--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We're not going to waste our valuable…" description: "\"We're not going to waste our valuable space or your precious energy by giving equal time to stories of tragedy, failure, and tumult. They get far more ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/953/rob-brezsny-7732_age_we-re-not-going-to-waste-our-valuable-sp_206977.jpg" --- # We're not going to waste our valuable space or your… ![“We're not going to waste our valuable space or your precious energy by giving equal time to stories of tragedy, failure, and tumult. They get far more that their fair share of attention everywhere else. Future historians might even conclude that our age suffered from a collective…” quote by Rob Brezsny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/953/rob-brezsny-7732_age_we-re-not-going-to-waste-our-valuable-sp_206977.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/953/rob-brezsny-7732_age_we-re-not-going-to-waste-our-valuable-sp_206977.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/953/rob-brezsny-7732_age_we-re-not-going-to-waste-our-valuable-sp_206977.jpg) > “We're not going to waste our valuable space or your precious energy by giving equal time to stories of tragedy, failure, and tumult. They get far more that their fair share of attention everywhere else. Future historians might even conclude that our age suffered from a collective obsessive-compulsive disorder: the pathological need to repetitively seek out reasons for how bad life is.” [Rob Brezsny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-brezsny/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker argues that media and culture over‑emphasize negative stories, creating a societal obsession with tragedy that skews perception of reality. **In simple terms:** Media overfocus on tragedy creates a distorted view. Key Takeaway Limit exposure to negative narratives. Themes media bias culture negativity bias attention economy collective anxiety Mood concerned analytical hopeful Type cultural critique media commentary When to use this quote - news consumption - social media scrolling - public discourse - mental health awareness Key Concepts psychology media studies sociology Questions to Reflect On - What stories are being ignored? - How can we promote a healthier narrative balance? A Different Perspective Positive stories also deserve attention for balance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) [Age Suffered](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age-suffered-1135347/) [Attention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention/) [Bad life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-life/) [Collective Obsessive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/collective-obsessive-2145150/) [Collectives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/collectives/) [Disorder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disorder/) [Energy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/energy/) [Equal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/equal/) [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) [Fair share](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fair-share/) [Fairs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fairs/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Historian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/historian/) [Historical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/historical/) [Life is](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-is/) [Media](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/media/) [Might](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/might/) [Needs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/needs/) [Obsessive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obsessive/) [Obsessive compulsive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obsessive-compulsive/) [Obsessive compulsive disorder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obsessive-compulsive-disorder/) [Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason/) [Share](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/share/) [Share Attention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/share-attention-1436063/) [Space](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/space/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Stories Tragedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories-tragedy-2145151/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Tragedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tragedy/) [Tumult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tumult/) [Valuable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/valuable/) [Waste](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/waste/) ## Related quotes > [love is a mental illness, an obsessive-compulsive disorder romanticized!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-jerome-dickey/love-is-a-mental-illness-an-obsessive-compulsive-disorder-romanticized/) [Eric Jerome Dickey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-jerome-dickey/) > [“Catholicism is an obsessive-compulsive faith.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/catholicism-is-an-obsessive-compulsive-faith/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [I had really bad obsessive-compulsive disorder. 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As an actor, I'm driven more by an authentic - I would say an obsessive-compulsive-disorder level-fixation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-norton/as-an-actor-i-don-t-have-any-politics-as-an-actor-i-m-driven-more-by/) [Edward Norton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-norton/) > [I was diagnosed a number of years ago with obsessive-compulsive disorder - which everyone has, to some degree - and I have this really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-poundstone/i-was-diagnosed-a-number-of-years-ago-with-obsessive-compulsive/) [Paula Poundstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-poundstone/) > [Baseball is not necessarily an obsessive-compulsive disorder, like washing your hands 100 times a day, but it's beginning to seem that way. We're reaching…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-boswell/baseball-is-not-necessarily-an-obsessive-compulsive-disorder-like/) [Thomas Boswell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-boswell/) > [I have got this obsessive compulsive disorder where I have to have everything in a straight line, or everything has to be in pairs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-beckham/i-have-got-this-obsessive-compulsive-disorder-where-i-have-to-have/) [David Beckham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-beckham/) > [Curing yourself of obsessive compulsive disorder by going to a strip club is pretty strange.