. When it got too much, I had to leave.
When COVID hit, I questioned my decisions. Was I willfully ignorant? No, actually. i don’t think so.
At the time, I was working in local government, and all my work was dealing with very vulnerable people. My line manager has provided us with all the information we need to protect our staff team and work as safely as possible. They weren’t supposed to. Of course, I knew what was going on because people told me.
I don’t feel like I’m missing out on not keeping up with the news. I am acutely aware of what I have control over in my life. And I know that most of what I see, hear, and read on the news doesn’t directly affect me. We have reached a conclusion.
I also realized that I didn’t take the time to check different news sources and get different perspectives. Debt, misfortune, it seemed like a recurring dispute. I was not uplifted in any way.
I realized my life would be short enough. Sometimes we don’t have enough time for the things we really want. So why was I wasting my precious time on something I had no control or influence over?
I volunteer one morning a week listening to refugees and asylum seekers. I would like to hear first-hand reality from people in the same room as me.
I turned off all the news channels in my house and now I can listen to my intuition and intuition. The less I consume other people’s opinions about world affairs, the less I hear the whispers of my soul.
Of course, if there’s something you want to know, you can go check it out. My own research is tailored to what I want or need. I don’t feel like I’m losing in any way. Everything in my life feels a little better, even though I don’t consume the news like I used to. , all good things.
I’m not sure I’ll go back to watching, listening to, or reading the news in the future.
If you’re considering giving up on the news, a good place to start is by asking yourself why you feel the need to be constantly informed. Is it stemming from fear and a desire to feel safe or in control? Or is it simply because you don’t want to be ignorant of what others may know and discuss? ? Then ask yourself what you are really gaining and losing, such as time, energy, and peace.
It’s much easier to untune when you understand why you’re always in tune.
If the thought of eliminating all news at the moment feels like too much, perhaps try cutting it back in one area of your life. Go back to reading novels instead of newspapers on Sundays. Just watch the 6 p.m. headlines, not the entire show. Listen to podcasts about subjects you feel passionate about, not topics you think you’re passionate about. should do it to know about
We are inundated with information these days, but we can decide what to incorporate based on what feels best for us.
