How to change your outlook in life.
Posted on Jul 3, 2010 by
Paul WhiteBecoming a father has opened my eyes in ways I could have never imagined. Immediately when you child is born your focus jumps from what is good for you, to what is good for them. Then you start to think back on your father, and the kinds of things that must have gone through their head when you were born. Not very much has changed between then and now. The only difference is how we communicate ( technology ) and the types of jobs and opportunities that are available.
How we communicate
Today we are highly dependent on technology. We use
cell phones, email, text messaging to constantly communicate to the rest of the world where we are and what we are doing. I remember 20 years ago most people didn't have a cell phone. If your kids left the house you had no way to reach then, you just trusted that they were going to be at their friends house. By the mid 90s many of us had beepers. In the early 90s beepers had developed a stereotype of being for doctors who usually sported those massive brick sized beepers, or if you didn't have peppered hair being for drug dealers who would sport sometimes 2 or 3 beepers. I remember parents being concerned when their daughters boyfriend showed up with a beeper. They immediately assumed he was dealing drugs. Today I hear many parents getting their 10 year olds
cell phones, thinking they now have a digital lease on their child. This is true but your kids also have contact with everyone else too. Some kids have blogs, Myspace pages, and even twitter pages, and the parents don't have a clue.
People in general are only aware of the immediate world around them. I myself am even guilty of this. I work all day on my computer. I rarely leave my house, and as a result I keep myself sheltered from many of the negatives in the world. Its one thing to shelter yourself from the world when it results in greater productivity and increased focus. When people are living sheltered lives without realizing it, is when things can get dangerous. Its important to always keep an open mind when listening to the opinions of other people. Democracy only works when everyone votes for what is in their best interests. But when people's perception of the world around then is distorted by the media, they start to make decisions which are not in their best interests. Fox News has grown into the biggest propaganda machine that every existed. I don't even think that Hitler and the Nazi Party went to the lengths that Fox has gone. They take the littlest thing, then then expand on it in the most negative way. They are essentially selling fear. If they want to distort the truth that is fine with me. They don't claim to be fair and balanced any more. But the problem is many baby boomers are watching Fox News and listening to Limbaugh, and believing every word of what they say. They assume that if its on TV and its coming from a News Network that is must be true. Fox is not a News Network. They are a News Analysis Network. Analysis means they have people with biased views and opinions who take what a given person says and then translates it into what it means to them. There is nothing wrong with News Analysis, as often times in
Politics the Politicians all say the same thing anyway. Its more about the underlying meaning of what they say and how they say it that allows you to make assumptions of what they really feel about the issues. Rush Limbaugh has very strong opinions, many of them mirror the opinions of my own relatives, but they forget that Rush Limbaugh is an entertainer. His ability to make money is dependent on his ability to deliver his opinions in a way that keeps his listeners engaged, and he does a very good job of it.
Here is what I recommend to everyone. Instead of going about your usual daily routine, which includes watching several hours of fictional TV shows, then watching biased news coverage. How about you disconnect your cable and turn off your radio. Do this for a whole month, and then see what a difference it makes in your life. When you don't have the rest of the world trying to make you live in fear, its amazing what kind of things you can get done, and how optimistic your outlook on life will be.
Discussion
No Comments have been submitted
WhiteSites Blog