I might be wrong, but I get the sense that many of my friends and clients in San Diego are getting wiser about the dangers of our digital age.

Because they are, indeed, quite real.

There is a famous clip of an interview with NYT-bestselling author, and cultural commentator Simon Sinek that made the rounds about a year ago on the way millenials have been trained to think by the always-online lifestyle.

But if we think that the things he discusses in that video are only pertinent to younger people, we are fooling ourselves. Many things that have defined this millennial generation have trickled upwards into every generation via the mass media.

And look — I do taxes and help with finances for a living. I’m not an expert in these matters.

However, I do see what happens to my San Diego clients who get wrapped up in the media cycle of fear and negativity, and, well, what often happens to their finances as a result.

Frankly, I’m tired of seeing clients and friends who are “beaten down” by all the fear and anxiety in their lives.

And there is one major source for it — which is entirely optional.

And I suggest you “opt-out”, if you will.

So if you’ll pardon this diversion from my normal financial fare, here goes…

Getting Your Mental State Out Of Fear And Anxiety By Darryl A. Hale, EA, MBA, MST

“Time sets the stage; fate writes the script; but only we may choose our character.” – Liam Thomas Ryder

Life in the modern world isn’t always a trip in the sunshine.

But it’s made so much harder by the tendency of our world to suffocate you with mental junk and global negativity.

I believe that the number 1 danger for ALL of us moving forward in 2018 is allowing today’s world to starve your brain with “junk food” and deaden your spirit with the overwhelming feeling that you are small, insignificant … helpless.

I’ve learned to avoid the 24-7 news channels, and the sites online that traffic in fear. I figure that I’ll see what I need to when seeking out resources for our clients about current events. But let’s look, for example, at CNN.

CNN is about as bland as you can get — it’s “normal” to “normal” people. But I also realize, most “normal” people accomplish relatively little in their time on this planet (at least on the outside). Those of us who are going somewhere in life must have better things to do than to listen to talking heads opine about political gamesmanship and the dozens of tragedies that we can’t (and won’t) be able to do anything about.

Right now, the world is swimming in negativity. And you need to be serious and proactive about it. Because — if you don’t — it’ll kill your vocation, kill your career growth, kill your dreams and everything you really care about.

The mass news media is NOT your friend.

They feed on fear, and they sell paranoia, division and hyperbole. It’s what they do.

And not only must you protect yourself from this drip, drip, drip of depression, you need to fight it on behalf of your family and friends, your coworkers and customers.

Tell them what’s good. Greet them with a smile and with encouragement. Tell them what they’re doing right. Give them a voice to the hope still latent within their bones — which is too often buried in a junkpile of media-fueled negativity.

You (and they) need to celebrate little tiny victories. Every. Day.

This is an essential skill for a business owner, for a careerist, for a parent at home — and for all of us: when you have a major victory in your life, you need to find encouraging people who will celebrate it with you. Because good news is good news indeed.

Until next week,

Darryl A. Hale, EA, MBA, MST

(858) 549-9666

Top Hat Tax & Financial Services