Something that most of us rarely think about is the way in which external influences affect our lives. Every day we are bombarded with information from televisions, radios, cell phones, computers, friends, associates and customers. On it’s own, one piece of information has little effect on how we think or act. However, the cumulative affect of all of this information over a period of years can have a profound effect on who we are and how we view ourselves and the rest of the world.

News and current affairs programs deliver an overwhelmingly negative message. They mostly highlight stories of death, destruction, deception and fraud. Rarely do they provide stories of triumph or heroism. The main reason for the imbalance in positive versus negative content is simply that negative stories sell much better than positive stories. Many more people will rush to see a large building on fire than those that would go to see the guy who raised $10,000 for the local hospital. Have you ever noticed how most people, when asked how they are, will have a brief positive answer or a long negative answer? If they are okay then they will probably just say “I’m, okay” or “I’m good thanks”. Ask the guy with the bad back though and he will probably spend the next 10 or 15 minutes telling you about the operations he has had to endure and how limiting his back pain is. We find it much easier to talk about the negative aspects of our lives than we do the positive things.

So how does this really affect us and how do we take control so that we can screen out the negative and embrace the positive? We can never completely screen out negative influences and we shouldn’t ever try to do that – life has negative aspects that we all must be able to endure and overcome. We can seek to balance things out though, so that there are more positive influences and experiences in our day to day lives than negative ones. A good place to start is by cutting down on the news you watch or listen to each day. The vast majority of news has no direct affect on your life other than perhaps to re-inforce a negative view of the world in general.

If you are truly committed to improving your lifestyle and becoming a better person, then you need to focus on the things that matter by embracing the activities that assist you in achieving your goals, and rejecting the activities that prevent you from achieving those goals. Negative news, commentary and influences do nothing to assist you, so shutting them out, or at the very least reducing the time you spend on them is a very logical and positive change. Listening to personal development audios, reading motivational books or watching videos is a great way to get a daily dose of positive influence. If you have to commute to work each day then your car can become your mobile classroom.