Take a minute to think about the kind of media you consume. News, books, movies, magazines, etc. Now imagine creating a pie chart of that media, splitting it between the kind of media that reinforces a positive world view and the kind that reinforces a negative world view. How much of that pie would each variety occupy?
What you feed your brain has a huge impact on how you see the world. It creates and reinforces the lens you look through that colors your perception. The bigger the slice of the pie the positive occupies, the more likely you are to see the world that way. The same goes for the negative.
With that in mind, what kind of lens is the media you consume creating?
What’s on my brain food menu?
I was looking at the feed recently for my Ripple Revolution Facebook page, where posts from the various Facebook pages I had “liked” were showing up. It felt a little like a spa for my brain. The only pages I like are ones that have a positive, posibilitarian kind of focus. As a result, the posts that show up paint a pretty inspiring picture of the world.
If I were to make a pie chart of my own media consumption, probably 80% – 90% of it would be occupied by the positive. That includes books I read, movies and documentaries I watch, news I read (like the Impact section of Huffington Post), the Facebook pages I follow and the articles they lead me to, etc.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m no news saint. I get sucked into the reading about the latest tragedy or scandal, just like everyone else. But I minimize the time I spend there, and maximize the time I spend with what feeds a positive perspective. I make a conscious effort to maximize the positive/negative ratio of what I feed my brain.
So it’s probably no great surprise that I see the world as a generally positive place. Does it suck at times? Yeah, of course. Is there violence and tragedy? Yup. Are there things I would change, both in my own life and the world around me? That’s a resounding yes!
But I also see a world filled with incredible acts of kindness. A world filled with so much love and compassion it makes me want to pop. It unfolds every day, in every corner of the world. I see people committing to make a difference, in ways both big and small. I see innovation and creativity, birthing new possibilities that never existed before.
Track the Nourishment/Toxicity Ratio of your brain’s diet
I can’t stress enough how important being conscious of what you feed your brain is. I’m not suggesting that you, for example, eliminate your consumption of the news altogether (though I encourage you to experiment with doing a 30-day news fast to see what happens).
But at least get conscious about what you’re opening up your head and pouring in (do you really want a daily dose of toxic goo?). Build an awareness of the ratio of media that nourishes a positive perspective vs. media that poisons your outlook (like toxic goo for your brain).
Try this: For the next week, track your media consumption. Jot down the time you spend reading, watching TV, going to movies, reading news on the internet, etc. Rate each item on your list as N (nourishing), T (toxic), or NT (neutral). At the end of the week, go back through your list. What percentage of your media consumption falls in each?
The next week, make it a goal to improve your Nourishment/Toxicity Ratio of your media consumption. How can you add more of the positive? What can you eliminate?
The world you see isn’t the world as it is. It is the world as it appears through your own personal lens. You can’t help looking at it through some kind of lens. That’s part of the human experience. But if you’re going to be using a lens, doesn’t it make sense to consciously create one that is as positive and empowering as possible?
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Brought to you by Curt Rosengren, Passion Catalyst TM
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