A few years into the longuest and touguest economic crisis our globalized generation has known, we’ve heard loads of Gurus tellings us there is opportunity in crisis. But to all those who have lost their jobs, or worse, left their jobs to go spend money on an MBA only to find unemployment out the other side, the opportunity is still misteriously hidden somewhere in ‘the cloud’ of doom.
Here’s the catch: it’s about timing. We all want to get through the bad part of the crisis as soon as possible to get to the good opportunity part. Or better yet, just skip the negativity all together and sail happily and prosperously into the dazzling opportunity everybody promises there is on the othe side.
And timing depends on you. Because the longer you run away from the doom, the more you strive to skip the puddles of darkness, the harder you make it for the opportunity to come along. It only really comes along when you’ve learned the lessons that dwell under the surface of the ugly waters. The fastest way to finding new opportunities just happens to be hidden at the bottom of the puddles of doom.
In our globalized happy-go-lucky culture of the XXIst century it is loser-like to be sad, depressed and hopeless (See the 10 minute youtube RSA Animation “Smile or Die” for a critical look at our positive thinking obsession). Maybe that’s why this economic downturn seems to be getting worse instead of better: BRIC’s will stop growing and PIGS aren’t ready to fly just yet.
I have come to believe that systemic crisis is nothing more than the driver to each individual person’s own crisis. Some people aren’t affected at all, while others lose everything they have. And then there are so many other ways to be driven into crisis: sickness, divorce, severe disappointments, death of loved ones, empty nest, retirement, family wars, etc, etc, etc. To each sufferer his or her crisis is bigger and more painful than anybody else can ever imagine. And everybody goes through several crisis in their lives, some mild and some severe.
New beginnings can only come after the end of things as they are. So instead of wishing everybody ‘Happy New Year’, I’ll just hope that we keep walking forward through our real clouds of adversity instead of trying to avoid them by plugging into internet-enabled entertainment and society-enabled dreams of success.
Dear Pino,
I find this very interesting : “I have come to believe that systemic crisis is nothing more than the driver to each individual person’s own crisis”
Crisis is part of change process, and the solution to individual crisis is, in my opinion, nothing more, nothing less, than an act of will.
All the best
Hi Pablo,
Thank you for your comment. To me crisis is change, of course. I’m not so sure about will power, though. Will comes from the conscious part of our brains, and is thus a human trait that appears very late in evolution. Many crisis and changes were overcome before it appeared. Some say that intention is designed to be used only when instinctual response is not enough to survive. And to some extent, I do agree we rely too much on intention and will power in our current culture.
Will is important in overcoming and accepting change. But giving in when needed, sometimes against our will is also crucial.