Trying to find something good in the Recession is like trying to figure out what's great about going bald...Oh, wait! - that's possible. Not only do I save money on haircuts, I save a lot of preening time, and I have a distinctive excuse for poor ideas: "I just washed my head this morning and I can't do anything with it." Also, it reflects more light - maybe if I'm lost in the desert, I can signal planes...
Actually, the Recession also has its shiny side. New research from the University of Michigan on life expectancy has found that during the Great Depression, as well as during several small recessions before and after the Depression, people not only lived longer (by six to eight YEARS), their health improved! This pattern of better health and greater longevity REVERSED when there was an economic upswing. What's up with THAT?
We can speculate freely here (and I will), but it appears that during "hard times" we make healthier choices. We eat less, we sleep more (which usually means we finally start getting enough sleep), and we look for people - "misery loves company" with whom we can share our woes. We may even go for walks and get some exercise.
I believe that when the economic roller coaster dumps us on the ground, we find that at least the ground is solid. I'm obviously not talking about extreme poverty here - which is a different story entirely - but by turning away from the American Dream and its focus on money, we uncover a revelation that unlocks an old treasure chest. There are some personal mysteries you finally get to solve when you look in the right place. That nagging sense that’s something’s wrong, something’s been missing, has been right. You discover that what’s really important has been there all along – your health, emotional and physical; your relationships to all those important people in your life; and your happiness.
In future posts of this blog I'll add even more detail to the Recession-Proof Lifestyle Program. If you've signed up for this free program, you know the secrets it shares: most of us already know WHAT to do for a better life, but not HOW to get ourselves to do it. My blog will suggest some ideas you can use to do both. I'll put together new discoveries about how we can create happiness, plus some useful tools from the latest research on how our brain works, along with years of experience helping people to make changes. We'll grapple with how to create and maintain habits to support a great life, even as we concede our multi-millionaire dreams. If you can't be rich, maybe you can be healthy and happy, with a more close-knit family. Funny, isn't it, that your best life may have just begun as a consolation prize for the loss of a beloved dream?
But, don't worry - I haven't given up my membership in the Institute for the Dogma-Challenged! There is no sacred creed in this blog, and I'm going to stay open to challenges and questions. Absolute certainty is a luxury we can't afford any longer, so you won’t have to avoid sitting in the front row to protect yourself from the flying spittle and ringing ears that come from possessed preaching. This is also not a “dummy” blog – it's for people smart enough to know something's gone astray with the American Dream, and who want to do something about it.
Growth has its costs, and the price often is giving up old beliefs. In this blog I will challenge you to question some of the beliefs you may be carrying around that aren't doing you any good. Maybe some beliefs are useful, maybe not - but like all the stuff we have down in our basement, they all need to be aired out from time to time. This can make for lively dialogue and challenging each other to think and to question assumptions. Here's the challenge I'll begin with, and I'll state it baldly:
We have confused our most fundamental values with our cultural icons of success to the point where a kind of perversion of original identity has occurred; we no longer recognize the child of our self but rather embrace his clothes. In our rage for success, we have become trapped by its trappings. It’s not about the money. The power of the illusion has made monkeys of us - we fight over the stick used to get the banana, while the banana lies within reach. The American Dream is an illusion.
In my next post, we'll take another look at how you can clarify your best life.
Actually, the Recession also has its shiny side. New research from the University of Michigan on life expectancy has found that during the Great Depression, as well as during several small recessions before and after the Depression, people not only lived longer (by six to eight YEARS), their health improved! This pattern of better health and greater longevity REVERSED when there was an economic upswing. What's up with THAT?
We can speculate freely here (and I will), but it appears that during "hard times" we make healthier choices. We eat less, we sleep more (which usually means we finally start getting enough sleep), and we look for people - "misery loves company" with whom we can share our woes. We may even go for walks and get some exercise.
I believe that when the economic roller coaster dumps us on the ground, we find that at least the ground is solid. I'm obviously not talking about extreme poverty here - which is a different story entirely - but by turning away from the American Dream and its focus on money, we uncover a revelation that unlocks an old treasure chest. There are some personal mysteries you finally get to solve when you look in the right place. That nagging sense that’s something’s wrong, something’s been missing, has been right. You discover that what’s really important has been there all along – your health, emotional and physical; your relationships to all those important people in your life; and your happiness.
In future posts of this blog I'll add even more detail to the Recession-Proof Lifestyle Program. If you've signed up for this free program, you know the secrets it shares: most of us already know WHAT to do for a better life, but not HOW to get ourselves to do it. My blog will suggest some ideas you can use to do both. I'll put together new discoveries about how we can create happiness, plus some useful tools from the latest research on how our brain works, along with years of experience helping people to make changes. We'll grapple with how to create and maintain habits to support a great life, even as we concede our multi-millionaire dreams. If you can't be rich, maybe you can be healthy and happy, with a more close-knit family. Funny, isn't it, that your best life may have just begun as a consolation prize for the loss of a beloved dream?
But, don't worry - I haven't given up my membership in the Institute for the Dogma-Challenged! There is no sacred creed in this blog, and I'm going to stay open to challenges and questions. Absolute certainty is a luxury we can't afford any longer, so you won’t have to avoid sitting in the front row to protect yourself from the flying spittle and ringing ears that come from possessed preaching. This is also not a “dummy” blog – it's for people smart enough to know something's gone astray with the American Dream, and who want to do something about it.
Growth has its costs, and the price often is giving up old beliefs. In this blog I will challenge you to question some of the beliefs you may be carrying around that aren't doing you any good. Maybe some beliefs are useful, maybe not - but like all the stuff we have down in our basement, they all need to be aired out from time to time. This can make for lively dialogue and challenging each other to think and to question assumptions. Here's the challenge I'll begin with, and I'll state it baldly:
We have confused our most fundamental values with our cultural icons of success to the point where a kind of perversion of original identity has occurred; we no longer recognize the child of our self but rather embrace his clothes. In our rage for success, we have become trapped by its trappings. It’s not about the money. The power of the illusion has made monkeys of us - we fight over the stick used to get the banana, while the banana lies within reach. The American Dream is an illusion.
In my next post, we'll take another look at how you can clarify your best life.
