🎙️ Finding Balance while Fighting the Good Fight (Issue 127)

I’m not doing well.

Every day, I read about some new horrific event in the news. It stresses me out, and sometimes it ruins my day. I’m having difficulty focusing on work, relaxing, and sleeping.

My wife is managing this better than I am. She doesn’t steep in it like I do. She's worried about my emotional health and gave me some suggestions for dealing with it all.

So, I’m adjusting things and trying to find a better balance. Below are some ways I’m trying to have a healthier relationship with staying informed and taking action. I go into a lot more detail in the podcast audio, so scroll up, hit play, and listen.

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10 Ways to Pace Yourself

1. Begin with more peaceful mornings (e.g., no news, no phone—just coffee and journaling)

2. Engage in healthy self-care like reading comfort books, walks, and meditation (not junk food, binge-watching, drugs, or alcohol)

3. Exercise more often (we should be anyway)

4. Take walks in nature (I’ve talked about the benefits of “green exercise” before)

5. Listen to music you love

6. Take intentional news breaks

7. Spend more time with friends and family

8. Create beauty in your life (e.g., gardening, knitting, writing poetry, creating art, making music)

9. Research and learn from more credible and objective sources

   1. Ground News is a platform that makes it easy to compare news sources, read between the lines of media bias, and break free from algorithms. Read more about their bias ratings system

   2. 1440 News is a daily newsletter that aims to provide unbiased news summaries in a concise format

   3. You’ll find the Associated Press in almost every list of unbiased news outlets

   4. Reuters is another news source that’s unbiased in its news reporting

   5. News coverage on BBC is pretty balanced, making it one of the best options for unbiased stories

   6. Tangle is an award-winning media organization that covers the biggest political stories in the U.S. by summarizing arguments from the right, left, and center (then "their take")

   7. Pay attention to objective data from your life (e.g., real evidence of local prices, what’s happening to your investments, policy changes you experience, friends and family losing their jobs).

10. Create plans to calm your panicked mind

We are in constant fight-or-flight mode when stressed by the barrage of negative news and events. Our poor body and brain can’t distinguish between this reaction vs. being chased by a bear. It just dumps adrenaline and cortisol into our system all day.

Making plans helps calm your mind. Taking steps to take care of yourself is essential, too. You’ll feel better knowing what you will do vs. living with generalized stress and fear.

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I’m Larry Cornett, a Freedom Coach who works with ambitious professionals to help them reclaim their power, become invincible, and create new opportunities for their work and lives. Do more of what you love and less of what you hate!

📕 Check out my new The Invincible Daily Journals!

Taking a snowy walk with my wife