It’s a fact; life has its ups and downs. Things don’t always go our way and sometimes life is tragic and painful. Fortunately, our bodies are very resilient; we learn to cope, and life goes on. However, there is a threshold. We can only take so much tragedy and loss before we experience long-term energy loss. This is Tragedy-Loss Overload.
Here the mainstream media plays a key role.
Open almost any daily newspaper or listen to almost any “news” broadcast and what do you get? We see story after story of tragedy and loss – from around the world. It can be depressing, it overloads our capacity to cope, and it saps our energy.
Once, I worked with a television “news team” helping them with their on-camera presentation skills. During a break, their manager explained to me that the main goal of any news broadcast team is to sell nine minutes of advertising for every 30-minute news program. He continued by explaining that their advertising customers were especially happy if a particularly distressing news story aired just before their commercial because viewers feel a sense of pleasure and relief while watching a commercial positioned just after a heart-breaking story. Advertisers believe this translates into an increased positive connection with viewers.
What to do to boost your personal vigor? Simple. First, stop watching “the news” on television. There is nothing “new” about it and it provides very little real value. Next, if you must read a newspaper, scan the headlines and only read articles relevant to you and might add value to your life. As a result, you will not find much to read. We do not need to be bombarded with tragedy and loss. It overloads us.
Follow Jerry on Twitter for blog announcements and updates.