The Power of Good News: Feeding Your Mind with What's Good for Your Heart

by Hal Urban

The media’s bias toward stories of conflict, violence, and division is bad for your health. Hal Urban shows how to find the positive and uplifting all around us.

What we eat greatly impacts our physical health. Hal Urban says that we can nourish our minds just like we nourish our bodies by choosing what information we consume. Urban explains why, due to neuroscience as much as economics, the media—left, right, and center—focuses mostly on negative stories. And he describes the psychological toll this takes on our mental health. But he’s not suggesting we ignore these stories, just that we vary our diets.

We can find countless signs of progress and acts of kindness all around the world if we know where to look. And there are positive aspects in our own lives—family, friends, beauty, generosity, and progress—that we take for granted. Offering techniques he road tested as a teacher for thirty-six years, Urban helps readers become a conscious consumer of information, balancing sources like food groups.

If, as the late Zig Ziglar put it, “you are what you are . . . because of what has gone into your mind,” then it’s in our best interest to choose positive, healthy, and uplifting input whenever possible. Urban shows how to do this with open eyes and an open heart.

160 pages, Hardcover

Published May 11, 2021

About the author

Hal Urban holds a Bachelor's and Master's degree in history, and a Doctorate in education from the University of San Francisco. He has also done post-graduate study in the psychology of peak performance at Stanford University.

For thirty-six years he was an award-winning teacher at San Carlos and Woodside High Schools and at his alma mater, the University of San Francisco.

Hal is the author of six books - all with an emphasis on good character. His first book, Life's Greatest Lessons, was selected by Writer's Digest as the Inspirational Book of the Year. For more information about his writings click on the Books page.

Since 1992 Dr. Urban has traveled more than two million miles while speaking nationally and internationally on positive character traits and their relationship to the quality of life. He has made more than a thousand presentations in forty-two states, Washington DC, and eight foreign countries. Additional information about his talks can be found on the Speaking page.

In 2005 Dr. Urban was awarded his highest honor - the Sanford N. McDonnell Lifetime Achievement Award at the Character Education Partnership National Forum.

Hal has a genuine love of life that includes several passions, chief among them are the three F's - faith, family, and friends. His other main interests and activities are physical fitness, reading, sports, travel, photography, and life-long learning.

Reviews

[Rafid Warsalee]

Short and sweet. Shows how we are bombarded by bad news all the time from different sources especially from social media and TV etc…and how this has a negative impact on our life and happiness. I am glad I avoided social media so far, no Facebook, no instagram, no twitter etc.. except I invested in them. Only thing I use is YouTube where I learn lots of things. I also cut down TV 100% for the past 3 years. My news comes from radio only. This book fully supports my way of thinking and my decisions.

[Neringa Kondrotaitė]

Knyga palieka šviesų ir malonų įspūdį – joje gausu gimnazijoje dirbusio mokytojo įžvalgų bei patarimų, kaip skleisti geras naujienas ir pozityvų požiūrį. Įvairios gražios citatos ir estetiškas iliustravimas suteikia tekstui jaukumo ir vizualinio patrauklumo. Vis dėlto turinys pasirodė gana lengvas, per lengvas, knyga gana menkos vertės.

[Elita Lahm]

Per šiuos keletą metų pati nepajuntu kaip kiekvieną dieną susifokusuoju tik į blogas naujienas. Atsimenu buvo ypatingai sunku atrastį balansą per pandemiją, jausmas buvo toks, kad mes tiesiog esam visi pražuvę ir nebėra gerų dalykų. Bet kiekvieną dieną, septintą valandą vakaro išeidavom į balkoną (gyvenau Ispanijoje) ir kartu su visu kaimu plodavom dirbantiems medicinos, kitų gelbėjimo tarnybų darbuotojams. Ir ta minutė susivienijimo vėl priversdavo pasijusti, kad nesi vienas, kad šioje tamsybėje yra gėrio ir mes visi bandome rasti tą dalelę gėrio, kuriuo norime pasidalinti su visais, net jei tai tik viena minutė dienoje.

O ši knyga būtent ir priverčia susimąstyti apie mūsų kasdien vartojamą informaciją. Kiek galios turi kasdienės naujienos, blogos, geros, kaip ta informacija mus gali paveikti psichologiškai? Labai sutinku, kad turėtume dažniau atkreipti dėmesį į aplink mus supančius gerus ir gražius įvykius. Kartais per daug įsisukame į blogų naujienų ratą, o ši knyga būtent apie tai ir kalba, kaip balansuoti visą vartojamą informaciją, kad ji mums nekentų? Ypatingai, kai blogų naujienų atrodo gauname po keliasdešimt kiekvieną dieną. Puiki knyga ir priminimas kaip gyventi šiame pasaulyje! :)

[Kamilė Strach]

🤗Hal Urban - Gerų naujienų galia🤗

Šiais laikais mes daug skubame, mažai laiko turime sau ir dažniausiai esame pakrauti blogomis emocijomis, stresu bei irzuliu. O kur dar žiniasklaidos priemonės, kurios 99% kalba apie negatyvą...

Hal Urban moko, kaip pabėgti nuo neigiamų emocijų ir pradėti įžvelgti džiaugsmą, gėrį ir gerų naujienų galią.

🤞Beje, net mokslininkai ištyrė, kad veikiami optimizmo ir pozityvumo turėsime sveikesnį kūną❗️

Maža, trumpa, bet labai įtaigi knygelė su praktiniais patarimais, realistiškais pavyzdžiais ir žinomų žmonių citatomis.

Labai rekomenduoju perskaityti patiems ir padovanoti draugams, šeimos nariams, kurie per daug užsisukę darbuose/reikaluose.

[Lisa]

This was an enjoyable and useful book about how bad news can overwhelm you, and affect your mental health, and why we should focus on good news. Urban provides plenty of evidence that there is really more good news than bad news, and suggestions to help you look for good news.

I especially liked his stories of how he emphasized the importance of good news to his students.

I received this free ebook from NetGalley in return for an honest review.
EDITION Other Format
ISBN 9781523092789
PRICE $15.95 (USD)

[Bob Peterson]

You gonna let someone waltz into your living room and empty a huge bag of stinking rubbish on your carpet? No? Then why are we allowing all sorts of media sources do that to our psyche? the author asks.
This retired teacher focuses on finding and sharing good news that abounds but too often goes unnoticed.
He admonishes people to start noticing all the good news in their lives including the people who populate their lives.

[Diana Taukul]

Armas, kiire ja väga positiivne meeldetuletus :)

[Qrii]

now THIS is light reading, not "Great Wizards of the Twentieth Century"

[Hannaliisa]

4/5

Väga hea ja lihtsasti loetav raamat.