You know the frustration of calling the cable company, not being able to get to a human being, instead the automated voice telling me they did not understand my command, “let’s try that again” – why do these automated systems raise our blood pressure so? I’m certain that despite my normally low blood pressure, it skyrockets when I’m on the phone with these utility companies. I promise not to bore you with the details, and I don’t want to raise your blood pressure as you identify with my frustrating story, but suffice to say – the intention of my call was to get a replacement of my remote control, and… they actually wanted to charge me for the replacement of a defective remote control. Now, this is not the first time I’ve had problems with the remote controls of this service provider, and I’m therefore imagining that others have had the problem as well (although, I have not run any statistical analyses on my assumptions!), and it appears that their new solution to the problem is to charge for the remote, rather than re-evaluating the equipment itself and making an improvement. Essentially, a short-sighted solution to a long-term problem.
We’ve all seen these types of solutions before, and we’ve all experienced the limited results of short-term thinking, which leads me to my main theme here – it’s time to think long-term, seriously long-term. I know, I’m watching the same news programs daily and scouring the paper for the next report on unemployment rates along with you… and also feel that it’s so hard to focus on the future when the present is so overwhelmingly profound. However, it’s times like these that demand for us to look at the bigger picture and imagine the forest through the trees. It’s times like these that demand us to look on the bright side and see the value in the changes we are experiencing, both nationally and on the global scale.
Here’s a few ideas to help you get going on restructuring your thinking:
- Cutting back on dining out means preparing some of your favorite home-cooked meals… call your mom for ideas! She’ll be flattered & you’ll have made one of the calls you’ve been meaning to make over the past week.
- Reducing the days of the week you go out means reducing your gas costs, getting more sleep (we all need more sleep!), and finally following through on your never-ending vows to read more fiction (okay, that’s my vow).
- Reduced 401K matching programs at work do not mean you cannot continue to save for your future. Instead, it’s an opportunity to look into a different type of retirement investment strategy, which could be more effective in our current economy.
- Staying home more often means having the time to play a long game of monopoly with the kids, or having friends over for a pot-luck & game of scrabble.
- Cutbacks at work offer an opportunity to re-vision things differently than you’ve done them before.
- Budget revisions and lack of bonuses and/or raises means a few more of your fellow employees will not need to lose their job (or their home, or their health insurance, or their dignity).
If you’re having a hard time managing a change in thinking and your evaluation of our current times, drop me an email I’m happy to help you work through a few more.
Until next time – stay hopeful, it’s the one thing we have ultimate control over.
Tags: 401K matching, bonus, bright side, current, cutbacks, economy, family time, flexible, improvement, job loss, layoffs, opportunity, retirement, solutions, stress, work, work options, work/life balance