There’s more information available to us than ever before, and trying to keep up with even a fraction of it all will quickly become overwhelming. It’s hard to avoid the latest celebrity gossip, sports happenings, controversies, and everything else that’s considered newsworthy these days. That is, it’s hard to avoid all of that if you consider it valuable. If you don’t find value in it, then it becomes easy to ignore. That’s why I can avoid this stuff even when I see a lot of it.
I’m not interested in examining the private lives of actors (whether or not I enjoy their work), keeping up with events that are outside my usual circles, or learning about every upsetting thing that’s happening in the world. I’d much rather hear, discuss, think about, and participate in a few of the many things going on in my life and in the lives of those close to me. The former is outside my sphere of influence while the latter is well within it, so focusing on where I can make a positive contribution is a much better use of my time, energy, and other resources. Plus it’s way more enjoyable and way less stressful.
As much as I’ve benefited from this approach, I don’t know how common it is. I see a lot of people on my newsfeed posting, talking, and arguing over the latest stories, and most of them appear to be frustrated or miserable, or both; I was definitely both frustrated and miserable when I engaged in that stuff all the time. At this point in my regular life, however, I rarely see anything like that outside of the internet, and it’s even more rare that I participate in any discussions involving that stuff; when I do, it’s usually in civil exchanges with one or two close friends whose insights and perspectives I value. Overall, I prefer discussing ideas, concepts, and effective living over talking about current events that will be old news in short order. When I feel myself gravitating toward the latest fad, I try to consider whether or not I want that thing to control me. The more attention you give something, the more power over yourself you give it. Withdrawing your attention from something that’s bad for you returns that power to you and gives you more room to maneuver in your life. When you do that, you can then start tuning out the noise and listening to the beautiful music of life. And there is plenty of that music out there for those who want to hear it.