How Bad Is It?

The last few posts focused on mindset. This is going to be paramount entering the next 12 months (actually the rest of your life). Our perspective is going to determine which actions we take and how successful we are. For the foreseeable future, the common outlook is going to be filled with negativity. If you buy into this, then that is what you will create.

Life is full of ups and downs. There are good times and there are bad ones. The present situation is one of those challenges which serve to make us appreciate the good ones even more. You might want to reread that again. Bad circumstances provide wonderful opportunties for us. The benefits received from these times are enormous. Your outlook determines the benefits you will receive.

What occurs during negative times? Growth. We are going to see what you are made of. A person's character is not exemplified when the going is good, it is when things are tough that is shows through. How much resolve do you really have? Are you committed to doing what is necessary to succeed? Will your outlook and mindset defeat you even before you get started? Or will you prevail because you believe that you will? These are questions which you will be able to answer in the future. We all will. Circumstances will reveal the people that we are inside.

Another result of trying times is the gratitude we can implement. There is always something to be grateful for. I was speaking with someone earlier this evening who was mentioning how much more work each person is having to take on because of recent firings. This person, to her credit, was not bitching about it, but was grateful to have a job. Times like these give us the stark reminder of how bad things can get. It is beneficial to have a shift in perspective. Your life is terrific no matter what your present circumstances are.

"I was complaining about my shoes until I met a man with no feet".

Remember what is important in your life. You can achieve anything that you desire. Even if things are not exactly how you want them today, that does not mean it is permanent. All life is an ebb and flow. Money comes and money goes. So do people, jobs, and things. We came into the world with nothing and will leave that same way. It is what we do in between that makes the difference. Understand that your 2009 can be the best year of your life regardless of all the other events that are around. Keep this mindset to guarantee your success.

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What You Have

We are a generation of insatiable wants. It seems that no matter what people have, they always want more. This is a conditioning that we are accustomed to. Advertisers are experts at striking the emotional cords within us that makes us crave a particular product. It gets to the point where people cannot distinguish between wants and needs.

This conditioning has made people unhappy. Regardless of what one has, it is never enough. The "more" syndrome becomes an endless cycle. We have an appreciation level of about 3 minutes. This causes us to continually look forward at what we are going to get next.

Gratitude is an emotion that many philosophies teach is central for lifelong happiness. It also is something that we lost as a culture. If you want to be happy in this moment, get grateful for all the things that you have now. You are blessed in so many ways. Recognize that and be grateful for it.

This is true no matter what your present situation is. Regardless of your struggle, there is always a worse situation you could find yourself in. The old saying is "I was unhappy about my shoes until I met a man with no feet". This insight provides the shift in perspective necessary to be grateful.

Here is an exercise: instead of comparing yourself to those who have something you want, begin to compare yourself to those less fortunate. We tend to envy the neighbors for the new car, house, or pool. This puts a sense of longing within us. The problem is that we are overlooking what we have when we do this. We are not grateful with this mindset.

We take things fro granted until we lose them. This seems to be a fact of human nature. Here is an example: are you grateful for your car battery. Most fail to think about it until they go out and the car won't start. Then we wish we had a battery that worked. The same can be said for anything in our life.

Remember this little exercise when you are beginning to feel down. If financial circumstances are beating you up, go online to view some pictures of life in Africa. This will give you an instant shift in perspective. We think we know what poor is in the western world. Not really. The continent of Africa takes poverty to a level that most of us cannot imagine. Those people would most likely sacrifice parts of their body to be in our shoes. Yet we complain because those shoes are not the latest Nikes. It is time to get appreciative for all that we are given.
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