Reflections on my time with TRG, holding on to hope

Season’s greetings!

It’s a little strange to think about, but Dec. 12 marked my two-year anniversary with the TRG. Before that, I was with The Clark County Press for just over four years. My time at the TRG has been good overall. I like writing for my hometown paper, and that I get to work largely independently and make my own decisions about layout and what content to include in the paper. I appreciate the opportunity to write my own opinion column and share my thoughts. I also greatly appreciate the positive comments I get from you, the readers, from time to time. They help keep me going. And, I have awesome coworkers that help ensure we produce a quality product. Without them, this paper would not be in existence.

My focus has been on keeping the news hyper-local and putting a priority on running items that you submit, if at all possible. I want the TRG to be your paper – the community’s paper – a place where you get the news you can’t get anywhere else.

Looking back over the course of the year, the story that easily stands out the most is the Loyal Main Street fire. It is arguably the most important local story I covered in my news career. I felt my coworker Cheyenne and I were doing important work in covering the fire, not just to give an accurate retelling of the event for the days immediately following when people naturally wanted to know what happened, but also to have a historical record to look back on years later. If no one is there to report on such things, the event is lost to history.

Other than that, not sure which stories stand out, but maybe I will have a better idea after looking through the year’s stories for our annual “Year in Review” feature, which will run starting in next week’s paper. As always, please let me know if you have any news tips, photos or story ideas. My email is valoriebrecht@trgnews.com and my cell number is 715-503-0602. I value your input!

-I recently came across an article by Jeff Haden of Inc.com, a news website for entrepreneurs, on “10 Things Incredibly Likable People Never, Ever Do.” While it shouldn’t be your goal in life for people to like you (plus, no matter what you do, some people are going to dislike you anyway), it’s still helpful to know what to do to put your best foot forward and give a good impression. Here are the steps for being a likable person suggested in the article: Don’t blame. Don’t control. Don’t try to impress. Don’t cling. Don’t interrupt. Don’t whine. Don’t criticize. Don’t preach. Don’t live in the past and don’t let fear hold you back.

A lot of these are common sense things. This list is a reminder that you can’t change other people; you can only control how you respond to them.

- Another article that caught my attention lately was entitled, “Negative language can perpetuate feelings of doom. Don’t be a doomer” by Gina Park of CNN.

According to Google, a doomer is “someone who is extremely pessimistic or fatalistic about the world’s problems, and who may predict the imminent collapse of human civilization. The term originated on social media and is associated with the idea

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that the world is unfair, nothing matters, and we are all living on borrowed time.” In the late 2010s, the doomer subculture took off and spread on online platforms such as 4chan, particularly among young men on Russian social media platforms. This nihilistic outlook grew out of concerns such as post-Soviet economic struggles, lack of opportunity and political disillusionment, leading to an overall feeling of hopelessness. There are certainly reasons to be concerned about the direction our world is headed today, whether it’s political corruption, crime, global conflicts or scary events like school shootings. Seventy percent of adults said that they were anxious about current events, according to the American Psychiatric Association’s annual mental health poll, which was published in May. In addition, with the internet we have immediate access to more news than ever before, and most of it is negative. Not surprisingly, consuming too much negative information can lead to stress, fatigue and exhaustion, a 2021 study found.

So what can we do to avoid falling into the “doomer” trap? Dr. Chan Hellman, founding director of the Hope Research Center at the University of Oklahoma, offers a few tips. For one, focus on setting achievable short-term goals for yourself rather than broad long-term goals, she said. While you can’t control what’s happening on you on a large scale, you can take steps to build a better future for yourself, she says. And “hope begets hope,” so small successes can build on one another. Second, focus on strengthening your social connections. Good friends and mentors can help you gain some perspective and encourage you along the way to your goals, especially if your goal is something they’ve already mastered, Hellman points out.

Also, limit your time online and exposure to negative news. While it’s good to be in the know, it’s also important to take breaks for your own mental health and to focus on the people around you and the good things in your life here and now.

- Finally, here’s wishing you a very merry Christmas! Hard to believe the holiday is nearly upon us. May you enjoyed blessed time with family and friends as you celebrate. In a world that often seems devoid of hope, Christmas is a reminder that Hope has come into the world and we are not alone.

“For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” – Isaiah 9:6