I’m sick of all this talk about the economic “crisis” and all the problems it’s causing.  At least there are some articles out there that address the upside of a downturn though.  But the thing is, to me, that’s all it is: a downturn.  It’s not a crisis, it’s not the end of the world, it’s just another down in the cycles that we’ll all experience in life.  Sure, the economy is much slower now, people are less confident and not spending or investing as much.  Think of it this way though – the more you think things are bad, the more conservative you will be and the more conservative you will be, the worse things will get.  When can we break out of this?  Does the government just need to come out and falsely raise our hopes to get things going again?  Why do people fall prey to this so easily?

It goes up, it goes down, but it goes up again. photo credit: financialsense.com

Much of this is really just in our heads.  By allowing ourselves to believe that the economy is too weak and life just sucks too much, it limits a lot of people.  On the flip side, it’s a great time for innovation and creativity to find its way into life’s solutions as people have to figure out how to do more with less.  But really, this is really just a self-fulfilling prophecy.  If you believe you can’t find a job or will lose the one you have, you know what, you probably will.  But if you believe that you’ll find something and figure it out, you may end up with a job you never thought you’d have, but at least you’ve got something.  And who knows, maybe that will open a whole new world to you and show you a side of yourself that you really love.

Having faith in your abilities and things just working out makes you much more open to opportunities that come your way.  You’re far more likely to see a chance to do something new as compared to those who have a negative mindset, or even compared to your own mindset last year.  Plus, having this pressure may lead you in directions you never thought you’d pursue, which in turn could create some amazing new opportunities that you never would have considered or taken before.  Hard times breeds creativity and innovation if only because people have to find a new way, a new method, a new thought process.  Besides, limiting spending and making people think twice before they make purchases that ultimately mean very little to them is a great thing too.  When the pressure is on, it’s like a quality check on our lives.

photo credit: makakmedia.co.uk

I personally like having this “problem” at hand because companies are now looking internally to see how they can improve efficiency and productivity while also figuring out how to add the most value.  Quality is increasingly important and we’re finally getting back in touch with this whole idea of what good service really is.  Sometimes people get so caught up in the bottom line and meeting projected earnings or whatever else that they don’t stop to think about how they can improve the way things are done.  It’s the old adage: “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”  Well, as I read somewhere recently, “it is broke now.”  So it’s time to fix it.  And what is it?  Well, it varies, but generally it seems to be the way we look at and approach what we do, from work to family life.  And though I agree that families get more time together now, I hope that’s not backfiring as stressful family members infect the rest of their relatives.  It’s always a double-edged sword, isn’t it?

Really what it comes down to is how you choose to frame it.  It’s the classic case of the glass half empty or half full.  Depending on your perspective, you’ll see something different from what others will.  Whatever you do choose to believe, the more you believe it, the more likely it is to be true.  Your mentality affects the way you act and the way you act affects what will happen to you.  People who are down and depressed will start to withdraw from others, stop doing things they love, and other destructive behavior that actually makes things worse and that’s what I see here.  Unfortunately, we need the whole world to buy into the idea that the economic situation really isn’t that bad for it to actually start improving again.  And with all the job losses and paycus you hear about, it’s no wonder people are reluctant to behave as if there isn’t a problem.  It would be a start (however small) to at least frame things like this: it’s just an economic downturn or slowdown.  It’s NOT a crisis.  That in itself can begin a better pattern of behavior from people – a more optimistic and hopeful one.