So how are you doing with the news these days? Maybe like some of my friends you just stopped watching or listening, thinking there is no place where you can go to find the truth. Nowhere to hide.

As much as we might like to think or believe that the news and those who write the news are biased, we also must give consideration that maybe, just maybe, what they are reporting on is true. I say this because I am one of those people reporting the news, aren’t I? My column appears each week in this paper.

By the way, I love this paper, and I love our community.

So maybe what I write about is somewhat biased. Maybe what I write about has a slant toward the positive, the awesome, the wonderful, and the fantastic parts of our lives. Maybe what I write about pushes aside the negative, gives airtime to optimistic thinking, and focuses only on the good. Is that so bad? I ask you, is that so bad?

I mean, here you are reading this column, and you have probably read it before. You already know that the winning words that I focus on each week carry with them our hopes, our dreams, our wishes, and our goals as a community. I choose to write about the good, the pure, the positive, and the powerful things in life, and in turn you choose to read about it each week. We have an awesome relationship.

It’s when we turn our attention to the other things in life that we start to stumble and fall. Dr. Denis Waitley says it this way, “The difference between the thinking of people who believe they can win and those who already accepted defeat, is that the winners never stop seeing the winning.” That’s right, no matter what we see or read about that can influence our thought process and belief system, it can never undermine our commitment and resolve to win in the face of any challenge or adversity.

Have you had enough? Do you watch or read the news with worry, doubt, and fear? Well if you do, please take a moment and give yourself, as Zig Ziglar says, “A check-up from the neck up.” Begin each day reading the news, the good news, and focus on the positive. This newspaper you are reading right now carries more information that is relevant to our daily living than any national newspaper or television network can provide. We have moved beyond acceptance of what the world says, and have moved into what we can decide, think, and control in our own lives.

There is that ad that calls to us all, “Think Globally and Act Locally.” Acting locally to me means our family, our friends, our neighbors, and our community. What is happening here, right within our homes and right within our hearts, is what matters the most.

So how about you? Do you agree or disagree that what is most important happens right between our homes and our hearts? Or do you view our responsibility differently? Either way I would love to hear all about your story at gotonorton@gmail.com. And when we can see past the influence of others and focus on what is most important, it really will be a better than good week.

Michael Norton is a resident of Castle Rock, the president of the Zig Ziglar Corporate Training Solutions Team, a strategic consultant and a business and personal coach.