IT'S UP
TO YOU
It
has been a tough year. The global economy, which was always headed into
a recessionary period, got kicked into touch September 11 and it is now
clear that the bears have taken over the global markets. Those of us who
believed that wars and acts of terrorism were things that happened to
foreigners suddenly got a wake-up call; a reality check that said this
is an unpredictable and hazardous world even for middle-class people who
speak English.
Consumer spending is down, tourism is down, and the stock market is
down. What will next year bring? This could be a Christmas of worry and
anxiety rather than rest and relaxation.
But it doesn’t have to be, not if you follow these four tips.
First, there is an old saying in psychology that says, “It is not what
happens to you that determines your future, but rather how you react to
what happens.” You cannot control what happens in the world but you can
control how you will handle it. You could, for example, spend your holidays
worrying about the problems the future may bring or you could think about
the opportunities that lie ahead. No matter how adverse the conditions,
there are always opportunities. In fact, most of us encounter more opportunities
in a day than we could ever develop in a lifetime. But usually we just
don’t see them. Remember, the glass is not half empty. It is half full!
Secondly, it is too soon to judge what is happening to the world because
we lack the objectivity that comes with distance. We are too close in
time to be able to put recent events into perspective. The father of modern
China, Chairman Mao, was once asked whether he thought the French Revolution,
which occurredin the late 18th Century, was the defining moment in modern
history. In all seriousness he replied, “I don’t know. It is too soon
to tell.” Is the world headed into an era of global terrorism that will
bring war into our homes? Is this now the age of uncertainty, anxiety
and economic depression? Who knows? More importantly, why worry about
it? What you do have is today. Certainly today has its problems but these
are known problems, and if you are prepared to face them, you can solve
them. Carpe diem should be your motto.
Thirdly, have faith in the ability of all living things to survive.
The other day I was showing some overseas visitors around the Craters
of the Moon in Taupo. This is, of course, a thermal area full of pools
of boiling mud or water. Steam escapes from the ground in thousands of
cracks and fissures. Sometimes it just seeps into the atmosphere and in
others it rushes skywards with the force of a train. In many places the
ground is hot to the touch. But even in the hottest places, living things
are growing! Delicate lichen, tiny mosses, and colourful algae can be
found on the ground, clinging to branches or lying thickly over fallen
logs. Even in this hostile environment, things can survive. And if they
can, so can you. The secret isto adapt to your environment.
Fourthly, the cure for worry, and the secret to survival, is to have
a contingency plan. If you are worried about what might happen to you
and your business next year, imagine the worst-case scenario and then
develop a plan for what you will do should that occur. You will feel better
because once you face the worst case scenario you will see that there
are things you can do to minimize your loss or suffering. I think it was
Shakespeare who wrote, “There is nothing so bad but thinking makes it
so.”
I won’t wish you a Merry Christmas or even a Happy New Year, because
whether these things happen is to a very large extent up to you. But what
I will do is remind you of the Alcoholic’s prayer:
“God, grant me the grace to accept the things I cannot change; the
courage to change the things I can change, and the wisdom to tell the
difference between the two.”
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