Three Reasons to Stop Stressing About the Economy

I don’t know about you but there is only so much doom and gloom talk that I can take before I start thinking… Arghhhh! The media is obsessed with inundating us with bad news – and right now (for good reason) the economy is the flavor of the month.

I am currently reading (for the second time) Jack Canfield’s excellent book, The Success Principles, and just passed over his comment, “They’re having a recession, but I’ve chosen not to participate.” I like that kind of thinking. Last year while we were headed on an economical downward slide as a nation, I tripled my sales. Why? Because I was focused on creating abundance rather than “coping with lack”, or worse yet – “avoiding scarcity”.

And so, as we continue to plod through the recession, here are 3 good reasons to shift your focus away from our current economic crisis:

1. The first reason to stop stressing about the economy is the most important one: You Can’t Control It! Stressing over what you can’t control is an exercise in futility, frustration, and fatigue. This kind of stress is consuming. It will invariably lead to illness, depression, insomnia, and disease (all things which will interfere with your ability to be a peak performer). When you are in a state of poor performance, you will be less productive. Less productivity = less money. Stressing about the economy will guarantee fewer dollars in your pocket.

2. Reason number two: What you focus on is what you will achieve. When you spend all your time thinking about the recession, worrying about your portfolio, and watching the stocks fluctuate, your world will shrink to the size of your television or computer screen. When you focus on scarcity – that is what you will see all around you. I remember when I worked in the downtown core; the road I took to work went through a depressed part of town. Hookers frequented the street corners, the area was littered with crack houses and most of the unsavoury business that happens on all inner city streets took place in this area. It got so that I was beginning to believe that my whole town was nothing but a big slum because of this one little pocket within the core. Once I realized that my focus was beginning to colour my entire perspective, I made a simple decision: I changed the route that I took to work. By making that one shift in my actions, I was able to re-route my perspective back to a more positive outlook about my town and the people living in it. Now more than ever, it is imperative that you choose to focus on abundance – on gratitude – and on the blessings you currently have. Remember – you can’t control the markets, so focus on what you can control… that leads me to point number THREE.

3. Focus on YOU. That is the only thing you can control or change. You can’t change the government (until voting time comes back around). You can’t influence the markets either positively or negatively. You will not be able to change the numbers that are flashing across your television or computer screen. The only thing you can change is YOU.

Your efforts and your efforts alone will impact your personal economy and your net worth. Are you turning into a miser – because you feel like you need to “prevent any further losses?” Or are you doing what you know will work to keep the cash flowing in your life or business? I’m not saying you shouldn’t be careful in these turbulent times; I’m simply suggesting that you do so with the proper intentions.

Keep your focus on the things you can control. You can control your spending and your choices for saving. You can choose to turn off CNN in favour of doing something constructive, fun, entertaining, or relaxing. Even in tough economic times, you can choose to creatively attract abundance into your life.

Read more about how to deal with the stress of tough financial times in Chapter 20 of Stress Less in 27 Days – “Talk about it!” Available now at http://www.angersolution.com/products.php.