If ever there was a time to adopt The Habit of the Glass Being Half Full, that time is now.
Particularly if you live in Alberta.
Living in Alberta is a constant reminder of the dependency of our provincial economy on the price of oil and, as you are no doubt well aware, the price of oil has been plummeting like a rock, resting temporarily at a price not seen in years, before plunging to even deeper lows.
Just yesterday, one of the larger energy companies announced the pending layoff of 1,000 of its employees. Certainly other companies will follow suit and there will be more to come.
Having never been laid off from a job I have no personal frame of reference for this experience but I can only imagine the levels of fear coursing through the veins of tens of thousands of Albertans who toil in the energy industry.
News like yesterdays does nothing to ease the fear and I’m sure many are wondering not if, but when, their time to be sent home will come.
Each of these unfortunate souls will be faced with the difficult dilemma of trying to replace their jobs and income in a depressed market.
This won’t be easy.
But the potential to develop rewarding opportunity out of disastrous circumstance is there for all.
None of us can raise the price of oil and none of us can repair the economy. It is out of our control.
It is what it is.
Many of these folks will sadly spend days, weeks and possibly months lamenting their plight while experiencing unwanted, uncomfortable and unpleasant changes in their lifestyle.
Others will see opportunity and use this time to seek better, longer-lasting and more meaningful employment or will create other means to provide and produce income.
The Habit of the Glass Being Half Full, for those who have absorbed it into their very being, is 180° away from those who don’t.
Adopters of this habit, perhaps after having given themselves a few days to mourn the loss of their job, vent their anger, and curse the world, will use this opportunity to energize themselves into a busy rebranding mode and will seek any and every occasion to replace what they lost with something even better.
These folks, rather than being paralyzed by circumstance will be galvanized into action and will fearlessly, and with confidence, while brushing aside all challenges, do whatever is necessary to regain what they’ve lost and will not allow their inability to control the economy to influence their ability to control their destiny.
These are the folks who understand the immutable power of The Habit of the Glass Being Half Full and realize at a deep, visceral level, that the only meaning on any and every event in our lives is the meaning we choose to place upon it.
That is the only possible meaning.
And the meaning that they will place upon this event is one that will leave them better off and further ahead, happier and more fulfilled because they get that their destiny rests within them and not in the hands of a person who, with the stroke of a pen, took away their paycheck.
It is fascinating to read that some of the greatest wealth acquired in history was done so during times of recession, setback and shortages, for it is in times like these that those live by The Habit of the Glass Being Half Full do not allow shame, doubt or fear to enter their consciousness – and if it does, they shove it aside – instead they simply view what has happened to them as a circumstance and redirect their lives in a positive and energized manner.
The experts tell us that 2015, particularly in Alberta, will be a tough year.
Those adherents of The Habit of the Glass Being Half Full will tell you that 2015 will be a year like any other year and they will do whatever they can, within their power, to make it the best, transformative life here of their lives.
Each of these affected folks will be faced with the same choices and the course of action each takes will be determined quite simply by the meaning they place on the level of water they see in the glass.
Exercise wisely your power of choice.
Let’s make a habit of meeting like this.
