Is it really Hopeless?

A few days ago our media, both Local News and Newspaper were swamped with the story of a man barricaded in his home. SWAT responded to address this distraught man who was observed to have both a rifle and a suicide plan. After a seven hour stand off, evacuations, fear and stress the officers were able to subdue the man and take him into protective custody.

When the clamor died down and the focal point returned to normal the questions that surfaced all centered around the why? Why, let SWAT send tear gas into and rip apart your home? Why hold yourself hostage with the hopes that an officers bullet will take you down? The answer: Hopelessness.

This distraught man recently lost his job. His home was soon to be listed in the foreclosure section of the realty market and his support systems in his view had dwindled to nothing.

Is it really hopeless? Obviously, times are bleak, jobs are hard to find, and support systems are cutting back due to budget crunches. All of that said, it does not have to be a time of hopelessness.

Instead, it is time to separate the emotions from the recession. "How can I do that, my job, money, support they are all connected to how I live." True. Yet, stepping out of that circle to see it as a process can help you survive the emotional breaking point that can come because of such heavy burdens.

Create a plan. Start simple write down the most important things to accomplish at this point in time. If you have a job - leave finding a job off the list. Start with your finances instead. Make creating a detailed budget your top priority. Establishing our work, finances, and the economic times as a plan and separating it from our emotions helps us to start to think about them strategically. We can then mount each hill one at a time. Taking the emotion out of the picture leaves hopelessness at the door while strategy and planning move things forward.