Dealing With It in troubled financial times and in crisis…

Lately it seems as if the world (or at least the financial markets) are crashing in.  There is no doubt that the financial crisis we find ourselves in is serious and that all of us are going to hurt in one way or another from the fallout.  Since the majority of us cannot do anything about it in terms of adjusting the economy, we are resigned to just sitting back and watching things happen.

There are many times in life where things are just out of our control.  We seem helpless to do anything about it so we just sit back and watch it happen and fret, fret, fret about it until, like my granny used to say, “we’re worked up into a tizzy.”  I have always talked about how we control everything we do, how we feel, and indeed our lives.  This is true in many respects, however, there are things that in reality are out of our control no matter what.  But, what we do have ultimate, 100% control over is how we REACT to things.  How we Deal With It – D.W.I. How we deal with things that are presented to us is vital.  It’s vital because, to a large extent, the way we deal with things moves our lives in certain directions.   The choices that we make in terms of moods and behaviors based on experiences at any given time effect our future!  They really do!

During this financial crisis we must remind ourselves that HOW WE REACT to the crisis will, to a large extend, determine the manner in which we ride it out and how we emerge from it in the end.  We can sit around watching CNBC and the stock ticker and realize how bad things are and how much money we’re all losing or we can make rational, reasonable decisions – deal with the realities of the situation and then move on to let things play out as they will.  Of course you don’t want to lose one cent of money you’ve worked for and you should take steps to minimize your loss in ways that you can, but what I’m talking about here is how you react to everything as it crashes down.  You can sit back and let that negative mojo work into your psyche so that you become paralyzed by worry or fret, or you can DWI and move on with your life in a positive, productive manner.

Do NOT let worry and fret paralyze you!! It’s easy to get caught up in gloom and doom.  The media and everything you see and hear speaks of impending gloom and doom.  It’s difficult to escape it.   Remember a positive attitude cures everything. Why is this so in these crazy times?  Think about it…even if the worst case scenario happened and you lost everything and had to start over…would starting over with a negative attitude help you rebuild your life?  No…it wouldn’t.  Negative attitudes keep us from achieving positive results.  However, starting over with a positive attitude would help motivate us to excel and move to effectively better our lives.  Keeping a positive attitude may be cliche, but it works – plain and simple.

Another way to keep a positive attitude in crazy financial times is to keep focused on the things that truly matter – health, loved ones, and those things that you find comfort in.  Like I’ve said many times before, it’s important to keep focused on those things and persons in your life that surround you with positives.  Focus on the good things in life, not the bad things. Turn the TV from the gloomy news to the Cartoon Network and have a few laughs…or watch Little House on the Prairie to be reminded of the wholesomeness inherent in people…or watch the Three Stooges…or read your favorite book…play ball with your kids…make a birdhouse to hang in the back yard…WHATEVER it is that you DO to make you happy…DO IT EVEN MORE in times of long-protracted crisis.  Remember, you must first deal with the crisis situation of course but once that is dealt with to the best of your ability then it’s up to you to put the positive things in your life to work for you to drown out the negative gloom and doom that will surely overtake you when you least expect it if you are not careful and proactive.

In essence, you don’t need pills, books, or 24 hours of TV news to weather this financial crisis.  You simply need YOURSELF, your WITS, and the stealthy focus to stay positive.  I’ve summarized a few tips below that will keep you on track.

(1) Positive thoughts bring positive results.

(2) P.A.C.E. Positive Attitude Cures Everything

(3) D.W.I. and move on toward positive thinking.

(4) Surround yourself with positives!

(5) This too shall pass.