I’ve just got back from a very long spell in France and I’ve gotta say I’m gonna miss the place.
I had a cracking time out there with the family….
Lazy days by the pool, lots of French grub and even a bit of Stand Up Paddle Boarding to boot. However…
The one thing I won’t miss is my father-in-law watching the news three times a day.
Yep, three times a day he’ll stick on BBC news to get an update on what’s going on in the World.
Once in the morning, once in the afternoon and then just before he goes to bed.
He’s done this for years and he gets all edgy if he hasn’t got his daily fill.
Me on the other hand, I rarely watch the news or even read a newspaper.
My father-in-law can’t get his head round this.
Secretly, I think this drives him crazy :)
I’ve got a very good reason though…
The majority of news reports are extremely negative. And…
If you continually fill your head with negative information you’re end up training yourself to be a negative ned.
Take my father-in-law for example, rather than looking for the positives in everyday life he automatically looks for the negatives.
He can’t help himself.
Last week when I went Stand Up Paddle Boarding, rather than seeing it as a unique way to experience the French countryside, the first thing my father-in-law said was “I hope you don’t catch a disease from that River.” (You can see the river above)
LOL :)
You see, the constant stream of news from television, newspapers and radio sources has a habit of brain washing our minds and consequently many people live with a negative slant on life.
Now, don’t get me wrong I still get little snippets of news here and there.
I just don’t go out of my way to find out what’s going on.
To some, this might sound ignorant, but I’ve found that if something is really important then someone will tell me about.
If you’ve fallen into the daily “News Trap”, then you may well have trained yourself to look out for all the negatives in the world AND your life, which of course is not a great way to live your life.
Plus, this constant message of doom and gloom causes your stress levels to sore, which in turn can cause elevated blood pressure, anxiety, emotional numbness, relationship issues, headaches, digestive issues and trouble sleeping.
Oh and I nearly forget, it makes losing belly fat doubly difficult too. So…
How do you reverse all of this?
1) Quite simply…stop being a news junkie.
See if you can go without watching the news or reading the newspaper for a while.
Spend that time reading a book or dare I say, doing some exercise. (now, there’s a crazy thought).
2) Have a bash at being grateful.
To train your brain to look for the positives in your life, it’s a good idea to practice being grateful for the good things you have in your life. So…
At the end of each day simply write down or say out loud 3 things that you are grateful for.
These things don’t have to be anything mind blowing.
Something as simple as “I’m happy because I’ve got a roof over my head” or “I’m thankful for my health” or “I’m grateful for my kids”.
It’s completely up to you, but if you can do this for 21 days you’ll then start to look out for the positives and stop being a negative ned.
Anyway, that’s just your dose of Walsh wisdom for today :)
Cheerio and stay positive,
