Under Pressure

In these troubling economic times...

Yeah, how many times have we heard this sentence lately? Probably more than we'd like. As a relatively young person, this is the major economic crisis that I've ever had to deal with head-on and much like everyone else out there, I'm a little freaked out. In fact, today (April 9), the New York Times ran an article about the effects that people are feeling. For the most part, people seem to be doing a great job coping with things - you only hear of the aberrations on the nightly news, because, well, they're aberrations.

In perhaps the strangest pairing of ideas ever, I present Michael J. Fox. From Family Ties to Back To The Future, he was a big part of my entertainment growing up. Since being diagnosed with Parkinson's (at 29!) he's become more than just an advocate for those suffering from Parkinson's - he's become an optimist. Recently, MJF discussed his diagnosis and his research into writing a book about optimism.

So, what's the takeaway? For me, it's simply this: The glass always has some water in it, even if it's not exactly half-full anymore. It's really easy to focus on what we don't have or to let our anxiety run wild. Next time I feel that vice-like pressure in my chest when I see the Dow down another 150 points, I'm committed to seeing what's left in my glass.