This morning I opened up an email from one of the internet’s most popular medical newsletters.
This famous physician is extremely knowledgeable and influential. He was one of the people who brought EFT, the Emotional Freedom Technique into the mainstream due to his wide readership.
I opened his newsletter because his headline made me feel nervous and I realized that I had to read it.
The headline read:
If You Go To Church, Heed This Warning
Take a look at a sampling of a few of his recent scary headlines. The corresponding text in his newsletters can be pretty frightening too.
This Supermarket “Health Food” Killed These Baby Rats in Three Weeks
Worse than Bad Advice – This Can Lead to Seizures, Paralysis, Blindness, and Death
The Cancer Time Bomb Sitting in Your Refrigerator – Will You Stop Consuming It?
So why did I feel compelled to go further and open his mail? It certainly wasn’t because I was curious.
It was sheer fear. A worry, panic, stress response. I HAD to read it.
During breakfast, Michael and I were talking about this newsletter. He hates
these newsletters because he feels that the facts are sensationalized for the sole purpose of getting attention and making sales.
He chooses not to welcome this newsletter and it’s negative energy into his inbox. He doesn’t want to react in fear.
While sipping my coffee (probably laden with carcinogins) I started to worry about my recent flu shot and if the Pringles I ate last year were going to kill me. At that moment it occurred to me that I always feel worried about my health after I read his newsletters.
The oldest media trick in the book is to use headlines to create panic and stress and watch the sales go up, Up, and UP!
Look up now at the subject line for this newsletter.
It’s ironic that no matter who we are, and how calm and relaxed we live our life, it’s human nature to respond to these headlines.
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You can let your responses eat you up with worry and stress, or you can intentionally choose new thoughts and feel better.
My upcoming book, Powerful Thinking on Purpose, shows you how easy it is to choose your thoughts wisely, reduce your stress, and feel better.
I love the title, and I’m waiting for a blast of inspiration for a great sub-title.
Any ideas?
Share them below please!
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Lana says
December 13, 2011 at 4:15 amThe headlines carry information for me, not fear… I prefer to make informed decisions about flu shots and hormones in my milk and its quite puzzling to me when some people blame the messenger and prefer ostrich therapy (stick head in sand) rather than just decide if one wants to choose differently or not.. its not personal, its just information. no need for fear or guilt and if those come up, great, do the work (byron katie videos on youtube can help)
Debbie says
December 13, 2011 at 8:29 amI am so excited about your book, Wendy!
Can’t wait to see it, read it,use it, share it!
Wendy says
December 13, 2011 at 5:20 pmLana, I agree with you that many headlines are just information.
This is exactly my point. My upcoming book is in agreement with much of Byron Katie’s work. We want to make decisions from a place of knowledge, not fear.
My book helps people shift their thoughts and ultimately their feelings to bring them to a place where they feel better. When we feel better we can be calm and understand that headlines are really just information.
When the internal information is well researched and presented, then this is a great service.
When you are presented with an email with a headline like this, how do you look at a headline and turn it into a source of information?
Michael Jackson says
December 19, 2011 at 5:51 amWhat you are referring to is known as cognitive dissonance; a momentary challenge to the curiosity or self-interest of the reader. Interestingly a headline like “If you go to church – heed this warning” would do absolutely nothing for all the people who don’t go to church. And; by the way – there’s a little cognitive dissonance in my web address!
Robert M Dunscomb says
December 19, 2011 at 10:33 amWendy, how about:
Powerful Thinking on Purpose
Don’t let the Headlines Scare you!
Robert
judy jackson says
January 9, 2012 at 12:29 pmhey wendy,
i’d suggest not listening to the 11:00 bad news on tv either.