I cut off cable years ago because I wanted to reduce my exposure to the news. I used to watch a 24-hour news station in the mornings while getting ready for work. After a while, I realized that between whatever the anchors were talking about and the headlines flashing at the bottom of the screen, I didn’t start the day feeling particularly good most days.
I’ve realized through my journey that I am an empath. I’m sensitive to the energy around me and whether I want to or not, I absorb it, good, bad or otherwise. It can be exhausting sometimes, to be honest.
Now, instead of canceling cable to avoid the noise of negativity I feel like I need to limit my exposure to the internet. Stuff in the news shows up on all the social media platforms and some marketers use current events in their email marketing. Even my inbox isn’t safe!
If you’re not careful, all the “noise” can distract you from the things that really matter to you. All the media and social media hype around certain things can leave you feeling like that stuff is supposed to matter and demands your attention. Guess what? It doesn’t have to!
How can we avoid the “noise” when it feels like it’s everywhere? We can use it as a great excuse to unplug and do something that doesn’t require you to be online. There’s also the opportunity to quiet the mind and meditate on the world you’d like to see rather than focus on the perceived chaos that everyone else is screaming about.
When we pay too much attention to the “noise” it can leave us feeling anxious, sad or frustrated because you don’t feel like there’s anything you can do to change things. The good news is we always have choices! We can choose to focus on the noise, or we can choose to look at ways to do something about the things that trouble us. We can also choose to focus on the things that matter to us, regardless of whether they have anything to do with the noise “out there” or not.
Whether you’re an empath like me or just tired of the constant noise there is a way to quiet it all. How you choose to do that is completely up to you.