When times get tough - know what is important in life
When you look at the media now, things can seem scary. Many people, including myself a bit sometimes feel very overwhelmed by all the doom and gloom about the economy, financial markets, interest rates and especially the outlook does not look very great. People start to realize that times are going to be tough and things they took for granted might not be as easily achievable anymore. However, we have a choice now, either we get depressed and constantly remain in a state of anxiety, or we take the bullet, toughen up and reflect again on what is important in tough times.
Recently, a lot of us, especially young generations took a lot of things for granted. We knew things would always be on the upwards protectory. However, those times seem to be over for the near future. Many of us are going to struggle over the coming years to maintain our very high living standards and we will have to make sacrifices to achieve the things we really want. In times like this we need to set priorities, but the good news is – those things we really want can still be achieved - we just need to be a bit more patient. I am also not a fan to live a life in misery while we are waiting for the good times to start, we need to find a balance between our goals and being happy in the here and now.
More importantly, times of hardship and crisis always help us to reflect and concentrate on the things that really matter in life. Happy are those of us that have family that can support us and guide us whenever we need it. Lucky are also those that have good friends that can help in times when we need it. Those people that are important for us in life suddenly become even more significant. Values such as love, compassion and a feeling for community and sticking together in tough moments really start to matter again.
It is also important that we do not get overwhelmed with things by over burdening ourselves. We need to be prepared for the worst – while not forgetting to live a little with those that are close to us in between.
A significant role in tough times also plays our partner. A solid relationship build on care and trust is really what many of us long for in difficult times. We need to be honest with each other and openly share our problems and concerns. It should become less relevant to look good for the outside world, rather than doing what we think works and is right.
Many of us over the coming years will see themselves having a reality check and will learn to value things like a strong partnership, friendship and other core values that prevent us from going it alone again. When things get hard, many of us forget the Instagram castles in the clouds and get back to the harsh reality. Lucky are those who can concentrate on the good things in our lives, and we will learn to be humble and grateful again for those.
We will get through this eventually and lean important lessons from it - to value people in our lives that really matter. Let keep then close as times get tougher.
