By Dr John Demartini
Every event has two sides. The universe conserves this balance. So in these market crunch times, it is important for us to not lose sight of both sides of life’s equation.
It may seem to the populace of the world that the current situation is a loss without gain, destruction without construction, but this is not the whole truth, for ignorance blindly sees only one side.
History has taught us that out of the ashes rise great opportunities and that any challenge can be transformed when we know how to ask a new set of questions and shift our perceptions and then actions. For example difficult financial times can make us place a higher value on conservatively saving money, thereby increasing the chances of wisely accumulating future wealth. Losing a job may be the catalyst for creative entrepreneurialism. Chaos can bring unity and awakening to a new order. Look how world leaders have united in their will to restore stability to the financial markets.
Here are some examples of perceived challenges with their compensatory blessings, which may help you bring an awareness of the other side. Reading these may assist you in allaying your fears around the challenges associated with the temporary loss of money.
- Credit crunch: As government introduces credit restrictions, lenders become more accountable which will provide for a stronger economy in the future. The credit crunch also means you are protected from making foolish financial decisions that could affect your tomorrow. It will make you prioritise your purchases, which will trim your fat and make you more efficient and lean. This can certainly pay you and save you more money in the future.
- Depressed about finances: If you or someone you love is having feelings of depression or suicide, know that when you take the time to see and count the blessings in your current situation, that you alleviate the tensions in your mind. If you look you will become aware of the blessings such as increased support, love and advice from family and friends. There are many more so take the time look. There is never a crisis without a blessing. When a door shuts a window opens. It is now time to count your blessings.
- Losing a home: This could assist you realign your expenditure to your income by renting at a level you can afford. Not having a house can actually bring you relief as you are released from your indebtedness to the bank and ongoing costly home maintenance and taxes. Possibly your children get to learn about the realities of life and discover that no matter the outer challenge, the family survives which assists them in the future when they face their own life’s challenges. Instead of saying ‘why me’, begin saying ‘try me’.
- Losing a job: Losing your job could open the pathway into a new job you really love and it can be the catalyst for going after a long sought dream. You may find yourself generating new ideas that awaken your entrepreneurialism. Being free from the perceived ‘security’ of your previous job may assist you to discover the courage to start up your own company. A retrenchment package could become the capital for a new business.
- Restructuring: In good times, companies tend to become overfed and overlook the decline of inefficiencies. Recessionary times force companies to become lean, fine tune their marketing campaigns, streamline all areas of ineffectiveness and create a well - oiled machine that prospers when the tide turns.
- Employer guilt over retrenchment: You may be setting someone free to fulfil their dream. By streamlining the company you give job security to those who remain behind and by doing so you have the most efficient team to help you ride the turning tide when the market increases thereby making it possible to hire more people down the line. You may help former employees become more prosperous in the long run since they can now become even more daring and begin their own companies.
- Insolvency: If your company is declared insolvent, you are absolved of all business debt, released from all the pressure of figuring out how to pay it back. You get to start afresh but with all the business learnings from the past. And you get to discover that your friends and family still love you no matter your situation.
- Hard financial times: It could mean streamlining your purchases to things you truly value, changing your financial management and increasing your portion of future savings. Ultimately this is the key to long-term financial success. Outside challenges often unite families to figure solutions towards a common goal. It can prevent your children from taking things for granted and initiate them into the realities of providing others great quality service and mastering fair exchange.
- Not being able to afford previous lifestyle: Friends and families become innovative and spend more quality time with each other. Example fathers playing sport with their kids rather than paying for them to go to sports coaches. Imagine what benefits there are to having family members learning to more deeply appreciate what they still do have.
- Difficulty getting start up funding: Bank lending is at a minimum making it difficult to fund a new business. This forces entrepreneurs to fine tune their business plans and present a financially sound plan that ensures success and loan repayment. This gives you a level of certainty for your future business success. Easy money can be the recipe for complacency and failure.
A challenging financial time calms our unrealistic fantasies about life, it quells our need for instant gratification, it forces us to be introspective about what we really truly want out of life, it teaches us to not to live beyond our means and it brings us back into equilibrium.
These are all long-term blessings. When we transform our crises into blessings we catalyse others to do the same.
Dr. Demartini is a world leading behavioural expert, speaker and author at the forefront of the burgeoning personal and professional development industry. www.drdemartini.com
