Disaster or Opportunity

Copyright (c) 2008 Good News Publications

It seems that everyday now we hear about another new meltdown in the business world. Last week a major US company announced some 50 thousand job layoffs. It seems everyone knows at least one individual, who has been fired, laid off or let go and each week the list grows.

Most of the talk surrounding these events is about survival, panic, blame and depression but is that the only way to look at it?

Did you remember the expression "necessity is the mother of invention"? What could be more "necessary" than your livelihood or producing for your family?

Your options are to sit and bemoan your situation, blaming everyone you can think of and justifying every miserable thought and waiting for someone to come along and rescue you OR you could say "Maybe this road in my life has come to an end so where do I want to go from here? What do I love? What are my marketable skills? When do I want to start my new life?"

Almost a century ago people in the USA were singing the blues over the exhaustion of whale oil and a panic set in about how we were going to survive as this industry was shutting down. And then (whether for good or bad) petroleum oil was discovered in Americaand the rest is history. When one thing ends why don't we expect something new to take its place?

Humans are so afraid of change or new paths in life that they never want anything to change. Part of the problem financially in America at the present is that very few are willing to close one chapter of life, admit that it is over and then start a new chapter. As long as this denial continues in business or person lives, no growth or recover will ever happen.

Five years ago at the age of 54 my wife and I decided to move from the East Coast to the West and start a new course in life. We did this not because we were forced to but because we wanted new growth and new opportunity. We didn't consider ourselves too old to start fresh, we wanted a new life and we took it. But very few make this move until they "have to" and then they go kicking and screaming the whole way. It's much easier and more fun when you aggressively seek change and growth.

So if you are facing what most people define as disaster, look at it as an opportunity to take charge of your life and set a new course and new destiny for yourself and your family. It's your life, don't wait for someone else to make it right for you, make the move yourself.