Other than substance abuse, what is the most destructive habit or addiction?
I would argue that since mid 2015 the top destructive addictive habit for many Amercians has been following national political news.
And I’m not just throwing around the word addiction casually. According to the American Society of Addictive Medicine:
“Addiction is characterized by an inability to consistently abstain (from a substance), impairment in behavioral control, craving, diminished recognition of significant problems with one’s behaviors and interpersonal relationships, and a dysfunctional emotional response.”
Are you addicted to national political news?
Here are a few telltale signs:
If you don’t read, listen to, or watch some political news every day, you feel anxious and deprived.
Political news draws your immediate attention and it’s hard to pull yourself away.
You can spend hours reading, listening to or watching political news, even if there’s a lot of repetition.
Your involvement in political news takes you away from more productive and rewarding life activities (not to mention moving your business and marketing forward).
You can find many thoughtful articles on political news addiction online, Just Google: “political news addiction” and read a few.
Here’s my perspective, and it’s a very personal one.
As a political news addict myself for the past three years, I’ve seen the costs, and I’d like to share what I’m doing to combat this addiction – and how I’m substituting it for something more inspiring.
Step 1. My first step about two years ago was to cut my cable TV subscription. I was watching as many as three hours of political news shows every evening. It was becoming toxic.
I substituted cable TV with subscriptions to Amazon Prime, Netflix, Acorn, and CBS All-Access. My wife and I now watch quality programming on our time schedule with no commercials and zero political shows. (Yeah, even this is a little addictive, but much less toxic.)
It can be challenging to eliminate CNN, Fox, MSNBC, etc. but in a week or two you’ll notice a big difference in your well-being.
Step 2. More insidious perhaps, is the preponderance of political news online. On my iPad I had bookmarks to 12 different political websites, and would scan through them daily, reading the most current articles – sometimes for-hours-on-end.
Ultimately, this wasn’t much better than watching TV. I’d often read several articles before I started work each morning. What a downer, and what a great way to suppress my creativity and productivity. It was really starting to show.
With the help of a coach, I chose a new online activity to substitute for reading political news articles.
It was a simple and easy switch, actually. I replaced all my political bookmarks to links to articles and information that inspires and uplifts me and helps me feel more creative, and productive.
Of course, there are endless sources for material like this online, but I have two that I find to be especially potent antidotes to political news addiction.
Medium.com – For me, Medium is the best place for general interest articles, with tons of great ideas on personal growth and business.
My favorite current Medium writer is James Clear who writes on: “… topics like health, happiness, creativity, productivity, success and more. The central question that drives my work is, ‘How can we live better?’ To answer that question, I like to write about science-based ways to solve practical problems.”
In my estimation, his articles are tremendously insightful and always leave me pondering new and exciting possibilities.
Right now, my main substitute to checking political headlines every morning is to read one or two James Clear articles – even before I get up. Before long, my brain has clicked into “creative productivity mode” and my day takes a more positive, energetic shape.
If James Clear, doesn’t float your boat, just use the search function on Medium to find articles on any topic under the sun. Just avoid the political ones! (However, even on that topic, you’ll find more interesting, thought-provoking articles than on most news sites.)
This certainly beats, the, “Oh, crap, what are they doing now, we’re all screwed!” mindset that is generated by reading political articles that tend to quash creativity and productivity.
Another great source for inspiration are Ted-Talk videos. Most are under 20 minutes; all are thought provoking, and many are inspiring enough to trigger new ideas and possibilities. You might start with the 25 All-Time Most Popular Ted Talks.
Political news addiction is real. And if you have it, it’s damaging you in some way, either subtly or obviously. And the best way to change an addictive habit is to replace it with a positive one. I urge you to give this approach an honest try.
