“In This Tough Economy…”
Are you as tired of that phrase as I am? Media pundits are out there vying to be first with the gloomiest, “doomiest” predictions about our future. You might think there’s an award for being the first to predict the collapse of the whole human race.
We’ve heard prophecies of Armageddon; comparisons to every disaster since Adam and Eve; and each time the prognosticator seems a tad too cheerful about the supposed outcome of our current situation.
It’s important we keep our wits about us. Just because a person of importance makes a declaration about our future, doesn’t mean it will actually come to pass. We’ve seen these before. But this current atmosphere calls for a little perspective:
Famous Unbelievably Bad Predictions:
“By 2000 more than 1,000 people will live and work on the moon, according to NASA predictions.” Omni Future Almanac, 1982
“Radio has no future. Heavier than air flying machines are impossible. X-rays will prove to be a hoax.” English Scientist William Thomson, Lord Kelvin, 1899
“The housewife of 2000 can do her daily cleaning with a garden hose. Why not? Thanks to plastics, everything is waterproof.” Popular Mechanics, A Look into the Future, 1950
“There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home.” Ken Olson, president, chairman and founder of Digital equipment corp.
“Television won’t be able to hold on to any market it captures after the first 6 months. People will soon get tired of staring at a plywood box every night.”
Darryl F. Zanuck, head of 20th century Fox, 1946.
There. Now do you feel better?
The human brain is a magnificent machine. Dr. Richard Restak pointed out several decades ago that the mind sees what we tell it to see. If you continuously look for doom and gloom, you will find it. If you look for solutions and resolution, you will find that.
Don’t let the media and advertisers grind you down. Keep going in the direction of your dreams. Keep finding new and creative ways to survive this temporary situation. Believe in your ability to figure it out and get where you need to go. Most importantly, remember who you are. You aren’t your job, your home, or your stuff.
Make our current situation a learning experience. Do what you can to mitigate it. And in 20 years, we can look back on this and put our grandkids to sleep with stories about how we had to walk to and from school uphill BOTH WAYS!
We’re gonna make it. Really.
All the best,
Beth
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© 2009 Beth Terry Seminars, Inc.
