We are all susceptible to believing and acting out what we repeatedly see and hear – both positive and negative information – which has an impact on our emotions, what we do and how we live.
Our thinking, social groups and behaviors can influence the degree of emotional negativity we feel. With time, the negativity becomes a heavy weight which limits what we do and how much we enjoy life.
How Does Our Thinking Influence How We Feel ?
Our thoughts impacts how we feel and what we do. Negative thoughts increases the number of negative thoughts, which lead to negatively charged emotions. The same is true if we are thinking positively.
We become what we think. Our thoughts impacts how we feel and what we do.
How People Can Influence How We Feel:
We naturally mimic and mirror who we spend a lot of time with. We begin to use similar words or body language and may even begin to dress alike.
Have you ever noticed yourself feeling and acting like the person you’re near. For example, you are in a positive mood but then spend a few minutes with a person in a negative mood and quickly has you slipping toward feeling more negative. Their negative mood is contagious. Clearly, we must remain mindful of how much time we spend with someone who is in a really negative mood.
The Medias Influence On Creating Increased Negativity In A Person:
In the U.S., we are inundated with external negativity through our television shows, movies and even news coverage. Often, there is a focus on only pointing out what is wrong, consistent use of negative wording, or applauding negative actions (e.g. verbal arguments or physical violence). Such themes are present in common activities like: television shows, movies, and video games.
For example, reality television shows loves to highlight gossiping, verbal arguments or physical fighting to create drama and entertainment. Many people love the shows and often say comments like “I know most of that stuff isn’t real. It’s innocent fun and no big deal.”
On the surface it may seem innocent, but there is more to it. The constant exposure to that kind of drama has a physiological, emotional and psychic impact on the person. It has detrimental short and long-term effects on the person.
This study states media violence significantly increases the risk the person viewing it will behavior more violently both in the short and long-term. They cited experiments that show increased likelihood of aggressive behavior for both children and adults in the short run. The article discusses how desensitization – decline of physiological reactivity and negative emotion– occurs after repeated exposure which influences how negative or positive a person behaves.
This study provides evidence that violent media elicited violent cognitions and emotions on the people. It spoke to differences in someone’s personality traits for aggressiveness influencing their responses after viewing violent material.
To be clear, the point of this article is not to argue that Medias like reality television shows or action movies are absolutely bad and must be banned from existence. It’s a personal choice what one likes. The aim is to bring awareness to the impact of constant exposure to such material because of their internal and external impact on a person.
10 Ways To Manage Exposure To Negative Energy And Be More Positive:
It is every person’s individual responsibility to take action to create a positive mindset, emotions, and experiences.
Engage in a personal experiment of decreasing or completely refraining from exposing yourself to negativity, violent images and conversations. Remain curious and take note of any emotional, cognitive or behavioral changes you experience.
As you’re doing so, intentionally increase engagement in practices that creates a positive mindset and attitude. You can choose to do the following practices for a few days or weeks. Ideally, it is best to practice for at least 30 days to allow enough time to get quality personal data of the impact, how you’re feeling and living life.
Options include:
- Choose not to watch any broadcast news
- Go on a social media fast where you complete disengage from signing into any and all platforms (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.)
- Refrain from watching violent movies
- Refrain from playing violent video games
- Set the intention not to gossip about people – walk away any time such conversations are occurring around you
- Stop the complaining – practice acknowledging what is wrong without having to go on and on about the details
- Provide a listening ear to someone’s problem but refrain from ongoing discussions without a focus on solutions
- Discontinue listening to songs that are derogatory, about break-ups or create sadness
- Monitor what you read (e.g. fiction or graphic novels)
- Choose your words wisely – practice using empowering words and phrasing statements in the positive
So, ask yourself:
What changes must I make to be more positive?
How can I be a positive energy for others?
