Bail or trail?

Imagine a broadcast interruption on your favorite radio station. After several unpleasant tones to get your attention, you hear:
This is a test of the Emergency Bailout System.
This is only a test.
Had this been an actual economic emergency,
you would have been instructed where to tune in your area for further instructions.

“Thank heavens,” you might say to yourself. “I’m glad this was only a test.”

What’s a few hundred billion dollars among friends, anyway?
The reality, of course, is that the bailout process is in full swing. Both individuals and organizations are queuing up with their hands out, ready to accept whatever help the government will give them.

The specific reality we face is the government using taxpayer money in figures so gargantuan that they far exceed a layman’s comprehension. All this comes at a time when the country’s coffers are low from other commitments here and around the world.

All the critical measures are upside down. I’m not talking about the Dow Jones Industrials or the NASDAQ indices. The true barometers of how people will act are found in other numbers. Uncertainty and fear are high when we need them to drop. Trust and confidence are low when we need them to climb and stay high. Unless and until those happen, this severe recession will remain a product of its own doing.

How to stay on the trail and off the bail
What lessons surface for individuals watching and listening? Here are a few worth considering:
Don’t promise more than you can deliver - You’re only kidding yourself when you overestimate your ability and/or willingness to deliver. You’ll soon gain a reputation as unreliable and therefore untrustworthy. Keep in mind that we judge ourselves by our intentions; others judge us by our actions. If you know you simply can’t deliver that assignment completely and effectively in 48 hours, don’t say you can or will. Instead, say when you can get it done and then make sure you do what you say you’ll do.

When you find yourself in a hole, stop digging – In a free society, it is the sum of your own choices that dictates your conditions and wellbeing or lack of it. Certainly there are influences impacting you outside of your control. You are always in control of how you respond, however, and those choices, too, help define the situation and your prognosis, your likelihood of wellness in key aspects of your life. We’ve all experienced being that person in a conversation when the very best thing you can do for yourself and all concerned is to stop talking. So stop.

Focus inside your circle – When you put most of your time, energy and effort in areas where you have control, your results, your return on investment and your mental health all have their greatest odds of improvement. To the degree that you focus on things over which you have no control, you put yourself at the mercy of the prevailing winds, whose direction and speed change willy-nilly. Stay outside of your circle and you’ll find yourself buying into conspiracy theories and the like, none of which serves you or those around you well. It’s what you do with what you have right now where you can make the highest impact and progress. This is why I strongly recommend a news fast to push the reset button on your mental and emotional health. Too much news does a mind damage. There may be studies that support this; I’m speaking from personal experience.

Take your lumps – When you’ve made a mistake, own up to it, apologize for it, make amends as soon and as fully as possible, learn the lesson (to refrain from repeating the mistake) and get on with your life. Forgive yourself regardless of whether the other party forgives you. Resolve that you’ll do better in the future. Whatever you choose to do, do not compound the mistake by doing something else that is fundamentally wrong. When government officials decided that a bailout was a better alternative than an anticipated collapse of the economy, they chose on behalf of a significant percentage of the population which would have preferred to sweat through the tough times and emerge stronger and smarter. We’re not sure whether the bailout will do as it was intended. For me, the end won’t justify the means. We’ll never know for sure how things would have gone without the bailout. I’ve moved on and recommend the same for you.

Point the finger at yourself – Since it’s always your choice of how you respond, take responsibility for your choices and get on with your life. Stop looking for people to blame for your results. Empower yourself to do what you can with what you have right where you are. If it’s a job you seek, get out and pound the pavement as you’ve never pounded it before. Talk with so many people that you get writer’s cramps from the personal thank you notes you send to those who help you along the way. There’s one thing that remains true regardless of the prevailing economic climate: those who work the hardest are eventually rewarded.

Avoid toxic conversations – If and when you find yourself in the presence of a bitter exchange on all that’s wrong with those in authority positions, promptly excuse yourself from the discussion. Walk away. The bitterness that brews in such events only serves to distract from the positive opportunities at hand. Refuse to take the bait; don’t participate.

Stay away from the victims – When you see the whiners coming, run, don’t walk in the opposite direction. The very people who will bemoan those claiming to be victims who deserve assistance will very happily assume the victim role because the outcome of the election or the status of their investments has impacted them unjustly. This sort of thinking is highly contagious and also dangerous to your mental health and emotional stability.

Sit tight, because it appears that this will be a ride to remember. In the meantime, pay close attention to what you can do in each and every situation. Above all, don’t be distracted, dismayed or depressed just because others think you should be. It’s your life, so go and live it.

Keep the faith!
John Earl Carroll