Staying Positive in a Negative Economy

Posted on October 4, 2008 by Bruce Keener

Several months ago Lance Gallup guest-wrote a great article here on tuning out mind clutter, in which he talked about reducing the negativity that creeps into your life from watching TV news shows and the like. Well, for the past couple of weeks I haven’t been able to follow his advice: as a retiree, my 401k is important to me, and I have been watching the news like a hawk. As you can imagine, I’ve had a pretty negative attitude as a result of it.

Then a couple of days ago, I realized that I have not been feeding my mind with anything positive, so I grabbed Joel Osteen’s Daily Readings from Your Best Life Now: 90 Devotions for Living at Your Full Potential from my library and began reading it. As I reflected on the wisdom in this book, I began feeling more at ease, more at peace.

Doing this also reminded me of a practice I had many years ago: a daily reading of selected Bible verses that confirm God’s intent for us to be blessed. I compiled several verses into a Word document that I printed out and put into my FranklinCovey Daily Planner, and I used to read those verses every day. You may also find this to be a good practice in your life, and if you would like to have the document I used, you can download it here. If you use it, I suggest you consider it as a starting point, and that you customize it to best suit you.

I recommend Osteen’s book and my document to all who believe in the inspiration of the Bible.

Of course there are other things you can do to stay positive despite the negative economy and negative news about it. For example, regardless of your religion, you can take up meditation (I know many of you already practice it). Another is to write out, every day, five things you are grateful for. My hunch is that you won’t have the same list everyday, because you have so many things to be grateful for.

What are your suggestions for staying positive?

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  • http://www.billmyerscreations.com/blog Bill Myers

    I don’t have any suggestions at the moment because I’m having trouble staying postive. I do, however, like your suggestions and will play around with them because I know I need to change my thinking. If I give in to despair I will guarantee that only the worst will come to pass.

  • http://www.keenerliving.com/ Bruce Keener

    With my 401(k) down by almost a third, it’s also hard for me to stay positive, Bill. But, it will improve … eventually the irrationality will be overcome by good old-fashioned greed as investors start buying up the oversold stocks.

  • http://www.billmyerscreations.com/blog Bill Myers

    I’ve had some time to ponder your words, and it occurs to me that one can stay positive by recognizing the opportunities inherent in problems. To wit:
    – It appears that solving this financial crisis may entail a joint and coordinated effort on the part of many nations, including such diverse players as the U.S., China, and India. Perhaps this will be an opportunity for different people to recongize we are all interdependent, and that hurting each other is not in our best interests.
    – Since my maternal grandfather passed away, I’ve thought about the hardships he faced, particularly during the Great Depression, and realized I’ve lived a life of luxury by comparison. I’ve often wondered if I could be as strong as him in the face of such challenges. If the worst occurs — if I lose my job, if I can’t find another one to replace it — I will have an opportunity to prove to myself that I can be as strong and resourceful as my late grandfather.
    – Stock prices are in the crapper, and like you said, now is the time to invest!
    – I haven’t been very responsible with my money. I am now being forced to learn good financial habits that will stay with me long after this crisis has passed.

    So, yeah, I guess there are a lot of reasons to feel positive even in the face of an extremely negative situation.

  • sevelian

    let us hte economy in outside world