“Cortisol acts like a toxin....” explains exactly what I am experiencing. Very well put. Last week my online reading of articles and news had jumped to an all time high! Yikes. So in order to detox I binge watched 4 seasons of a crime show instead. On Vudu. Today I cleaned and organized stuff and did laundry and went grocery shopping. Then washed my hair. I feel great! Lol. Doing ordinary stuff in my own little ordinary way.
I truly enjoy reading your books and hearing your insight about where things are today in our society and the world. I frequently suggest/promote others read your books, like "Unthinkable" and "High Conflict" when giving presentations on preparedness and de-escalation. I wish more people were able to recognize what is happening in our country at the moment and inoculate themselves against it with knowledge and a bit more levelheadedness. In the end, we are all Americans and generally all want what is best for our nation and her people, we may just have different ways in how we perceive we should get to those goals or end-states.
Thank you for these wise words, Amanda, and for all your work on helping us recognize and distinguish good conflict and high conflict. What I do personally is to look for stories of constructive achievement, usually locally-driven, and share them in a variety of ways - via KarunaNews, my Hopebuilding blog, and more recently, a substack. It is an appreciative inquiry approach to the news, focusing on solutions, and on sharing them neighbour to neighbour. Otherwise, the 'news' would drive me mad, I think.
I’m reading War & Peace with Simon Haiskell and 1,000 other people. It will give me a project to focus on and ideas/comments to look forward to. I’ve also picked out several series of books to read that I’ve started to order. Sketching architectural details and houses as well as coloring are in my toolbox, and if I find myself obsessing over the bs in Nov 2024, I will paint my apartment whike listening to David Bowie, Todd Rundgren and 80s New Wave!
I couldn't help musing on the question of who needs to hear this, and of course it's anyone who is self-aware enough to recognize how much of their stress and anxiety is coming from the constant stream of news. But among the people who *really* need to hear this (but won't) are folks who seem to be energized by news-induced outrage. Outrage that feels righteous disguises itself as meaning and purpose, and people won't simply give that up. They won't recognize the source as poisonous, unless they replace it with something better.
That's why #3 is most important of all. Regardless of what you're consuming, if you actually engage in *doing* something good, then you'll have a healthy source of meaning and purpose.
I really enjoyed this. Thank you. The ends of each year feed reflection well. Today, I wrote a Substack on my choice for Time's 2023 Person of the Year. There are some parallels to your piece, or maybe some perpendiculars. The balance between sanity and having a voice can be trepidacious. In the next day or two I am going to make my bold predictions and resolutions for 2024. Would love to hear yours. Thank you for your contributions to disaster response. - Dan Stoneking
Discover the secret to becoming a billionaire and a powerful individual in the world. Join our exclusive inner circle, which has supported numerous influential individuals in achieving greatness as philanthropists, leaders, entrepreneurs, and successful businessmen worldwide. Allow us to help your visionary ideas come to life. To be a part of this extraordinary opportunity, please send an email at worldunitedpowersociety@gmail.com. expressing your interest.
I find that reducing my news intake is not easy. But I have made progress in switching to news sources that are less partisan. And when surfing the web, I avoid clicking on links that try to stoke outrage. (Example 1: "The Supreme Court's Utter Disregard for Science Is Somehow About to Get Worse." Example 2: "You Won't Believe The Leftist Nonsense Public School Teachers Inject Into Your Kid's Brain.")
Thanks for this essay and the work that you do! I'm trying to take in less day-to-day news and look for more in-depth conversations from varied perspectives. I'm choosing to listen to music more frequently, especially new music. And I'm trying to spend more time being in other people's presence. Because the more time I spend around people, the better I feel about humanity — and life in general.
And thanks for your book recommendations. They all sound good. I'm reading "How the Other Half Eats" by Priya Fielding-Singh. It's written with curiosity and storytelling, and it's one I recommend.
“Cortisol acts like a toxin....” explains exactly what I am experiencing. Very well put. Last week my online reading of articles and news had jumped to an all time high! Yikes. So in order to detox I binge watched 4 seasons of a crime show instead. On Vudu. Today I cleaned and organized stuff and did laundry and went grocery shopping. Then washed my hair. I feel great! Lol. Doing ordinary stuff in my own little ordinary way.
