Recession or Depression – Are You Angry?…or Are You Depressed &/or Frustrated by Your Lack of Power?

February 28th, 2010

Recession or Depression – Are You ANGRY?

     …Or are you depressed &/or frustrated by your perceived lack of power to change the things that affect you and yours in negative ways?

     No matter what area, village, town, city, county, state or even country that you have chosen for your home, the recession has hit everywhere in the world to some degree — Some worse than others.

     Has the recession caused you grief?  Have you suffered financial loss because of it?  Have you gotten angry?  Depressed?  Unfocussed?  Directionless?  Have you started feeling useless and friendless?

     BEWARE of the unhealthy repercussions of negative emotions, particularly unfocussed anger:  According to the journal, Stroke, you are twice as likely to have a stroke, if you are a male, than another guy who is otherwise similar to you but controls and focuses his anger.  Females are by no means immune to this, either.

     BEWARE of anger’s ability to slow, or even pause, your thought processes, making it difficult to impossible to make good decisions and to keep your goals in sight.

     BEWARE of letting other negative emotions build in you until they produce ANGER – Superstition, fear, jealousy, greed, hatred and revenge all go hand-in-hand with anger.  Each of them can trigger anger AND be reinforced themselves by irrational anger.

     BEWARE of the effects of anger on your relationships:  If your partner &/or others see you as quick-tempered, angry, controlling, jealous, aggressive or possessive, then you are headed for a life of isolation and misunderstanding.

     BEWARE of allowing the effects of anger to morph into fits, tantrums, conflicts, and aggression or violence (to others and to animals) – No one ever wins by being disliked, and even your pet(s) will turn on you if abused enough.

     It’s time for you to find better ways to cope with all the different negative feelings you have right now by locating and assembling the best tools you can find to help you get  back on track to productively providing for yourself and your loved ones.  You can find most of these tools within yourself.

     Anger, like fear, causes you to produce adrenalin – Make use of that internally-produced drug as a power for positive results.  Become an emotional athlete on performance-enhancing steroids!  You CAN make it work for you by directing that energy away from the thing that you feel is making you angry and focusing on WHY you think it is making you angry.  Then, use that energy to solve that problem or else turn that energy around and do the most physical thing you know NEEDS to be done that has nothing to do with what made you angry to begin with.

     Whenever you even suspect that you are going into a situation that has the potential to produce anger, or any other negative emotion in you, before you get to that situation, immediately focus on a solution to the possible problem(s) that may cause this anger and the outcome, or goal, you wish to achieve.  Turn that potential, or kinetic, energy to your advantage.  Like so many modern, ‘techno-pioneers’, you will be a winner more often than not if you can focus and direct that energy in a positive manner.

     Remember what the comedian, Steven Wright, was quoted as saying:  “Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm.”  You are the only one who can choose, and control, your attitude and emotions.  Get enthusiastic and change your life.

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Recession Proof Income – Is Your Partner Helping Or Hindering? Or Are You?

January 20th, 2010

Job loss or business failure, domestic partner or business partner, there are several things you MUST consider as strategies if you want to “bite the recession” together and come out of these hard times with your integrity intact, if not your relationship:

1.- BACK OFF AND SLOW DOWN – If you are emotionally hurting, then you can’t think as quickly and precisely as if your head and heart were clear. You may be compromising your own principles and values. In these tough times, many factors weigh upon you when you are making decisions. Snap/snappy judgments will most often be as damaging to your relationship with your partner as they can be for your financial bottom line. You are a human being, capable of self-awareness and independent thinking like no other creature. Use these inherent abilities to your advantage when you are faced with anything more than the most irrelevant decisions you are required to make. But you must be able to discern their relevancy, frequently to anticipated results in many areas, before you make those decisions. Plus, the way you physically respond to the required decision-making process can, and most likely will, affect everyone around you. If you are in a position of power and angrily shout out a terse proclamation of your decision to your partner, that partner might next have to deal with a group of employees, associates, friends, etc. If you and your partner are emotionally invested in one another, you can easily hurt your partner’s feelings. We all have them. Later, you may hear back that your partner took out those hurt feelings on those employees, associates, friends, etc., compounding the problem exponentially. Those people may have reacted by fuming around everyone they dealt with until, at the end of the day, they are still carrying the wounds when they return home and take it out on their domestic partner. After that, the partner takes it out on the kids and, before you know it, the kids are kicking the dog or cat! Slow down and let your principles and values guide you before you can have such a negative effect on so many other beings.

2.- PUT YOUR HEADS TOGETHER – Does this sound obvious? Financial problems are the number one cause of divorce, whether from your domestic partner or business partner. When you examine the underlying reasons, it almost always comes back to you or your partner’s unspoken expectations and feelings that one of you isn’t holding up your end. Anger, resentment and frustration can simmer under the surface of either or both of you if one of you feels that the other is not holding up his/her end. You or your partner may not catch all the signals and may misinterpret the ones they do. This is neither fair nor equitable for either of you. You MUST discuss your issues and concerns together, even if you have to enlist the help of a neutral third party. In this economic climate your very survival depends on being able to work together to maintain your mental soundness, emotional stability, and physical and financial health. Now, more than ever, is the time to work on your relationship skills as well as the skills you possess that are essential to your financial well-being. Improve yourself first. Even if you can deal with the emotional side of a split, can you handle the economic downside right now? If you can’t afford a separation, then call a truce and work for a common goal, one goal at a time if necessary. You and your partner have the capacity to bring out the best in each other. Have you, together, rationally examined ways to maintain your current income or augment it? Can you put in more time and energy or learn some new skills? Put down the remote or the mouse and make better use of your time. Maybe that even involves the remote or the mouse. Only you can make that final decision to take the correct action.

