Postcards From Myself

The current financial problems both in the US and abroad have all sorts of media types coming out of the woodwork. Some are projecting doom and gloom while others are looking for people or parties to blame. But I am more interested in the articles I see on how to survive and even prosper during these hard times.

One of the main messages being put forth by the articles I read is that attitude will make or break you. If you are a pessimist and decide that things are going to be bad, then they will be. If you are an optimist, look at the bright side, and use that to find the niches and opportunities that work for you, then you can stay afloat.

This is not to say that you can be a happy go-lucky fool and just go about spending and goofing off. No, you still need to pay attention, be careful, and be serious about watching income and expenses. But, by having a positive attitude you will not only be able to see opportunities when they arise, but you will be more attractive to the people who put forth those opportunities. It is unusual circumstances that reward the unconventional thinkers.

You know, a good thing about rough times is that all the people who were just get-rich-quick schemers and opportunists have a tendency to go away. I was once told that one of the best thing about a really tough problem in a job is that it would eliminate those who didn’t know what they were doing and give the really good people a chance to shine. Well this is exactly the same thing with dedicating yourself to what you believe in during hard financial times. Believe me, that dedication and expertise will show, and this will help give you the opportunity to rise to the top.

So remember, the economic environment is the same for all of us, but you have the final say in how you deal with it – optimism or pessimism. The choice, and the result, is up to you.

I don’t do coffee. Just generally don’t like it – though I do occasionally enjoy those iced Starbucks Frappuccino things. So the problem is that I drink Coke. Diet Coke actually, and lots of it. Most of the time I drink decaf Diet Coke, but at least a few times a day I drink the straight stuff. I know it isn’t good for me, but I am just not a big fan of plain water. It is just so, so… plain. But now I hear from British researchers, of course British, that tea may actually be healthier than drinking water!

I occasionally try to have tea, and here in the South we are supposed to drink iced tea, but I have never been a big fan. Usually I end up doctoring it up with lots of sweetener and lemon just to make it palatable. But maybe I have been doing it wrong. Maybe I have been trying the wrong teas. Of course, being the cheapskate that I am, when I go to try tea I know that I may not like it so I get something cheap. Hey, don’t want to waste money if you are not going to drink the whole thing, right? Wrong. I need to approach it, like we should approach most things, with the idea that I will like it and will enjoy it. In that case I want to purchase something good that I will want around. Maybe it is that preconceived notion that I don’t like tea that is keeping me from enjoying it.

Then I started thinking, isn’t that the way with a lot that we do? If you were to go on a date with someone you thought your probably wouldn’t like, you wouldn’t put much effort into it. You would take them to a lesser restaurant, maybe not waste money on flowers, etc. But by doing that you have pretty much insured that you won’t have a good time and that you won’t want another date. Whereas if you had approached the date with enthusiasm it might have turned out differently. And even if you still didn’t want to go out with that person again, at least you would have had a more enjoyable evening.

Again, if you approach a task at work with the attitude “this is going to suck so I am not going to give it my all,” guess what? It will suck. And the job you do on it will suck. And most likely someone will notice, call you on it, and make your life suck even worse. Deal with it – you caused it. Now, if you go into it with the attitude of “this may not be my favorite thing, but if I hit it hard and do it well then I can move on to better things”, then you might actually do a good job on the task and get assigned better more interesting task. Attitude, yes, but also just a way of approaching things.

So, back to the tea. Can someone give me some good recommendations? Matthew Stibbe over at the Bad Language site says that tea is a great tool for writers and even has a few recommendations such as Breakfast Americana Mighty Leaf. Don’t know if it is a good one for a newbie, but sounds as good a first step as any!