No News Is Good News

February 1, 2019

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A short time ago, Roger Federer lost at the Australian Open.

That, of course, is a tragedy.

That, of course, meant that some other unworthy person would be holding the trophy.

Which also meant the announcers would blather on endlessly until the end of the tournament about how someone else was good and Federer was bad.

So I had a choice.

Keep watching players I don’t enjoy while listening to commentary that makes me vomit.

Or turn it off.

But not just turn it off. I could stop reading news, getting updates, or having tennis conversations.

I could just go dark.

I picked darkness.

As soon as I got Federer’s horrifying result, I didn’t let anything about the Australian Open enter my brain for many days. (It would’ve been all the days if people hadn’t started texting me about the results. Some people have no soul.)

How was it?

Was I anxious about what happened next?

Was I curious about what people were saying?

Was I missing watching my favorite sport?

No.

A thousand times no.

Instead of worrying about a tournament on the other side of the world, I got up each day in a good mood. I got into my routines and got on happily with my day. I was productive and blissful.

Not knowing other people’s news actually made me more focused on my own life. Not knowing news made me happier.

Sure, we need to know about tornado warnings or hurricane alerts, but what else do we really need to know?

If we weren’t reading the scary news, would we have bought undervalued stocks in 2008-2008 and made a fortune?

If we weren’t upset about some political issue, would we be spending more peaceful, serene time with our family and friends?

If we weren’t watching inferior players win Majors, would our lives be more fun?

Not knowing news can make us dramatically happier.

What does knowing the news do for us?

Try going dark for a day or two or twenty.

You might just find that no news is good news.

My book is called The Inevitability of Becoming Rich, and you can find that here.