How to get happier

We are constantly being bombarded with messages from all around us, from the TV, the internet, our environment, and the list goes on. If you take a minute to determine the intent of the messages and the “lightness” or “heaviness” of the messages, you may be surprised to learn that most of the messages do not feel light. To get happier, I’ve decided to turn the TV off.

Many years ago I was on a date with a guy and we were walking along the river in our city when we were approached by a reporter from one of our local TV stations.

He wanted to talk to us about the lights on the main bridge which crossed the river. They had recently added colours to the lights on the bridge, allowing the operators to change the colours to suit certain occasions. So for breast cancer awareness they would switch on the pink lights, or for certain sporting events they would switch on the green and gold lights to signify the colour of the Australian uniform, for example.

The reporter asked if I’d noticed the recent changes to the colours of the lights on the bridge (I had), then proceeded to ask if I’d noticed if the pillars under the bridge had changed too (I hadn’t). I replied “I’ve not even noticed!”.

The following night the story was played on the news, where they talked about all of the work done to make the changes to the colours of the lights, and the immense testing which had been happening until that point.

They then flicked to a number of other people being interviewed about the lights, then it flicked to me, where they captured only this bit: “I’ve not even noticed!”, implying that I had not noticed the changes to the lights on the bridge at all!

Clearly I was taken out of context, and I was disappointed at first – how could they do this?? But then I realised that this is what they always do! They need to make a good story, and adding in something “controversial” or contradictory is what makes a story, right? Sadly it doesn’t make the story 100% true or accurate!

I decided at that point to never, ever believe anything I watched on the news and I’ve not sat down to watch it in years. If a family member has the TV on and I happen to be in the vicinity of the room I may hear or see a little, but when I’m home alone the TV does not go on.

I don’t believe TV is sending me the messages I want to hear, so I have made a choice to switch it off so I can focus on what I want to focus on. I do believe there are some shows that are probably ok given they’re educational or uplifting by nature, but if there’s any chance of voilence, drama or sadness involved, I’m likely to avoid it like the plague.

So to summarise, turning off the TV has undoubtedly made me a much happier person!