Great article!
I truly enjoy reading your books and hearing your insight about where things are today in our society and the world. I frequently suggest/promote others read your books, like "Unthinkable" and "High Conflict" when giving presentations on preparedness and de-escalation. I wish more people were able to recognize what is happening in our country at the moment and inoculate themselves against it with knowledge and a bit more levelheadedness. In the end, we are all Americans and generally all want what is best for our nation and her people, we may just have different ways in how we perceive we should get to those goals or end-states.
Thank you for these wise words, Amanda, and for all your work on helping us recognize and distinguish good conflict and high conflict. What I do personally is to look for stories of constructive achievement, usually locally-driven, and share them in a variety of ways - via KarunaNews, my Hopebuilding blog, and more recently, a substack. It is an appreciative inquiry approach to the news, focusing on solutions, and on sharing them neighbour to neighbour. Otherwise, the 'news' would drive me mad, I think.
I’m reading War & Peace with Simon Haiskell and 1,000 other people. It will give me a project to focus on and ideas/comments to look forward to. I’ve also picked out several series of books to read that I’ve started to order. Sketching architectural details and houses as well as coloring are in my toolbox, and if I find myself obsessing over the bs in Nov 2024, I will paint my apartment whike listening to David Bowie, Todd Rundgren and 80s New Wave!
Great read
When your empathy bag gets too full you have to jump out of it for a while.
I have pretty good balance.
When cut off by an idiot driver I hurl all my pent up political rage at them
And when I am angry at a political idiot they get my bad driver rage.
I couldn't help musing on the question of who needs to hear this, and of course it's anyone who is self-aware enough to recognize how much of their stress and anxiety is coming from the constant stream of news. But among the people who *really* need to hear this (but won't) are folks who seem to be energized by news-induced outrage. Outrage that feels righteous disguises itself as meaning and purpose, and people won't simply give that up. They won't recognize the source as poisonous, unless they replace it with something better.
That's why #3 is most important of all. Regardless of what you're consuming, if you actually engage in *doing* something good, then you'll have a healthy source of meaning and purpose.
Thank you for this! All very helpful and such good reminders. I’m grateful for you.
I really enjoyed this. Thank you. The ends of each year feed reflection well. Today, I wrote a Substack on my choice for Time's 2023 Person of the Year. There are some parallels to your piece, or maybe some perpendiculars. The balance between sanity and having a voice can be trepidacious. In the next day or two I am going to make my bold predictions and resolutions for 2024. Would love to hear yours. Thank you for your contributions to disaster response. - Dan Stoneking
Discover the secret to becoming a billionaire and a powerful individual in the world. Join our exclusive inner circle, which has supported numerous influential individuals in achieving greatness as philanthropists, leaders, entrepreneurs, and successful businessmen worldwide. Allow us to help your visionary ideas come to life. To be a part of this extraordinary opportunity, please send an email at worldunitedpowersociety@gmail.com. expressing your interest.
You are cited here:
History and Hope
In Praise of Imperfection: Reflections on Timothy Snyder’s “Politics of Responsibility”
https://nattothoughts.substack.com/p/history-and-hope
I find that reducing my news intake is not easy. But I have made progress in switching to news sources that are less partisan. And when surfing the web, I avoid clicking on links that try to stoke outrage. (Example 1: "The Supreme Court's Utter Disregard for Science Is Somehow About to Get Worse." Example 2: "You Won't Believe The Leftist Nonsense Public School Teachers Inject Into Your Kid's Brain.")
We just made a How To! episode on this topic! I hope you like it. There is so much great stuff in this post. Thank you thank you thank you.
Thanks for this essay and the work that you do! I'm trying to take in less day-to-day news and look for more in-depth conversations from varied perspectives. I'm choosing to listen to music more frequently, especially new music. And I'm trying to spend more time being in other people's presence. Because the more time I spend around people, the better I feel about humanity — and life in general.
And thanks for your book recommendations. They all sound good. I'm reading "How the Other Half Eats" by Priya Fielding-Singh. It's written with curiosity and storytelling, and it's one I recommend.