Let us use our time well, create a positive purpose for ourselves!
Welcome lovelies, it is June Jones Joy here with another great blog post on how to empower you to live a happy life.
I encounter so many people during my seminars, sessions and in everyday life and the happiest of them are the ones who seem to have confidence and a purpose.
So today I would like to write about what you can do, to develop some good habits to increase your chance of happiness tremendously.
Let’s jump right in and talk about one of my favourite parts of creating a more peaceful environment.
Eliminate media exposure
Let us start by getting rid of a lot of the anxiety that we are obviously and subconsciously bombarded with every day – and that is: reducing your exposure to the media.
Growing up with my parents, I would always be exposed to the news, in the morning the papers were delivered to our door step, midday the radio news would play before lunch, and it was a holy institution to watch the 8 o’clock news at night to “keep up with the world”.
Back in the day, before social media, I must say, the drama was kept to a minimum. It was much more bearable than today with all the fear mongering.
I posted a link below to the sad events of the explosion of the space shuttle challenger on January 28, 1986 and the news reports to that regard.
Everyone was respectful, calm and collected.
Watch it when you have a moment and then think. Can you imagine what a dramatic way the news agencies would find to report it today?
Take action and limit access
So when I moved out of my parents’ house, I made the conscious decision to not have a television, not listen to the radio and certainly not take out a newspaper subscription.
Even back in those old days, I would have found out from others very quickly, if something serious had happened, that I needed to know about.
So there is no chance on missing out on something truly earth shattering.
But by banning the constant exposure to the negative messages, I freed my mind and body to focus on happy things I wanted to and still want to get done.
Eventually, I got myself a television again, but still no channels. I only bought DVDs to watch what I consciously decided to purchase.
Heck, we all have our favourite shows, I certainly have mine.
But through elimination of the commercials and news in between, I was free of the negativity and influence of the TV stations, which they bombard us with every day.
So today I do suggest to cut out news and commercials for self-healing and empowerment:
See for yourself what happens to your body and mind when you eliminate the constant negativity of the news from your life.
Mental stress often leads to physical ailments
Let’s face it, they are there to create fear, hate and high ratings. So they generate income for the channel through sales of ads, NOT to make you stronger or happier.
So many of my extended family members or friends are glued to their screens and radios all the time.
Unfortunately, they seem mentally angry, sad or programmed to believe that life is scary and hopeless.
Furthermore, the ones who are glued to the telly or negative news all the time, are the ones I know who mostly have the unhealthiest bodies since the permanent exposure to hostility takes its toll.
These individuals I know are either constantly sick or have permanent conditions.
Whenever I suggest to turn off the TV, eliminate the newspaper subscription and stop exposing themselves to the toxic environment and to do something positive with their time, they literally freak out on me.
Typical responses are: “Oh my, I could not live without it”, “we must know what’s going on”, ... oh or my favourite - “you live your life in the valley of the clueless”.
Meanwhile, the ones who watch and listen to all the “clues” are often the ones with chronic diseases they cannot get rid of.
Some of the ones I see most often are asthma, stomach issues, skin allergies, colon problems, just to name a few.
If you’re nervous, start small
I am suggesting to give it a try – start small if you cannot bear to change your habits permanently right away.
Say to yourself, I’ll stop watching the media for two months and see how I feel. Then hop to it.
You will even save money on subscriptions for those two months!
You can use that money to buy yourself a juicer or a smoothie maker. So you can implement the habit of making some healthy fruit and veggie bevvies every day - if you’re not already doing that.
Healthy Smoothies are so yummy
Fresh juice or smoothies daily provide you with extra vitamins and minerals.
One woman I know recently said, that she’s working on reducing her exposure to the news now. She started a week and a half ago and now she’s only watching the news once a day.
It is a great start, and I keep my fingers crossed that she’ll manage to soon move on to every other day or even every three days. And sooner than later, none at all.
It is such a toxic environment, and her ongoing stomach issues prove that it is not healthy for herself to expose herself to it daily.
Replace one habit with another – a better one I dare say.
You will be amazed at how quickly your spirit will lift. You will feel much lighter, more content and happy once you’ve removed the iron claws of constant doom over your head.
Remember, almost everything we do in life is a creation of habits and rituals, which we’ve learned from society and upbringing.
You are not obligated to continue with the habits that no longer serve you.
I’ve never looked back and regretted not having TV channels or a newspaper subscription.
On the contrary, my husband and I always turn on the telly in a hotel room whenever we’re travelling to check it out.
We don’t even last half an hour on average, before we’re turning it off again.
If we’re not reading, talking, doing crafts or researching something for a project we’re working on, we much rather watch a show or a movie we’ve carefully selected because it was skillfully crafted and has an uplifting premise.
I encourage you to give it a try
and see the results happening very quickly.
Be prepared though that people in your environment will most likely give you a push back.
Once your energy shifts, physically and mentally, and you are more positive, you become somewhat of a “threat” to people who are stuck in the old way.
Stick to your guns and keep going! You’ll be a healthier person for it and able to achieve many more of your goals than before.
Interestingly enough, in the last little while, some of my momma’s more thoughtful friends have come to that conclusion as well.
They told my momma that they feel much better since they’ve stopped exposing themselves to the negativity.
And these are ladies in their late seventies and early eighties! I’m always impressed when I hear of those success stories, no matter at what age.
And believe me: those ladies look much better since then, it is truly amazing to witness.
Be aware of online group mentality
I belong to a group of the local neighbourhood, where important messages get posted or if someone needs help or some members send out the odd invite to a BBQ.
Recently, there were a few petty thefts in the area that were also mentioned in the group.
Of course, it was a great reminder to be watchful, when leaving the door open, when going to the garbage can or lock your valuables in the safe before leaving the house.
But then it quickly escalated to group members posting videos of burglaries in different countries or telling stories of what happened to them elsewhere.
After the first day of reading a few of those messages I felt the anxiety rise. After all, my parents live with us and I moved them here with me for safety.
It was ridiculous, after all, we live in the second safest city in North America.
Pay attention to your body and mind’s reaction to negative comments online
Take a break when you feel it impacting your health and your productivity.
It reminded me of research I did a while ago on experiments with humans on how the masses are easily brainwashed and manipulated into fear, blame and hate for each other.
Through my awareness and recognition of how my body reacted to a topic I was able to take action right away.
I stopped going on the local group for a few days until that burglary topic had blown over and it was back to every day chats. - such as “where can I find fresh plums this time of year” or “does anyone know of a good computer specialist, my laptop crashed”.
Recognize mind-dulling stories and change the algorithm
Generally, be careful of the scrolling on social media as well – we tend to get stuck watching videos of negative incidents, belittling individuals or others failures.
Or likewise, just mindlessly silly stories dulling your senses to distract you from developing a strong mind.
Ask yourself: What is the purpose for you to watch these?
How do these videos help you to become a happier person and achieve your goals?
It does take a bit of practice to change that habit, but I suggest to start seeking out success stories instead.
The algorithm of our devices will actually recognize it once you are into more positive stories and they will pop up in your feed instead.
It does not take long for it to adjust accordingly.
Just pay attention to your actions and what you let yourself be exposed to.
Observe, improve and grow!
Thanks Lovelies, it was nice to have you here today. I’ll see you in my next blog post on June Jones Joy.
Release the old and embrace the new you.
Find true happiness in your life by enjoying the small things. But use your electronic devices with a purpose to increase your productivity and joy of life - not to dull the senses.