“The Sky Is Falling!”

cried Chicken Little. 

     Okay, we all know about the sabre-rattling going on in the bowels of Wall Street, and the herky-jerky market activity, and the far greater woes the media would happily have us lament . . . or probably swallow first, and then lament, so they could paint themselves as saviors.  But, you know what?  Even the dreamers among us are sober enough to see that the sky is not falling, and realistic enough to know that when-you’ve-got-lemons-make-lemonade thing!

     Born of financial and housing market instability is numismatic (coin-collection) investing, home remodeling, debt consolidation, home vacations, home-prepared meals, second-hand furniture, second-hand books and magazines, and second-hand clothing and vehicle dealers, career shifts, fuel-efficient cars, energy-efficient appliances, low-cost equipment exercise (walking, jogging, etc.), less frequent but longer consolidated shopping trips, more reliance on cellphones/texting/emails than fee-based deliveries, and increased emphasis on recipes, menus, bulkfood shopping, furniture refinishing, home computer businesses, all-inclusive resorts, in-home hobby and craft gift-making, and on and on.  You get it. 

     What might make the problems associated with economic uncertainty seem more overwhelming than the opportunity flip side is that you may not have or want to have anything to do with the kinds of directions mentioned here. 

     The break-away point, though is for you to know, in fact, for sure, exactly what directions DO fit you and appeal to you that you CAN make work.  

     You will only uncover the reality of what’s crawling around inside you, waiting to be released in a storm of exciting new pursuits IF you stop long enough to take accurate inventory of where you are, what you’re doing, what and whom you’re living with, how long you can (honestly) go without some income (and how much income?), what your true responsibilities are all about (emotional, financial, physical) and what other ways there may be for you to deal with them. 

     Once you’ve done the self-audit, take some kind of break, then return to edit and reorganize your thinking about yourself, and your life, and your family.  And either stay where you are, dig in and enjoy it, or start thinking of new options you will enjoy.  Remember that we always excel and perform best at the things we enjoy doing the most, and that the greatest and most financially successful people of our times are those who did their homework first and took reasonable risks second! 

     Either way, spring cleaning is always productive in the fall . . . “fall” the season, not “of the sky”!         halalpiar

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