In self-help land the news is frowned upon. It’s a source of negativity and misery. It will bring you down. Better to walk around the block repeating affirmations or read about the power of positive thinking than engage in the ugly, cruel world. And for more than a year I’d followed this advice. I’d gone from someone who read the papers every day to someone who read motivational posts on Facebook. And in some ways it was nice. Life felt simpler, cleaner. But as I neared the end of my challenge, denying the real world – in all its messiness and tragedy – no longer felt enlightened. It felt like
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