Take a News Fast

Most of us have habitual patterns that get us stuck in ruts. One of mine is reading too much news. I recently realized that my desire to be informed also causes me low-grade anxiety and unproductive mental loops. So, I tried a NEWS FAST—no news for a week, cold turkey. I highly recommend giving it a try.

If you are in the middle of working on big deals and need to be at your best, staying away from the news is one way to clear your mind and take on an abundance vs. scarcity mindset. For at least one week, focus on the things you can control and the aspects of your life that are going well, as opposed to worrying about stuff that doesn’t impact your daily existence.

After just three days of no news, I noticed that I was more calm and clear-minded. It’s oddly scary to commit to being uninformed, but I quickly reminded myself that if anything really important happened in the world, someone would tell me about it.

A few tips for an effective news fast:

1. Make a one-week commitment to not read or watch the news.
2. Find an accountability buddy and tell them about your commitment.
3. Delete any habitual apps from your phone (mine are NYT and ESPN – yes, I also do a sports news fast, too).
4. Remember to breathe when you’re jonesing for information while in line at the store or looking to fill your time. Talk to another human or just focus on breathing.
5. Just do it

There are so many depressing, fear-based headlines in the news media. Protect yourself from them for one week and see how it feels to your system. Get yourself grounded in the things you can control and worry less about variables outside of your control. Focus on what you need to get done to reach your goals. Get your mind and emotions in an optimal state, especially around high-stakes deals and critical business situations. A news fast is one simple way to do this; give it a try—I promise it’ll be worth it.

Onward.

Tom

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