By Barbara Merola
No matter what your situation: unemployment, no credit for your first car or home, paying for college while holding down two part-time jobs and a full course load, rapidly depleting savings, or a mounting workload, you're not alone. Everywhere you turn people are feeling the same pinch, some more so then others. If you challenge yourself to follow these eight steps and remember that nothing lasts forever, not even this dismal economy, you'll be back on your feet in no time. I promise.
1. Volunteer at a shelter or soup kitchen. Since you cannot spend what you used to for entertainment and sitting at home catching up on shows is depressing, use the free time to spend an hour a week with the less fortunate. Next time you get down on yourself because your savings in gone and you might lose your job, remember the people you met that don't even have a hot meal or a warm bed. Altruism is your new mantra.
2. Remember it is only a recession. When I was a kid, my great-Uncle Eddie, who lived with us, always cleaned his plate at dinner – beets, anchovies and all. I would throw a fit about eating so much as peas. When I asked Uncle Eddie how he could eat everything his response was simply, "we didn't always have food." Call up an elderly relative and ask for a story from The Great Depression – that should put things in perspective.
3. Reassess your goals. Think about a major goal you would like to accomplish in the next 6-9 months: graduating, loosing 15 pounds, securing your first job, etc. Cut out a picture from a magazine or find a picture of what you want and take an actual picture with your camera. Frame it. Put this framed picture somewhere you will see it everyday and each time you pass it make a point to do something that will bring you a step closer to reaching that goal. Goals are only achieved when their champions commit to reaching them everyday.
4. Seize opportunities. Every opportunity is a chance to bring you closer to reaching your goal. When I'm on the job hunt I tell everyone: people chatting me up in a bar to random people at the gym. I once got a job interview after talking with a friend's ex-girlfriend at a dinner party.
5. Take rejection in stride. Every successful person has heard "no" countless times and is no stranger to rejection. These people hear opportunity knocking in the midst of rejection, not an imminent setback. The old adage, "when one door closes, one more opens," applies only to those that open the door for themselves. If you understand you need to create opportunities for yourself, rejection will always be an opportunity, not a setback.
6. Foster healthy relationships. No matter what kind of stress you're under you will need family and friends to make you laugh, support you when go out on a limb, and help you through the tough times. Don't take these people for granted and make sure they know how much you appreciate them.
7. Give thanks. Count your blessings everyday – not just when you're at church or at Thanksgiving dinner. Remind yourself everyday just how lucky you are.
8. Have Faith. I can still hear my Mom saying to me when I was sad or stressed, "this too shall pass." It will. Have faith that you will look back in a few years and smile to yourself – you made it through and you're stronger, smarter, and more successful for it.
Barbara Merola is an expert on how to respond to challenges by taking control of choices. She provides young adults tools to achieve desired results and successfully reach goals no matter how great the challenge through training sessions and speaking engagements. Visit www.barbaramerola.com
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