Good morning, fellow humans (and the occasional AI reading this for “research purposes”). If you’re like me, you probably start your day the same way—wake up, check your phone, and BAM: an email from a local news agency hits your inbox like an unwelcomed smell from a stranger on the bus.

Now, before I go any further—yes, local news people, you do a great job. Seriously. Hats off to you, besides the other news service only some of you will know, But I’ve had a realization, and it’s a big one.

This is NOT how I want to start my day.

Why? Because the news has become an all-you-can-eat buffet of doom, outrage, and soul-crushing negativity. You ever notice that? It’s never:

Nope. It’s always chaos. The world is burning, everyone is angry, and apparently, if you’re not screaming about something, you’re part of the problem.

If the news is bad, social media is worse. If you’ve ever been inside a snake pit, congratulations! You already know what scrolling through Twitter feels like.

It’s like a real-life Hunger Games, but instead of fighting for survival, people are just competing to see who can be the most outraged. Everyone’s armed with digital pitchforks, ready to cancel a stranger for an opinion they tweeted in 2011.

And I hate to say it, but I’ve fallen for it so many times. I’d open my phone, read some headline, and before I knew it—my whole mood was ruined. And for what? Did it make me a better person? Did it improve my life in any way? Nope. It just made me irritated at the world before I even finished my coffee.

Here’s when I knew things had gone too far. The other day, I heard the MSNBC theme song, and my body immediately tensed up like I was being hunted by a predator. Why?? Why does hearing a news jingle make me feel like I need a stress ball and a therapist??

Because I had conditioned myself to expect bad news.

And let’s be real—how often does the news ACTUALLY affect our daily lives? Like, yes, it’s good to stay informed, but does reading 47 articles about political chaos before breakfast really help? Nope. It just stresses us out about things we have zero control over.

So I’m done. I’m breaking up with the news. Cold turkey.

Instead of waking up and immediately injecting negativity into my veins, I’ve decided to do things differently. Here’s the new morning plan:
✔ Step outside. Touch some grass. Feel the sun on your face. Try to remember that nature exists outside of your phone screen.
✔ Move your body. Even if it’s just stretching. Loosen up before the day makes you want to fight someone.
✔ Do something kind. Hold the door open. Compliment a stranger’s shoes. Buy someone a coffee. The world is already full of nonsense—be the exception.
✔ Focus on what YOU can control. You can’t fix the entire planet before noon, but you can choose how you show up in it.

I saw a post today that said:
"We’re going to start treating others how we want to be treated. Wanna join?"

And that hit me. Because we need that energy right now.

So whether you’re left, right, straight, gay, vegan, carnivore, early bird, or night owl—just be cool. Seriously. The world is exhausting enough without us making it worse.

This isn’t about pretending everything is perfect—it’s about choosing not to let the worst parts of the world control your mood.

So here’s my challenge to you (and to myself): for one week, no news. No doom-scrolling. No unnecessary rage-clicking. Instead, let’s do things that actually make us feel good.

Let’s make the world better instead of just yelling about how bad it is.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go kiss my sleeping little dogs and enjoy life without breaking news ruining my morning or evening.

Your (significantly soon to be less stressed) friend,
Todd