I’ve almost reached the point where I don't want to read the newspapers or watch the television news anymore. I was in Vietnam recently for a few weeks and without access to any mass media channels. I discovered that being free of a daily diet of economic doom and gloom stories and the relentless coverage of violence and mayhem was bliss. In coming back into that daily diet, I've been reminded of the negativity that surrounds us on a daily basis and how it can easily influence people's mood, attitude to these challenging times and their beliefs about surviving through them. The challenge for us all is to be positive in the face of adversity; creative in the face of change and purposeful in our intentions to adjust, adapt and thrive.