Personality Zone

Turning Obstacles into Opportunities

The past few weeks have been a roller-coaster ride in the stock markets globally.  European and Asian markets have reacted adversely to news of economic slowdown in the US.  For many investors here and overseas, we saw the markets drop by amounts similar to the period following 9/11.  That’s alarming.  In addition, January 21 was called by Dr. Cliff Arnall as “Blue Monday”—the most depressing day of the year due to the confluence of factors such as weather, debt piled up from holiday shopping, and unfulfilled New Year’s resolutions.  While his theory is highly debatable, there are many reasons for us to feel the blues!

But the facts seem to say that we as Americans are dealing quite well with the adversity.  A recent Times Magazine article by Bill Tancer that investigated the theory of the “most depressing day of the year” seemed to find evidence that says otherwise.  Reviewing data over the past three years, Tancer found that internet traffic to sites on antidepressants, which he used as a proxy for people seeking pharmacological help, typically peaked in late October and early November and not January.  In addition, he found that those who visited those internet sites during November were typically between age 18-24 and over 55, and had average to above-average incomes.  From there, he concluded that the “Blue Monday” theory was debunked.  

While “Blue Monday” is an interesting hypothesis and Tancer’s investigation is thought-provoking, the key is how to stay positive even when the weather is bad, the stock market drops, new year resolutions fail, and potentially people are facing foreclosures on their homes.  How do we stay up when everything else is down?  

Today I found a recent edition of the “O” magazine and came across Suze Orman’s column titled “See your situation as an opportunity, not an obstacle” (hence the inspiration on my entry’s title).  A reader wrote to Orman and described her difficulties finding a job after being laid off.  I liked Orman’s response—

“I understand your frustration…but that just means you need to work harder to find work.  Right now, your biggest hurdle is that you feel defeated, and it’s awfully hard to plot a winning strategy from that frame of mind.  So your first task is to see your situation as an opportunity, not an obstacle.”  

I thought her response was well put.  How can we turn setbacks into growth opportunities?  For many Americans, this is a wake-up call to the institutional problems of the system but also a personal realization of a lifestyle of over-spending and reliance on over-stretched credit and debt.  You may consider taking up a new challenge for the coming year—increasing your financial responsibility, developing a habit of budgeting, saving, and reduced spending.  It is never too late to start!