3.- MAKE CHANGES TO YOUR ENVIRONMENT – Even small changes can have a huge effect on you and those around you. If you feel like you have a lot of time on your hands, use it productively. It doesn’t cost a lot of money to paint a room or thoroughly clean an area that’s been left lacking for awhile. Make things sparkle and you will, too! Start with small areas that are your own private areas. Rearrange things. Put things that you associate with good feelings and happy memories close by, in plain sight. Find a picture of your partner that reminds you of a great time you once had together and put it on your desk, dresser, or the wall above your computer. If you have a reminder of a great time you had with your partner, you will find it much harder to be negative or overly critical of that partner now. Then move your positive ‘change’ attitude into a space that you share with your partner and see what you both can come up with for mutually inspiring changes you can make there. It can be a workspace, preparation, or maintenance area, whether business or personal. This will help relieve any tension between you and help you reconnect. Even if you have to downsize, such as moving into smaller offices or shop space, or a smaller house or apartment, treat it as a positive opportunity to start again and to redefine yourself. You are not alone in this respect, in this economy. Just make sure that those around you are not dragging you down with their negativity or lack of support. Change your friends and associates, too, if necessary to bring yourself up and out of your doldrums. Choose to be around those people only who you respect and admire. Act with respect yourself to anyone with whom you have dealings. Anything less won’t do and you will improve yourself and your situation without even noticing it.

4.- TAKE TIME FOR AN ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT – Most people have a tendency to retreat into themselves when times are tough, and that includes both you and your partner. This is the WORST thing you can do right now. Whether you are feeling useless and friendless, angry, depressed, unfocussed or directionless, you are the only one capable of changing those feelings. Whether you feel you need help of some kind, or you feel you can get over it by yourself, neither will happen without you taking action. Improve yourself. Your partner may be having similar feelings. You have value – both to yourself and your partner, in spite of your current feelings. You are probably being your own worst critic and will find that taking any kind of positive action toward resolving these feelings will make a huge difference in your life as well as your partner’s. You can help each other by discussing your issues with as much consideration for your partner’s emotions as for your own. Focus on the emotional issues first so that you can discuss the business &/or financial issues without losing any of your self-control or integrity. You have the capacity to step back from the situation and look at it, and yourself, through a more objective lens. It may take practice, but you can do it. Two of you, together, can exist more efficiently and produce more effectively than each of you, separately, could ever accomplish. Only consider divorce from your partner as a very last resort in these stressful and tough financial times. These are just some general strategies of which you need to have an understanding in order to survive The Recession and even prosper. Improve yourself. Even small changes can have a big effect on your emotional AND financial bottom lines.

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(c) Copyright 2010 – IMSI/Bite The Recession

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Recession Proof Income – Can You Really Make Your Income Grow in Tough Times?

January 13th, 2010

Here are the three things you MUST do to “bite the recession” without losing financial ground whether you are male or female, employer or employee:

1.  Reduce costs

Before you can reduce your expenditures you must know what those expenditures are.  Business owners, small or large, usually have spreadsheets and programs within which they keep this data updated on a regular basis.  If you do not, or if you are an individual who doesn’t have such an accounting or lives without a budget, you must account for every dollar you spend.  You must have a balance sheet.  Only then can you step back and get a clear picture of where you are financially.  Can you spend less on supplies, whether they be raw materials provided by vendors or the raw materials from the grocery store?  Do you really need that new software, computer system or big-screen TV?  Are you getting the best deals on services such as telephone, internet or insurance?  Many suppliers and providers have lowered their prices during this recession to attract more new business, but haven’t been aggressive in letting their current customers in on the deals.  Start reviewing all your costs and make sure you are getting the best deals possible.

2.  Increase income

Sound obvious?  Absurd?  Of course it sounds that way.  But if you haven’t examined methods for augmenting your income, then you’re just standing still and letting the recession bite you in the butt.  If you are a business owner, then you must look at ways to create new products &/or services to compliment those you already provide.  As an individual or employee, you need to see if there are ways to increase your productive hours, promote yourself into a better position by providing more value to your employer, or add a ’stream of income’ to the income you’re already making.  Brainstorm with your family, friends, employer/employees, managers, teachers, coaches, etc.  This is the time to discuss your ideas with those who can provide critical but positive feedback.

3.  Adjust your attitude

Only you can do this.  Regardless of the outside forces acting on you, you can choose your response to them.  Be slightly slower to react to your perceptions of negative forces so you can take the time to think of one or more positive ways to affect your results.  Even though you may think that you maintain a positive attitude, most of us react suddenly to certain emotional triggers, rather than crafting a response that will create the most effective, positive result.  Always try to respond, rather than react.  Don’t let other people or circumstances push your buttons.  You’ll find this will give you much more time to use productively than the ‘cooling off’ time you may have needed before, especially during these stressful times.

Certainly these strategies are very general, but you need to have an understanding of the ‘big picture’ before you work on specific items to help you survive the recession, and even prosper.  Without this understanding, you may miss the potential effects, both positive and negative, that making small changes will have on your bottom line.

RRTeddy is committed to helping you improve your financial situation, regardless of which direction the economy is taking. We are building our site to provide links and other resources for you to use in the quest to bring in more usable income by making changes to the way you do things. I don’t believe you would be reading this, or any of our articles, if that isn’t what you were looking to do.

In most cases, maintaining your level of income or, better yet, increasing it, will solve your biggest problems. Worried about… …disappointing your better half? …people knowing you’re not making the money you used to? …being one of the ‘have-nots’ instead of one of the ‘haves’? …not being able to contribute? …feeling useless and friendless? …idle hands being the ‘devil’s workshop’?

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(c) Copyright 2009 – IMSI/Bite The Recession

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