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-kidder/curing-yourself-of-obsessive-compulsive-disorder-by-going-to-a-strip/) [Tracy Kidder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-kidder/) > [Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) runs in my family, as do other mental health problems.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dervla-kirwan/obsessive-compulsive-disorder-ocd-runs-in-my-family-as-do-other/) [Dervla Kirwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dervla-kirwan/) > [“I lean my head back and stare at the stark white ceiling. “My friend Zoe used to say I had obsessive compulsive disorder when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siobhan-davis/i-lean-my-head-back-and-stare-at-the-stark-white-ceiling-my-friend/) [Siobhan Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siobhan-davis/) > [My work in general involves getting over my fears that are deeply embedded since childhood: Fear of darkness, fear of dangerous activities in general,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miru-kim/my-work-in-general-involves-getting-over-my-fears-that-are-deeply/) [Miru Kim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miru-kim/) > [If you are the person who gets the lion's share of attention in good times, guess what: you get the lion's share of attention…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-lauer/if-you-are-the-person-who-gets-the-lion-s-share-of-attention-in-good/) [Matt Lauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-lauer/) > [“Whilst writing all this, I have had in my mind a woman, whose strong and serious mind would not have failed to support me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-smiles/whilst-writing-all-this-i-have-had-in-my-mind-a-woman-whose-strong/) [Samuel Smiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-smiles/) ## More by Rob Brezsny > [May you eat an unfamiliar dessert in a strange land at least once every three years. May you wake up... and start dancing while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-brezsny/may-you-eat-an-unfamiliar-dessert-in-a-strange-land-at-least-once/) [Rob Brezsny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-brezsny/) > [Act as if the universe is a prodigious miracle created for your amusement and illumination. 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Your imagination is your power to create mental pictures of things that don't exist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-brezsny/your-imagination-is-the-single-most-important-asset-you-possess-your/) [Rob Brezsny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-brezsny/) > [“Imagine that the whole world belongs to you. The birch trees in New Hampshire's White Mountains are yours, and so are the cirrus clouds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-brezsny/imagine-that-the-whole-world-belongs-to-you-the-birch-trees-in-new/) [Rob Brezsny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-brezsny/) > [Here's what I say: We will ignore the cult of doom and gloom and embrace the cause of zoom and boom. We will laugh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-brezsny/here-s-what-i-say-we-will-ignore-the-cult-of-doom-and-gloom-and/) [Rob Brezsny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-brezsny/) > [But you will be hard-pressed to find more than a few novels, films, news stories, and TV shows that dare to depict life as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-brezsny/but-you-will-be-hard-pressed-to-find-more-than-a-few-novels-films/) [Rob Brezsny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-brezsny/) > [HYPOTHESES: Evil is boring. Cynicism is idiotic. Fear is a bad habit. Despair is lazy. Joy is fascinating. Love is an act of heroic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-brezsny/hypotheses-evil-is-boring-cynicism-is-idiotic-fear-is-a-bad-habit/) [Rob Brezsny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-brezsny/) > [Somewhere there's a treasure that has no value to anyone but you, and a secret that's meaningless to everyone except you, and a frontier…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-brezsny/somewhere-there-s-a-treasure-that-has-no-value-to-anyone-but-you-and/) [Rob Brezsny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-brezsny/) [Explore all 88 Rob Brezsny quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-brezsny/) ## More Age quotes > [I need a bath." He chuckled. "You smell of smoke, as do I." The duke turned, leaning heavily on his cane. "Jameson, open the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-hawkins/i-need-a-bath-he-chuckled-you-smell-of-smoke-as-do-i-the-duke-turned/) [Karen Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-hawkins/) > [While we've youth in our hearts, we can never grow old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/while-we-ve-youth-in-our-hearts-we-can-never-grow-old/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/) > [It's easier to change a law than an age-old mentality. Deep down, many prejudices, many hostilities, many fears persist. 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Adulthood is a series of lines crossed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-goodman/age-is-an-accumulation-of-life-and-loss-adulthood-is-a-series-of/) [Ellen Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-goodman/) > [I calculated that if I live up to the age of 80, then I end up using 450 toothbrushes in my life. All that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dia-mirza/i-calculated-that-if-i-live-up-to-the-age-of-80-then-i-end-up-using/) [Dia Mirza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dia-mirza/) > [Why is wisdom so fair? Why is beauty so wise? 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That was a hard work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-kaulitz/we-have-started-to-make-music-at-age-seven-that-was-a-hard-work/) [Bill Kaulitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-kaulitz/) [Browse all 18,948 Age quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We're not going to waste our valuable space or your precious energy by giving equal time to stories of tragedy, failure, and tumult. They get far more that their fair share of attention everywhere else. 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