A few months ago, I started cutting back on my personal expenses due to concerns about the worsening economy (see Straight from the Heart blog Getting Back to the Basics, Jan. 16, 2009). Because of a staff reorganization, I knew my position with CAPPER’S magazine might be phased out, and that day came near the end of April. I was sad to leave my full-time editing job at CAPPER’S, but happy to continue as a blogger.
Fortunately, I didn’t have to leave Ogden Publications. A position opened up in our circulation department about the same time our reorganization happened. The new position is quite a change coming from an editorial position, but since I was in our marketing department prior to being with CAPPER’S, it wasn’t terribly foreign to me.
As sad as I am to have left my editing position with CAPPER’S, I’m happy to remain employed. I know of people at other publishing companies who lost their jobs without warning. They went to work as usual one day and were given a pink slip the next. I’ve talked to others who have had to take a pay cut in order to keep their job or take a job that’s beneath their qualifications just so they can pay their bills. Until the economy bounces back, we may all have to make changes and sacrifices we never dreamed we’d have to make.
However, change can be a good thing. Many people have discovered how economical, not to mention eco-friendly, it is to raise their own vegetables, make household cleaning products and health and beauty aids. More people are walking, riding their bikes or carpooling to save on gas. A downturn in the economy can help us look at life differently, reveal what we’re really made of and discover what we can truly live without.
One thing we can’t live without is hope. It’s hard to have hope and see the light at the end of the tunnel right now, but that light will come. This country has survived hard economic times before and we’ll do it again. We just need to hold on and stand strong.
I was glad I was asked to continue writing this blog because I enjoy it and I hope you enjoy reading it. I need a creative outlet in my life. Without it, I feel like I’m drying up. Catering to my creative spirit is a great stress-reliever.
This is a stressful time for all of us, but it’s also an opportunity to make positive changes. Change is inevitable. It teaches us how to be flexible in order to survive the difficult times.
Going through changes, whether positive or negative, reminds me of a quote I saw on a poster when I was in college:
“The most important thing to remember is this: To be ready at any moment to give up what you are for what you might become.” – W.E.B. DuBois
Making changes as a result of the tough economy could very well provide an opportunity you might not have considered before or teach you something about yourself you wouldn’t have learned otherwise.
How has the economy changed your lifestyle? Do you have some recession survival tips to share?
