How to Stay Positive in the Recession

I don't have a degree in psychology. I am not a motivational speaker by trade. I'm not the shining example of the American dream and I'm not the hardest working individual in America or the western world. I am, however...positive. The importance of remaining positive in rough times is extremely underrated and the ability of previous generations to drudge through is becoming lost to our future brightest hopes...the young.

Currently, I am 22 years old. I aspire to be a full-time writer, I've set goals for myself and I'm doing whatever it takes to complete those goals because I believe I can. It wasn't always like this for me though. There was a desolate time in my life. It was a time of hopelessness, a time of helpless abandon. Those were my teenage years.

American teenagers are becoming more and more battered down by life's difficulties and it's becoming harder and harder for them to adjust. The responsibility of balancing work, school and play does not come naturally to most and I was no exception. Instead of droning on about my life story, I will share with you some of the tactics and strategies I employ in my everyday life in an attempt to stay positive when life throws me curve balls. Before I begin, it's important to realize that these strategies alone will not keep you happy. Ultimately, it's the spark inside you that keeps you motivated. It's the drive inside you that keeps you positive, and only you know how to find that. This is merely the path I have followed:

1. Realize that not everything will work out as planned. So many people say they know that things will go wrong now and then, but when things DO go wrong, they forget everything that ever went RIGHT. As an example, let's say you get cut off while driving. A reckless driver just swerves right over into your lane without signaling. I know of many people in my life (including me at one point) that will let this ruin their day. Instead of getting mad about the person cutting you off, instead...attempt to think about how fortunate you are that they didn't swerve INTO your car and that you're not in the hospital. No, this doesn't excuse their behavior, but it could be much worse.

2. When you're angry at somebody for committing an offensive act towards you, ask yourself if you've ever done the same. Have you ever cut somebody off during your life? Odds are you have, and that the person you DID cut off was extremely angry at you. I used to try and justify my anger by thinking: "Well, when I cut them off it was an accident. They cut me off because they're ignorant". That was truly my thought process. I thought I was so different than everybody else. I made mistakes, they made conscious decisions to attack me. This is simply not the case. The person who cut you off simply didn't see you, much as you had not seen the person you cut off.

3. Lose the pride. Males are especially vulnerable to having too much pride. I was one of them. We've all been there. We're in the middle of an argument about...I don't know...say...Ketchup or something. Yes, we're arguing about which kind of Ketchup is the best. I'm exaggerating a bit, but often times, these arguments escalate so quickly that people lose track of what they're originally arguing about. We, as humans, are so competitive, that we get caught up in the glory of winning at any cost. Even worse, if you're unable to win and refuse to let the underlying controversy go, it can affect your thinking process and overall happiness.