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When It All Comes Down to You – And Your Attitude

Posted By: Mike Fitzgerald | Posted on: 11-15-2012

Have you heard? The recession is over! I’m not trying to be a wise guy, nor am I making a political statement. I’m simply repeating a headline that appeared on many major newspapers and Internet new sources last week. It’s over!

So why don’t I feel better? Why don’t we all feel better?

Here’s a fun way to respond to some people. The next time someone mentions to you that the recession is over, or that we remain mired in its grip, ask him or her what a recession is. How do you know you’re in one, and how do you know when you’re out of one? By definition (from the U.S. Government), a recession is a phase of the business cycle extending from a peak to the next trough and characterized by a substantial decline in overall business activity–output, income, employment, and trade–of at least several months’ duration. In other words, to say that the recession is over is perhaps suggesting that things started to get better a few months ago. Do you feel it? Is it real?

Again, I promise I’m not making a political statement. There’s plenty of blame to go around. My point is that for all the economic indicators, all the research, all the headlines and all the pundits that want to carry the recovery banner, the real measure of when a recession is over is between you and me. It’s in our hearts, our wallets and our minds. It’s in our attitudes. There will always be extremely important measures like unemployment, but why not look at employment? We can look at trade lost, or we can look at trade preserved. We can look at downsizing, or at rightsizing. Our attitudes can be mired in despair, or they can be fueled by a clear recognition that a recession is a cycle, not a trend.

Yes, many things need to come together for a recession to be over. I’m not denying the facts or disputing the validity of the definition of recession, or ignoring the reality of recessionary economics. But in many ways, it’s also all about attitude. When I studied economics at The University of Massachusetts, my favorite professor was a former economic advisor to President Kennedy. He told a story about Kennedy that’s inspired me throughout my career. As Dr. Vickers told it, he and a number of other economic advisors were sitting with the president as he took office, “Well, Mr. President, on one hand, an infusion of capital in the economy may spur investment and help ease the effects of recession. On the other hand, a slower rate of increase in the quantity of money will help prevent inflation.” According to Vickers, the president sat back, took it all in, and quipped, “Gentlemen, what I need right now is a one-armed economist!”

President Kennedy also delivered another quote that I’ve never forgotten. He said, “There are only three things in life that are real – God, human folly and laughter. The first two are beyond our comprehension, so let us do what we can with the third.” Attitude is everything. Do I feel better off than I did a year ago? No, I don’t. Am I hopeful that it will be different a year from now? You bet. In the meantime, have I forgotten how to belly-laugh and enjoy every day? Nope.

If your attitude is defeated, you are defeated. If you are defeated, so are the people around you. If the people around you are defeated…and so it goes. But you can choose not to be! Though it’s not always possible to earn or produce your way out of a recession, could it be possible to think your way out of one? That would be cool, but it’s probably not possible, either. I’m a glass-is-half-full kind of guy. I won’t look you in the face and tell you all is well if, in fact, it’s not. But I will look at you and say, “Work with me. If all that’s left is you, me and our attitudes, we can manage that until we have more to work with!”

God, human folly and laughter. Kennedy had it right. What are you doing with the third? Can you laugh at yourself, or do you take yourself too seriously? Can a headline that the recession is over bring a smile to your face? Can you find a way to smile about simpler things – a child’s unbridled laughter, an orange sky, a well planned hit-and-run in the bottom of the ninth? I hope so. I’m learning that in every tough period there’s a low point when it feels like it comes down to just you…and your attitude. And in those times, attitude is everything.

When my dad passed away fifteen years ago, I found a newspaper clipping in his wallet. I never knew he carried it. It reads:

Today on a bus I saw
a lovely girl with golden hair.
I envied her. She seemed so young.
I wished I were half as fair.
When suddenly she rose to leave,
I saw her hobble down the aisle.
She had one leg and used a crutch.
As she passed, she flashed a smile.
Oh God, forgive me when I whine!
I have two legs. The world is mine.”

And when I stopped to buy some sweets,
the lad who sold them had such charm.
I talked with him. He seemed so glad.
If I were late, would do no harm.
And as I left he said to me,
“I thank you sir, you have been so kind.
You see,” he added, “I am blind.”
Oh God forgive me when I whine!
I have two eyes. The world is mine.
With legs to take me where I want to go,
with eyes to see the sunset glow,
oh God forgive me when I whine!
I’m blessed indeed. The world is mine.”

This clipping is in my wallet now. It always will be – in times of prosperity, and through recessions.

We’ve been in recession before, and each time, we’ve come out of it. Some are worse than others, but it seems the one we’re in currently is always the worst. Right now, today, what does your attitude say about you? Are you going to come out of this one better – stronger, healthier and happier than before? Will you still know how to belly-laugh and appreciate the simpler things?

It’s often been said that attitudes are contagious. Is yours worth catching?