Recession Thoughts

What are you putting into your future so you can worry about it?

A possible recession? A job loss? Something else that has not happened?

When I heard people talking about a possible recession at a business event, I wanted to understand what they meant. I always think in terms of the Model, so my first question was about the circumstance.

What was actually happening? What did it mean to me? And what was I making it mean?

You can use those questions with anything you are worried might happen. The purpose is to see the difference between the circumstance and the future you are imagining.

Get specific about the circumstance

If you are doing a Model, putting the word recession in the circumstance line may not give you enough clarity.

People can disagree about what it means, whether one is happening, and what will happen next.

Look at the specific facts you are responding to rather than treating a broad label as if it explains everything.

When I researched the concern, I found disagreement. That was useful to notice. An opinion about what might happen was not the same as a fact about what had already happened.

Be careful with the inputs you put into your brain. Notice when information is drawing your attention through fear, and notice the story you build from it.

Your thoughts determine how you show up

No matter what is happening in the world, you get to decide what you do in your mind.

That will determine how you feel, which will determine what you do.

You do not control whether there is a recession. You do have agency in how you think about it and respond.

If you choose thoughts that make you afraid and shut down, notice the actions that follow. You may withdraw from life and do less.

If you think about how to contribute, grow, and serve, you will have a different experience and take different actions.

I want to decide ahead of time how I will think, what the circumstance will mean to me, and how I will act within it.

Do not automatically borrow the panic

We are influenced by other people. We want connection, and sometimes we connect by sharing their emotions.

When people around us are panicking, it can feel natural to panic with them.

But ask yourself whether you are making a conscious choice or simply reacting because everyone else is reacting.

I want to use my ability to think and make decisions. I do not want the crowd to make those decisions for me.

That means depending on myself to take care of my emotional state.

I can choose thoughts about goodness, contribution, service, abundance, and growth. Those thoughts help me consider what I can do rather than stay focused only on what I cannot control.

Look for the opportunity to become stronger

I believe in the balance of life. Everything is not supposed to go amazingly well all the time.

There are ebbs and flows. I do not want to panic every time life presents the other half.

During the pandemic, many of my clients used time in quarantine to learn, work on their businesses, get in shape, or become coaches.

They did not only wait for the circumstance to end. They used the time to create something.

That is the question I want to ask in a difficult period: how can I invest in the asset that is my brain?

I can study. I can develop knowledge. I can create value. I can practice managing my mind more consciously.

When things are challenging, I need that consciousness more. I do not want the challenge to become a reason to stop using it.

Consider what security means to you

I talk to people who are interested in becoming life coaches but afraid to leave the security of a job.

They point to a salary and health insurance as reasons to stay.

I see security differently. Depending on someone else to pay me does not feel more secure to me than depending on myself.

That is how I think about my own business and career. I want to bet on myself and be responsible for what I create.

Preparing during good times is part of that. When I recorded this episode, I described having an emergency fund that could carry my employees for at least a year.

That preparation helped me feel secure. I was thinking about how to provide for myself and the people working with me, rather than waiting for the world to stay exactly the same.

Notice the thoughts you have about your own security. Are they helping you create options, or are they keeping you in something you hate?

Be available to help

One reason I love coaching is that people need help with their brains when circumstances feel uncertain.

My attention goes to how we can help them.

For the entrepreneur coaches listening to this message, I wanted to offer a challenge: consider making it your best year, rather than assuming the economy has already decided what your year will be.

How can you serve the people who are afraid? How can you create value? What skills can you improve?

Challenging circumstances can invite us to work more consciously, pay attention, and get better.

I want to be available to lead and contribute when things are tough. That is part of why I work the way I do.

Find your agency between denial and panic

There are two extremes I want us to avoid.

One is putting our heads in the sand and pretending nothing is happening. The other is panicking, shutting down, and not functioning well.

Between them is your decision-making power.

You can acknowledge what is happening and choose what you will do. You can stay awake to the circumstance while managing the thoughts you have about it.

What would it look like to come out of a challenging year stronger because you used it consciously?

Who would you be? What would you learn? How would you serve?

Decide who you will be

One of the best ways I know to move my attention out of panic is to think about other people.

Who needs help? What can I offer? How can I bring people with me rather than think only about myself?

Stay focused on what you can do. Do not tell yourself that a difficult circumstance means you cannot grow, contribute, or create abundance.

I want to be an example of someone who uses the challenge to step up.

The circumstance does not have to disappear before I make that choice. I can make it now.

You get to decide who you will be. Manage your mind, stay conscious, and consider what you want to create within the life that is happening.