All Psyched Up: Distraction

By Linda Hancock on April 5, 2025.

I know I sound like an old lady when I talk about years ago and when I grew up, but I am old! I remember the day that we got the TV in the small apartment where we lived. It was a huge wooden box with two dials and a wire antenna on top. Of course, everything was black and white and at the end of the day a test pattern with a buzzing sound played until the next morning’s programming. Commercials were done live.

The good thing was that we weren’t distracted from daily living by a twenty-four-hour newsfeed. We didn’t really know what was happening in various places in the world until our weekly newspaper arrived. We certainly didn’t have several channels that were televising violence as it occurred and then re-running it over and over again for days.

The news was read for about twenty minutes at noon and for about twenty minutes at six o’clock. News was facts that revealed basics: who, what, when, where and why.

Today we have unlimited channels, each with its own perspective. We also have the internet with unlimited choices. These have moved us from exposure of facts to opinions played around the clock. Because of the competition, each source tries to capture our attention! There is an old expression in journalism that states: “What bleeds, leads.” If it isn’t exciting, we will likely not watch.

Instead of just focusing on our own lives and responsibilities, it is easy to be caught up in hours and hours of listening to discussions about things that we cannot change in far away places. And if we let the rhetoric take over, we might easily find ourselves experiencing rage, fear, confusion and anxiety.

Recently, the news about tariffs caused my 30-year-old grandson to comment in our seven-person family chat about the possibility of trade wars. I wanted to respond in a thoughtful and inspiring manner, so I typed a few lines in reply. I reminded him that he is a leader in the business world who has responsibility for marketing in western Canada. My encouragement was for him think positively and use his leadership skills to “Make Canada great again.”

A couple of days later, on Feb. 4, I was thrilled to see a message that he had created and sent to more than six hundred fifty independent grocery outlets that his warehousing company supplies. In it he promoted printable in-store signage, “Made in Canada” Shelf Takers, online resources, proudly Canadian brands and locally sourced produce. This was “cutting edge,” right at the start of the chatter about tariffs. More recently he sent me a photo of almost empty shelves that had previously held items marked with price and maple leaf stickers. His comment was “Yup! It’s everywhere. Selling out like no tomorrow.” Shoppers were obviously thrilled to buy Canadian when signage was in place.

I am very proud of my grandson. And so is his company who, by the way, have promoted him since this marketing campaign was launched.

It can be so easy to get caught up in negative news, speculation and gossip instead of focusing on what we can control and how we can change things for the better.

I admit I haven’t turned on a TV in over seven years! I am careful about what I feed my brain. Remember the expression “Garbage in, garbage out”? Protect yourself and your attitude.

This week, think about what is means to be Canadian. Are you helping to build the country and encourage others? My young grandson made a huge positive difference, and so can you!

Canadian psychologist Jordan Peterson has often stated that we cannot change the world until we clean up our own bedroom (paraphrase).

I think I am saying the same thing. Don’t get distracted by things you can’t control that scare or immobilize you. Instead think about how you can make a difference, even if it only means to remind others that we can think and be positive.

“Make Canada great again!”

Each of us has a unique way to contribute.

Dr. Linda Hancock, the author of “Life is An Adventure…every step of the way” and “Open for Business Success” is a Registered Psychologist who has a private practice in Calgary. She can be reached by email at office@drlindahancock.com

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