The news is toxic

I have done an extreme media purge/fast the last several months/years — and occasionally, I slip up. Whenever I do accidentally read the news, I notice — that my mood is shifted. I feel shittier, less optimistic, and I feel more pessimistic.

What is the problem here?

This is what I think:

Because online media is driven by advertising and clicks, the bias is that the content will be outlandish; fear-inducing, scary, or a bit crazy.

Which means this:

You get a false view of reality– that the world is a shittier place than it actually is.

I’m the eternal optimist

I believe that the world is inherently a good place. That people are inherently good, and for the most part (even though there are a lot of shitty things about the world), the good vastly outweigh the negative downsides.

Delete the news

If you want to feel more optimism in life, some simple ideas:

Delete social media (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter) — any platform which spreads hysterical nonsense-news.
No more reading news: No news blogs, etc. All the information is inherently toxic; the more crap you read, the more confused you get. I think inherently we humans like to read the news, because we want to discover information that will help us. However because there is so much toxic information out there, what happens is this: as we consume more information, we become more poisoned, more pessimistic, and feel more shitty. I encourage everyone to do an extreme purge of the news. As my buddy Nassim Taleb says, “To cure yourself of the news, spend an entire year reading the news from last year.”
Subtract negative people and energy: I believe that 1 negative person in your life can cancel out the effect of 100 positive people in your life. To feel more optimism an idealism in life, subtract the few rotten eggs from your basket. One rotten egg, apple, individual — will ruin your entire life. Be ruthless in pruning these leeches, parasites, and dark clouds from your life.

Become the change which you wish to see in the world

To make an impact in the world is simple:

Impact the life of 1 other human being on planet earth.

Pretty simple.

How to impact more people on a wider scale

A practical way to impact more people on a wider scale: start your own blog. Own your own platform. Use open-source platforms such as wordpress.org, and own your own website domain host (I recommend bluehost.com or 1and1.com).

I believe that ideas, knowledge, and information can change the perspectives, viewpoints, and souls of others.

Your ideas have value. Don’t talk down on yourself.

This is what drives my blogging, or sharing of ideas:

If my ideas can at least benefit 1 other human being on the planet earth, via the internet– it is worth publishing/sharing/posting.

Idealism

What are your personal ideals (or ideas) you believe in life?

Reality is malleable. Don’t take the pre-constructed social rules as “rules”. What we have been brainwashed into believing are just options, beliefs, ideas, and thoughts of others.

Stand up for what you believe in. You’re not right or wrong, you’re just authentic; you believe in what you believe in. And you and your ideas have worth.

BE BOLD!
ERIC