2022 Update: It’s been a long time since the recession, but I will keep this writing as a reference point for the next one.
These last 4 years have been nothing short of anxiety-inducing, unsettling, and disruptive.
Seeing the near-systemic failures in our credit and economic systems was unprecedented for many of us.
I know more unemployed people than I ever have before. I know more recent college grads who are still waiting for their careers to start, while they work in fields that underutilize their skills.
Yet for all that, sometimes we have to get honest with ourselves: How are we holding ourselves back? How are we chalking up a set back to the recession?
I don’t say this with a lack of compassion: I absolutely sympathize with those that are discouraged or disheartened of pursuing their dreams.
How can you still pursue your dreams in the context of a recession?
What dreams or goals did you have before the recession that haven’t yet been achieved?
Is it a function of them being delayed or a function of them being dashed?
Hopefully the former, but if the latter, take another look at them and challenge your assumptions around why they are dashed.
Ask yourself if you are using the recession as an excuse or if it is an economic event that directly impacted your dreams or goals.
It may be time to get courageous and creative in order to kick start those aspirations and to not lose hope that you can achieve them, if not now than in the future.
(Disclosure: I am a Fee-Only Financial Planner. My website is here.)