My big "double-aha" moment came while anchoring the national news at CBS News. It was at the height of the recession, and on top of the usual negative stories, my newscasts became full of especially heart wrenching stories of people losing their homes, jobs, and retirement savings. Starting the morning off like that could leave even the most optimistic person feeling helpless and hopeless. The lightning bolt came when we changed how we talked about the negative.

Following celebrities or people you don't regularly see in person often doesn't add to our happiness. The best use of social media is to deepen existing close relationships or create new ones.

Starting our day off with a dose of negativity can have lasting effects.

I realized there was a better way to broadcast the news that empowered people to believe they could overcome challenges.

If you want a particular behavior from someone else, try spotlighting those times when he or she is already doing it.

Being in touch with the problems in the world or our lives is important, but even more important is to focus the brain on what we can do about them.

Instead of running from the negative, I've started running towards the positive.