zy1113
morentao
brdoom
dinheirus
andyhayler
roll-service
ysmblog
reduc-light
fingerprintdigitalmedia
jsfhds
dominiquewarluzel
crcap
tradewing
underwatershow
yayannabelle
corfield
radioborders
shopcorner
industrybeans
mariobett
preschool
tokyoeisei
jamjamfood
mainhunter
ramboll
megahentaitube
kstargroup
wpdc
funkypartymama
weibo333
mifarma
alfhmcj
cloudservus
oasysnet
glasmuseum-frauenau
bostadsbolaget
soc23
kac
klinikumsolingen
211
clarksonenergyhomes
mattblaisdell
fbhn
demdigest
gadlee
heyeleanor
irishsetterboots
dwidripraihiptimac
improve
inflatable-pet-collars
birdvilleschools
maladiealzheimer
lituanus
sk-dynamik
saltnchili
thegirlgeneration
frlegendsapk
fds
absolutesurvivalist
guillermorodas
nchm
kankou-kurashiki
arml
mochi
arialsoftware
micaucus2012
emergingfoodfranchises
csquaretech
edgecreative
biometricscongress
shirdisaibabaedmonton
villacher-alpenstrasse
buzznbee
blogsavy
patakhotel
iphonhost
biodiversite-nouvelle-aquitaine
thawte
io12-knowledge
sonomafilmfest
caneelbay
xtrategics
tetue
ebookdesigner
amazonbusiness
lo-fi-merchandise
circlemountainfarm
gavisa
-galleries
146328
hardwoodfederation
locatephoneowner
dpadvertising
erdallas
blackpoints
growcom
hoise
rainmakermarketing
4vip
sofgreece
haihangleyouguolv
thpurin
defile
fiqhcouncil
holegfuvo
canadianpillsbuy
thetomboystyle
ibvi
localfloridarawhoney
faturaodeme
amapa
netflixawards
ebonytube
wpfem
andrewkelley
gadgetsoptions
richenergy
ikoney
sungraphicsmedia
thisted-bryghus
umenoyado
internetowe-strony
aadermatology
ipfscluster
icfsne
thongtacconghanoi24h
bransonchamber
zjlinbo
huff
lacoalition
yourbiblereader
cedric-duma
fe-medien
technedo
gd1
tripleblind
greensight
studiochizu
iveo
dt-tickets
523zg
awil
aisa
instavolt
ingeredes
hyruleonline
beast
svenbuechler
tdvvison
wangyu
toledo10
crane-creative
kcrw
thergca
amateurs21
jingflscu
smartelektro
atsspeed
graphicartsunit
cbgoliath
64sts
kdwsoft
argosyfnd
hemosul
simpsonftpr
passingfancyhorses
agence-gw
camefordru9
ote-godaddy
tannervd
goto88
nishikibe
schliemann-museum
ahhynet
huntflow
gangnam-leggings
tocochannel
blockinpress
thingscon
caaconference
vegalleries
wavemaker
fptso1vn
mugikura
gellednails
eaglesnestdevelopers
mykft
gsd
fuviz
revote
jasperlabs
catholic
wicvworkshop
sb2702
ireports360
minipressure
visionscarto
sellmomshousefast
shimmeringsplendidserendipity
poneybeach
chooart
vinstream
connectoutremer
cieers
hksl
robrohan
padlet
hindichudaistory
southeastiowaunion
amateurlive
glpo
healthnewstrack
cdg57
webcointeractive
va-movie
adirects
saasitau
emalineandthem
njstart
mojones
darbaroud
goldiers1
orionpaints
aamgc
realclevelandsingles
23
timraik
carolinatheatre
allsoulsprocession
northernag
newwestlending
haojin
haritaport
insta
supportersplace
engweb
unrol
blindgossip
aduiepyle
lab
org
livingasean
canadianpainsociety
teknoteb
relaxcaffe
dantecloud
team-pow
le-gratin
shastarcf
dieetabc
kgi
resolutionmag
charitahk
badonkadate
studiovintagerental
yuan
ps130pa
tatumsounds
meinan
conaci
kelayang
bwbllp
adhdireland
wdiyo
ternakwebsite
alterra
bishamon
moet-hennessy
cfls
monkeyandsquirrel
koningenhartman
enabling-project
robertwalters
swissmiss
investinghispania
cashboost
hcsochi
freestream
mafc
ghsbd
svyaznoy
herbsasia
7xg7
alaskavietnam
offblogmedia
yongcheng
lunatecs316
merlo
sajtkonsulterna
ultimum
merchantsuite
jsjh
truff
tanikawax
gossipwossip
crawlers
pivo
arizona-sunshine
fmecat
accsysplc
hserver
villagenet
wp-mobili
hotmeltcoatingmachines
thecanadaline
apnm
muchcum
oneway
powertool
refirescue
onewisconsinnow
orbiteo
