Please notice the term "new", used to describe our current economy, instead of what you normally hear. I use the term "new" to mean different from the former or the old (thank you thefreedictionary.com)
There will be NO negative words in this post! This is an inspiring, uplifting and altogether nauseatingly POSITIVE post. "Elaine, what have you been drinking?" you might ask. I have just decided that all I can control is my attitude. So, if you enjoy wallowing in depression and self-pity, STOP READING HERE!
OK, to better explain where I'm going with this--TIME FOR AN ANALOGY!
Let's say you have been playing the board game, Monopoly, your entire life. But, the deeds have become dog-eared over the years, all the money has disappeared except a five and two ones, and the only playing pieces that haven't been misplaced are the iron and the thimble. But, you remember seeing the game on sale at Target, so you put the old game out in the trash, and purchase a new one.
You open the brand new box, and it doesn't take you long to realize that the game is different and the rules have changed. You get upset. There should have been a warning on the box: MONOPOLY NOW HAS NEW RULES! You run out to the trash only to discover that the old game is covered in coffee grounds. 
It starts to sink in. The old game is gone for good. If you still wish to play Monopoly, you will have to learn the new rules. If you aren't willing to learn the new rules, you will have to play a different game. You think to yourself if only I had known it was going to change, I would have taken better care of the old game.
So, if you think of our current economy as being different, all we have to do
is learn the new rules. And, the best part? We get to make them up as we go. We get to be creative. It's all trial and error, now. There are those who are so stuck in the past, they aren't willing to make the changes necessary. Those people will have to play CandyLand (I mean that in the nicest possible way).
Here are a few suggested new rules:
1. If reading the newspaper or watching the news depresses you, STOP DOING IT.
2. If your old marketing strategies now feel like a waste of time, THEY PROBABLY ARE.
3. If the old stuff isn't working, THINK UP NEW STUFF.
4. If you know someone who feels very negatively all the time, STAY AWAY FROM THEM.
5. If all you can do is complain about the new administration, YOU ARE NOT HELPING.
6. If you feel like you could manage better with more moral support, GET IT.
7. If you need help, ASK FOR IT.
8. If you feel like you are all alone, YOU ARE NOT.
9. If you think you will die without the luxuries you are accustomed to, YOU WILL NOT.
10. If you can still laugh, HOW BAD CAN IT BE?
As far as I know, we don't have poor farms anymore. Most of us will survive (although some of us may have to cut back on the Starbucks) and some of us will even flourish. If we stop acting like victims, we will stop being victims.
So, get out there and PLAY!!!
For those of you who still want the old Monopoly, I hope your houses and hotels are still worth something.
Good advice. #1 rule, skip the business section and just read whatever "happy" stories there are and concentrate on the positive. I have already followed a number of the rules and I am coming out of my winter funk. Especially surrounding myself with positive thinking people. Things will get better! Things will get better! Winter is almost over and the sun is shining. Friday is going to be 10 degrees Celsius (I'm in Canada) a heck of lot better than MINUS 17 Celsius a couple of days ago! Smile and look at the bright beautiful blue sky. Time to move forward - nature does that anyways.
Comments(73)