Part of feeling the way we do at times like this is the sense that things are happening, in this case, in the economy, that we have cannot control.  Keep in mind that unless you’re an investment banking CEO, the recession and all the bad stuff happening is probably not your fault.   This is a really helpless and uncomfortable feeling, made worse by the fact that we have evidence of the effects of the larger process in our retirement and stock accounts and in the economy around us.  Well, clearly we can’t control what the stock market does or what the global economic drivers do, but by exerting control over what we can influence. 

 

At times like this, we have to concentrate on what we can affect, and that’s pretty much limited to what we do and how we choose to think about and approach things.  One thing you can do is to engage the power of your mind to say ‘You know what? I’m going to make a choice and I’m going to do something different rather than sitting here stewing about what I cannot control.”  Here are some tips to take your mind off your worries and help to brighten up your thinking during these tough times:   

1.  Create a Diversion:  Take the time to do some things to get your mind of things.  Make a conscious choice to do some things that are fun, even if these things do not cost a lot of money.  Some great options are going on  picnic, having a pizza and movie marathon with friends or family, bowling, hiking, or going antiquing (remember, you don’t have to buy anything!).  The point is to do something to divert your attention from worrying about what you cannot change- the larger economic climate. 

 

2.  Accentuate the Positive:  Another option when you’re feeling really freaked out about the bad economy or worrying about money or jobs is to stop and consciously shift your attention to thinking about what’s good.  That may mean thinking about the things that are going well, because certainly there is something (your health, your kids’ grades, your garden, that wonderful time you had with friends last week).  If may be helpful to sit down and write in a journal about those things, or to do some mental imagery around the things that are positive.  Taking time to be conscious and remember and focus on the good things can help you improve your psychology and help you stop focusing on the negative so much.

3.  Put Negative Feelings in their Place:  You can also use a journaling technique to get the bad feelings and worries out, take some time to sit with or process those feelings, and then put them away.  It may be helpful to sit down and you write down all the feelings and the frustrations that you’re having and then actually go through the act of shutting the journal and putting it away and saying, ‘OK that was my time to be frustrated and grouchy and now I’m going to move on’.  This act can help you to turn your energy to trying to have a more positive attitude.”

4.  Set Goals and Focus on Them:  Decide on some things you really want to achieve, write them down, and set your mind and energy on following through on those.  It might be reading a new book, cleaning out your closets, devoting extra time to a charity or to your church, volunteering to help at your kids’ school, or some other achievable goal that means something to you.  In these cases, you’re making progress toward a new goal and having that written down and holding yourself accountable. This can really help you feel like you’re in control of something that’s happening.

Finally, a happy bonus of volunteering or spending more time at church or working with a charity is when you’re feeling low; one of the things that’s really helpful is to try to be around other people.  Remember that there are others out there who are feeling the same way you are, and although we all have slightly different fears, problems, and worries, we are all in this together to some degree, and it’s helpful to reach out and remember that things will get better, and that n fact, there is still a lot of good in our lives. 

Tags: economic climate, global economic drivers, journaling, powerful mind, stock market, thinking positively, tough times, worries

This entry was posted on Sunday, April 12th, 2009 at 5:17 pm and is filed under general, wellness . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.