Good news or bad , 24-hour media has an impact on our lives and the potential to leave its mark. Now, how we respond is another matter. When times are good then the odd bits of bad news can be shaken off. But what can happen when times are difficult and there is a relentless diet of bad news, doom and gloom and pessimism?
The roller-coaster of news.
Epictitus & The Power of Thought
Well you’ll probably have gathered from other contributions to this blog that the theme of my story is that ” It’s not other things or other people that do things to us or affect us, but our view of it” and nearly two thousand years ago the Roman philosopher Epictetus had that one worked out. Of course it doesn’t mean putting our head in the sand and ignoring everything going on around us and sometimes an element of pessimism or more to the point realism is more useful. Cognitive behavioural approaches help us to separate our thoughts from our emotions so that we can respond to events or people in a more helpful way.
A Different Perspective
In business I have always believed that problems not only present us with solutions but also opportunities and that problems can be seen differently by many people. So when you are next on the wave of some bad news remember that you have a choice – tell yourself that you’re on a roller-coaster with all the gut-wrenching, muscle-clenching, heart stopping emotions that can go with it or tell yourself that you’re driving through a valley with ups and downs; there are many ways in and out of a valley, bad weather and good weather, amazing scenery, colours and you can leave just when you want. The roller coaster stops when someone else puts the brake on.
Take charge of your own thoughts and your behaviour in response.