Every day we get swamped with bad economic news.  Today it was that housing sales dropped to the lowest level since the crash in the 90s.  Some people have been unemployed for two years.  Many retirees and boomers have lost much of their savings and retirement is out of reach.  The stock market bounces up and down like a yo yo.  The government has no clue how to fix things and some agencies have admitted so.  What can you do?

Here’s the story of a 75 year old retiree in Orange County, CA.  Warren Willard sold three companies and retired comfortably but he invested heavily in real estate and lost 75% of his retirement income and most of his investment in 2007.   He’s now starting over and staying upbeat.   Warren is dealing with his problems by being positive and always looking for opportunities.

For some of us, it is not that easy.   When you are dealing with catastrophic news, just getting out of bed in the morning can be difficult.   At times, you just want to curl up and let go of the world because it is easier than facing the issues.

I’m not a stranger to difficult times.   We’ve had to start over with empty hands three times in my life.   Several of my friends lost their jobs for long stretches in the last recession and some were so overwhelmed that they became homeless.  At one point, I was ready to take a month off work to walk the streets of New York to find a friend.  We were lucky that a private investigator found her fairly quickly.   Just knowing that we loved her gave her the strength to start over on her own.  At this time, she’s an executive working for a top financial firm and working on her Masters in Taxation.  She is far more happy with the life she has now than the one she previously had before the 2000 crash.

Here are some steps that may help.

1)   Recognize and be vigilant about depression – This is the most insidious and dangerous mental state.   Warning signs including loss of appetite, loss of interest in dressing well, rejection of family and the constant need for sleep beyond normal.

2)  Write down a picture of who you are.  List out your qualities.  Are you kind?  Do you care about your family?  What do you like to do?  What do you do well?  Are you a good person?   Now look at this list and see this person.   Is this a person that you would like?   Hold on to this vision of yourself.  It will be the base that keeps you going.

3)   Get a partner to help (force) you to participate in activities.   See the blessings in your life and the beauty around you.  This will help a lot with depression.

4)   Be honest about the problems.  Face it squarely.

5)  Have a trusted partner to whom you can open up about the fears and doubts.   Talk through the worst case scenario.  What if you do become homeless?

6)   Now take out your worst nightmare and scenario.   Ask this question.  If you become homeless, does it change who you are fundamentally?   Did you suddenly stopped being thoughtful, loving, and kind?  Hold tight to the fact that everything around you is not important.   It’s who you are that matters.

7)  Determine what you need to do and take just one baby step at a time.   Focus on what you need to do in five minutes increments if need be.  Celebrate your success in living through each segment.  Increase your actions slowly to 15 minutes or whatever time period that feels comfortable to you.

8)   Allow the people in your life to love and support you.   Accept their love.   Believe that you deserve their love.

9)   Know that you can accomplish anything including recovering and moving on to something even better.

10)  Dream and  dream big.

11)  Ask everyone to help you achieve your dreams.

12)  Open yourself to opportunities.   Look at things sideways to find matches.

13)  If you can’t see the opportunities, find someone who is a catalyst.   They need to know you well enough to see your possibilities and share them with you.

You can’t change the past.  If life took half your savings, just pick yourself up and focus on what you can do today.   Don’t let your emotions control your choices.   Listen to your private voice.

Dear readers, what techniques can you share about dealing with obstacles and difficult times?

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photo credit: Paul Hudson