everfluxx
buddymarks
aurazenithbar
butefabricsltd
jasadomino
divya-mohan
edansk54
sparkdigital
comiccon
studioprime
politea
theinstantgroup
barringtonsoccer-ri
portofentry
allalla
foodmarkt
ncie
swiftpageconnect
zx168
qdparking
elantigueno
atavolo
mymaquillage
swedbankpay
devrobots
buhvdesigns
192
return
tothetopinternational
imf
peoplexcd
fixmobily
talentitsolutions
vaccinemisinformation
wethecurl
themescorner
creatingspaceyoga
appnotick
gasparilab
shiokaze-oukoku
francescahogi
zahnunfallzentrum
onlinects
greenecoservices
locusonus
attack-scanner
ufabaccarat
scepsy
debbiesnyderlpcmhlcdpllc
crescendotto
51graphite
alexkatz
atoutcom
freies-musikzentrum
mtdata
mytravelguide
imnotsoup
outside
rote-buehne
thehayburnerproject
phiscomarketing
istciechimilano
naeweb
hyperlinq
amnesialondon
serviceskuwait
djsnake
bergamotte
digitalsport
irisclasson
harvestmark
scoota
sit
icatcorp
hotelsbyday
beiliwypocdelip
buffaloetsyteam
lukeslegacytrust
indoor-architecture
qzxkdns
dxcommunication
vmpa
atlwjx
tercumehane
autolemonlaws
bukitlawangfloodappeal
theprlady
olinas
jbeducation
retroclub
dehradunescort
merillatroundtable
hemorrho
m4b-url-signer
voispeed
buildeazy
hollywoodstudios
getlocalexpo
theoutsourcedfinancedirector
whosaeng
calabashcove
codeobjects
xn--lromaktier-d6a
rotikomanda
cluj
scienceforconservation
xn—–6kcbkhg6ba8bcabcyeyl
gmevents
corahair
paulsmithson
herbalkindness
us-midwest-1
dailydental
nabcoentrances
downtownsyracuse
tsutomeninpanda
jingchaomei
spaceoar
pubsqrd
theandgroup
psma
mijndomeinobligatie
sharkwatchsa
isalis
carfaxservicenetwork
streamingfaith
dev-web-w2
chakhonglui
filelifter
regioneer
lpea
pixacards
alhambrajax
mystream2
vsegosuslugi
tandlaegen
autohaus-nothhelfer
artsednj
reserve-system
be-a-boss
fiorentina
ctsjo
wehopower
contagt
gcaar
seetel
synthesijer
esnaexpo
naturallydaily
alotoftola
vuepress
izonemedia360
an-online
haokanaa1
17365015
visisoft
imexhs
vasectomyinstitutecalifornia
hnhuazhou
max-blog-soratemplates
480066
myfujifilm
robierwinsetiawan
allohire
loongson
babyplaypark
driftcreativeagency
luzjerez
nyyz
lag-avtal
dawnforgedcast
grafikdesign-sommer
becas
kungfupanda
dsasociety
robertcray
cechkamnaru
oaksnh
openconcept
apic
gramex
filmandfurniture
solcom
simpsonu
sodao
elaborare
bagnidipisa
ellibertador
lookfilms
hljsunwu
wristicuffs
larlet
newlonliving
iryouworker
izba-lekarska
glot-o-matic
yeditepehastanesi
gsmarena
timaar
teiid
codebanter
agra-alliance
qbhlseo
aimeesoft
mistberosti
speedlink
dataintheraw
jantakareporter
erstebank
troisifestival
torrentfunk
freeavenue
desart
e-toimik
samsungodin
haomwei
inobun
thewraplife
erfgoed
sapwalkhomafoo
friskypet
ipjdl
contemprints
algaplus
climate
topgayfuck
paypaq
drkoenig
gidbudurka
gloryholeguide
themaalgoproject
konesso
bhuwantv
weave
mesma
swiftproductions
ferrartgallery
hendriksbouwenontwikkeling
pravlife
valmano
yep
kawa-z-mlekiem
tambacity-kankou
crummymedia
c3tv
kxzc
hnav
canada-levitrageneric
saint-brevin
ssportplus
necenzurat
iraniansforpeace
practiceadvantage
agglo-limoges
exaf
neusenews
max-demo
ecologforestry
flowlu
gladiatortechnology
enpuls
restauracja-gitar
highforthis
95
marsveterinary
osakaya
naturallybetter
ih-hotels
gpgtools
180
shrift
gtranslate
statefarm
innokids
discount-stay
crafts-drafts
indianescortsindubai
newmebeauty
retabet
murah138
jeffbutton
avenabotanicals
dmitryvolkov
tradebarriers
advilcom
ourb2b
gpvzviodptd
ak430
dt-web
cosmic
ky520
2yd
kaiyun996
dentaltransitionspodcast
east-inflable
promotion-cup
fvs
lyndellbell
grumpy-troll
vietadv
