The other day, I was browsing the headlines of the newspaper. I no longer sit down and read the newspaper cover to cover like I used to as it is a waste of time.  Time that could be used towards more beneficial things like achieving goals and spending time with those important relationships.  But I do scan the headlines and pick out articles I think may be of value to me.  One such article seemed that it might have some useful information for me when I came across the “D” word.  A prediction that not only are we heading for a recession in North America, but worse, a depression.


I was talking with an acquaintance yesterday. He had some major goals and plans he wanted to achieve this year, but he seemed to have all but given up on them.  He used the nasty “D” word himself, and believed that there was just no point now to bother with his ideas that he was so excited about during the Autumn of 2008.  He’s been taken in by the ideas and attitudes of others.

I believe that many people are feeling frustrated and allowing themselves to be influenced by the media and other stories they hear from friends and acquaintances.  The media is fueling fear and in turn, feeding off the very fears of others that they are fueling.  It is of course a fact that we are facing some challenging times, but I don’t think it needs to be as deep or bad as some believe.  When facing challenging times, that is the worse time to throw in the towel or give up on your dreams and goals!

I’ve had some challenging times in my office recently and I know how our negative emotions can sometime get the better of us, to the point of even feeling paralyzed. It is during such times we need to take out pen and paper, and remind ourselves of what we want.  We must then refuse to allow our negative emotions to stop us from moving forward, even in small baby steps towards what we want to achieve or have in our lives.

During these challenging times, there is also much opportunity. We might not see it yet, but as we keep moving forward, not allowing the negativity of the press, the worries and concerns of others to influence our own dreams and goals, we can find other doors opening that are opportunities to help us acheive our goals.  If we remain paralyzed with fear, we’ll never see those open doors.

Challenging times are times when we can learn the most as well, if we choose to.  Learning new skills is a far better thing to do than to sit and worry about what will fall from the sky next.  In challenging times, we can learn more about those personal development skills we need to foster and practice.  And in these challenging times, with the media shouting as loud as it can, all the bad news, we tend to forget there is lots of good news too.  Yes, 10% of the population may be without jobs.  You know what that means?  Ninety percent of the population still have jobs!  If you’re one of the 10% that has been recently laid off, think about the other 90% that still have an income, still need products and service, and see what opportunity there is there for yourself. Don’t lose sight of your dreams and goals, and never give up.  Don’t let the influences of the media that thrive on bad news, influence your emotions and feelings about your goals and dreams.

Find ways to take advantage of challenging times! Turn them into something positive – perhaps the reward will not come tomorrow, but surely there will be a reward for action and movement forward than allowing paralysis.  If you choose to learn a new skill, or work on some personal development, that alone will put you in a better position than those who have not when the media is tired of bad news and suddenly, there are signs of upward economic growth – as there will be. You can count on that. We might not know when, but you can count on the fact that there will be upward growth. And in the meantime, keep looking for the opportunity.

Don’t let the “D” word influence you. It’s just a word.

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