The news is certainly not positive these days here in the US. I'm not sure how the economy is faring with my Australian and European friends but here we're certainly running into challenges. How to cope? Here are my favorite tips for dealing with difficult times:
1. Stop watching the negative news. News is negative to attract our attention. But so does an accident and you don't want to watch that all day. The news is not really all that's going on but a list of all the negative and tragic things that happened in the past 24 hours
2. Start looking for solutions rather than focusing on the things that are out of your control like gas prices, the housing crisis, the rising cost of food, etc. The best way to do this is to ask yourself questions rather than making unproductive statements. What do I mean by this? Instead of, "The price of gas is out of control!" ask yourelf, "What can I do to cut down my gas usage this week?" or "How can I combine errands to maximize gas usage?" or "Who can I carpool with to work, ferry the kids, to the stores?" When you move from statements to questions, everything changes. Statements make you feel like you have no control over your own life. But ask a question and your brain supplies you with lots of possibilities. The better the question (add in 'what can I do to make that fun'), the better the results.
3. If money is tight, you can sell some of the extra things you have around the house on EBay. It's the best way to clear out the clutter in your life and make some money on the side. Not a member of Ebay? Join here.
More tips in the coming weeks...stay positive!
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