Have you noticed a life filled with drama is just not that entertaining?

We’ll it just isn’t. Yes, life is going to suck at times. Life is going to provide lots of drama. There is much negative going on in the world. But when we only focus on the negative, the drama-rama of life, we find ourselves in the middle of a bleak existence where we feel powerless, depressed, and victimized. And we wonder why. Because of what we’re letting in to influence us.

There is a saying, “We are what we eat.” What we feed our body can nurture us. Or, eating without awareness can set us up for illness, excess weight gain, and stress. The same is true for what we feed our mind and heart.

Someone I know became addicted to television court dramas—so much so she experienced frequent panic attacks and no longer found value in her daily life. Her relationships suffered, and she gained a tremendous amount of weight from eating while glued to the endless spectacle as it unfolded daily over the television.

We have to keep in the forefront of our consciousness what we concentrate on, we create. What we allow in does influence our mental, physical, and emotional well-being. Just like Earth is constantly being hit by cosmic radiation you and I are constantly being hit, too by endless advertisements, news programs, commentary, billboards, radio shows, pessimistic people, and websites designed to capture our attention and influence us. Much of our exposure is negative or opinionated, condones reckless behavior, or promotes the pursuit of meaningless goals.

Subtly and overtly, we are struck with untrue messages, such as:

• Sex is love. No sex is not love. There is no love in the porn industry. Greed, abuse, denigration of women and so much more negative behavior all of which is never love.  That does not stop advertisers from bombarding us with the notion that sex is love.
• Or hitting us over and over with the huge lie that people who regularly eat fast food look exactly like the models and actors starring in the commercials. They are skinny pictures of perfect health and happiness. They are happy because they got a nice paycheck for shooting the commercial because it is absolutely not true they eat fast food.  Living in Los Angeles, California and being exposed to the inner working of the entertainment industry (yes it is an industry) I can absolutely guarantee you that none of the paid actors eat fast food.  They share a lettuce leaf and a carrot while drinking a gallon water in between working out at the gym, running, stretching, Botox, incessant weight lifting, and waiting tables at organic, vegan, gluten free, sugar free, starch free restaurants.

We are constantly being impacted by steady streams of negative news and opinionated commentary. With the current news trend of having commentators reduce complex global issues to cynical, dualistic arguments, it is easy to develop an attitude that’s apathetic and fearful of a gloomy world. There is a difference between responsibly staying informed and allowing ourselves to be swallowed up by negativity.

We may view the onslaught of drama and negativity with the cavalier attitude, “I can just tune it out,” or “I am not influenced by it,” or “It’s just a movie or television show.” Yet, scientific research points to how messages and experiences actually change our brain, both positively and negatively.

In The Brain That Changes Itself, Canadian psychiatrist Dr. Doidge advises we carefully select what we listen to and the experiences in which we participate because our brains are vulnerable to outside influences.

We become addicted to porn because repeated exposer rewires our brain.  We become addicted to violence because repeated exposure rewires our brain. We become addicted to negativity because repeated exposure rewires our brain.  Negative in and negative is going to come out.  Our focus cannot be on the negative, drama in life while expecting to create a life of joy, fulfillment and peace.

To create the positive life we want does not mean turning our back on what is happening in the world.  Absolutely we must stay informed and plugged in.  We need to remain empathetic to the trials and challenges of our fellow human beings.  But remaining aware of and immersing ourselves in a sea of constant negativity are two very different things.

It is our heart-responsibility to pay attention to what we expose ourselves to. We have to stay aware of what we’re letting in so we do not let ourselves be influenced by negative, unrealistic, and untrue ideas of what we should be, what our lives should look like, and what should make us happy.

We can start by questioning how the messages we are exposed to impact our worldview. Pay close attention to what is emotionally intrusive and what makes you physically uncomfortable. Notice your stress level when you are exposed to negative editorial commentary or are listening to loud, violent, or denigrating music, television, or video games.

Yes life can be dramatic at times.  And life is also filled with comedy, adventure, and fantastic action. We are surrounded by so much good. To stay plugged into the positive, into the great and wonderful things going on in the world pay very close attention to what you allow into your mind and heart as entertainment. Search out programming that inspires your intellect and supports the positive values you desire to see in yourself, your children, and our society. Send television and movie decision-makers incentives to develop positive, inspirational, and intelligent programming by turning off anything that insults your intellect or offends your values.

Seek impeccable reporting from news organizations you consult. Research the facts regarding current issues, rather than accepting editorial opinion and hearsay as truth. The time has come to use our brain. And, no matter what you do DON’T engage with Trolls. Talk about drowning in negativity.

Remember a little bit of drama comes with being alive but a life filled with drama will never be that entertaining.