Uh-oh....analysis - that's Claire speak for long winded! OK - I promise not to be too long-winded but this is pertinent, especially in today's economic climate.
Bad Times - it is all perspective. And before you say, not so oh great mind of not even being on this solar system, much less planet! Let me say, yes I'm a realist and I understand bad stuff happens to good people AND I understand that bad stuff happens to the most undeserving - as a matter of fact, I think we are all undeserving of bad times, but that's not reality either.
And yes, bad times are bad times....this is not a gloss-over post.
At the same time, let's get a perspective about these times. This is not the worst economic situation since the depression...unemployment wasn't as much as it was then and we have programs set up to prevent some of the horrible events of the 30's; foreclosures aren't at such a high rate as the depression; these current economic conditions are most in about 7 to 10 states. The rest of the country is down a little, but not in a depression.
People, if there is one thing you get out of today's post, it's this: we are NOT in a depression as bad or even close to The Great Depression of the 30's and if that's what you're hearing everyday, stop it; you need another source of news or at the least less of that source of news.
We are not in a boom either, we are in a downturn of the economy, and that is not a depression. If you are in one of those 10 states suffering more than the rest, then yes you are in a more prolonged and deeper downturn than the rest of the country, but 39 states are not in that deeper downturn.
So now we've established that this isn't the worst economic times since the Great Depression, let's move on.
The worst thing that this negative attitude brings about is negative thinking and that multiplies on itself, just the same way as positive thinking. It's said that fear is the opposite of hope. Fear can truly paralyze us; we don't know what to do, where to go, how to feel (other than fear), can't work, can't move, can't think, can't be. This is exactly what you do not want.
If this is where you are, stop it now. Stop thinking negatively, start thinking positively, re-read the first 4 thru 6 paragraphs....we are not in the middle of the Great Depression II!!
How to get out of this negative feeling. I've posted a lot about this, but scroll through the basic category on the left (or here), to go through some of the techniques to use to get you into that positive state of mind.
Next is practice. I'm a musician (OK, I'm not Billy Joel nor Vladimir Ashkenazy even though I would love to), but one of the main techniques we learn in playing music, is practice, practice, practice, play. Meaning that practice makes perfect or close to it.
The same is true of this whole process of negative vs positive...if you practice negative thoughts, you will have negative outcomes. If you practice positive thoughts, you will have positive outcomes.
When you first practice this "positive feeling/visualization/meditation" business, you're most likely going to say: "Sure, yeah right - this is going to work, I don't think so!" Stay with it, it does work.
But, let's take another look instead of dwelling on the doom and gloom....bad times are an opportunity to improve, an opportunity to clean out, even an opportunity to start again. This keeps your attitude (and therefore your mind) not only in the game but in such a place that you recognize and realize the opportunities that are around in the middle of bad times.
Without this perspective, those emotions such as fear, bitterness, anger depression and all that, will overcome you. They will paralyze you and overtake you to the point you can not even react, even if you see the opportunity - you will be so frozen with fear or other negative feelings that reacting and doing will not be within your capability.
So the best advice for these times: remain positive, and be aware of the opportunities around you - opportunities that most likely won't come again in your lifetime. From this perspective, not only will you beat off the ominous feeling of fear, but you are on your way to surviving and blossoming during these economic times.
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