I’m taking a break from my disdain of all things news to take a step back and write about why I’ve been so negative in these recent posts.
I’m not against entertainment. I think it serves a valuable role in our lives. I like watching a football game or hearing about things that are none of my business. It’s a lot of fun.
I just no longer want to fool myself into thinking that it matters. It’s just entertainment. This isn’t life or death.
When I read books so I can grow into a better person, that takes time. When I ride my bike to work every day instead of driving a car, that takes time. When I read, spend time with my family, volunteer, that all takes time. And our first reaction to changing things up in order to live out our values is: I don’t have time. I disagree.
You have time.
Yes, I said that right. You have tons of time.
When someone doesn’t have time, they don’t have time to consume the news.
They never watch TV for anything ever.
They don’t get a full night’s sleep.
They never do anything that doesn’t involve feeding or sheltering their family.
This isn’t you. You have time.
My time waster has been the news. I used to spend literally hours a day reading and thinking about it. Yours might be different. Whatever it is, see it for what it is, put things in perspective, and focus on what really matters.
The question is not: When will I have enough time to do what matters?
The question is: When will I stop doing what doesn’t matter so I’ll have enough time to do what matters?
That mindset change has changed my life.