Enjoy The Good Old Days!
1970
These aren’t the worst of times, just as they are not the best of times. Without diminishing the severity of national and international problems, perhaps we can take some comfort–and gain some hope–from the fact that we have not only endured similar crises, we have survived and eventually thrived again. It is true that every crisis has the potential for weakening individuals and governments, but there is also an opportunity to gain strength, correct mistakes and build on successes.
Apply it to your life. The same concept applies to your workplace, community, church and family. There will be problems. The big test is how you respond to the problems. You can keep doing the same things as always, without being willing to adjust to changes. You can go the same heedless way you have in the past, hoping for a magical solution from someone else. Or, you can take control of your own fate as much as possible.
Do what you can do: Build your skills, eliminate harmful habits, gain influence, increase your credibility, use your time and energy more wisely, improve your health and fitness, enjoy life more and help others find happiness and success as well.
1984
You probably have very little control over many things that have an effect on your life, but you do have control over your behavior. You may not be able to make major changes at work but you can improve your own performance. You can’t make the whole world better but you can make your part of the world better. That’s not just a saccharine thought, it’s a truth you can depend upon–and one that will accomplish more than complaining, venting, or feeling helpless or morose.
In 2040 there will be magazine covers deploring the condition of the economy, uncovering a recent scandal in the White House, and announcing the high cost of health care, the lamentable status of education and the challenges of new technologies. (The desktop holographic images will be distracting at work and managers will discuss times past when employees were much more productive with those funny-looking devices called cellular telephones.)
2010 will soon be the good old days. Enjoy them while you can!
1974
Nice post, Tina – especially finding the old TIME Magazine covers.
The graphics made me wonder if there’d ever been TIME Magazine covers along the lines of, “Everything is going great!”
Anyway, I do enjoy your writing, Tina. Thank you.
Comment by J Mollison | July 24, 2010
Tina says: Thanks for the comment, John! I worked on this post for hours, trying to get more graphics to fit within the space correctly–obviously without success. I have many such covers, and will be using them soon.
To respond to your thoughts…the only time they imply things are going great are at the beginning of each presidency! It lasts for about six months! That’s been true since 1955 or so. 🙂 Tina
Comment by TLR | July 24, 2010
An excellent reminder, Tina. A long-time friend told me the other day that he had never seen things so bad or people so divided. His wife reminded him that he’s been saying that, with only a few lulls, since the 1950S. These magazine covers point out that our worries aren’t unique to this time. I’m going to mention this post in a homily tomorrow.
Have a blessed weekend and a good week. I see on Facebook that you had a birthday on Thursday. I hope it was a good day and that you felt loved. You are! Don R.
Comment by Don R. | July 24, 2010
My Dad has been getting out old newsletters from Johns Manville, where he worked for years. He read parts from one from 1968 that talked about how bad the economy was and how the war was taking money needed for other things, and most of the family thought it was a modern one! He said HIS Dad used to tell him that Americans who didn’t live during the Depression time didn’t know what being hard up was. My grandad also used to talk about how everyone was willing to sacrifice during WWII but no one wants to give up anything now, even if they can’t afford it. My son’s idea of poverty is not having a cell phone that can get the Internet. Denise was depressed because we couldn’t afford a car with a built-in GPS. She talked like we lived in a backwoods where we get lost all the time and her life would be in danger without a GPS onboard. Crazy!
I sent a Happy Birthday to FB, but I don’t know if you saw it since you were traveling. You deserve a good birthday so I hope you had it. M
Comment by Mike | July 24, 2010
Thank you, thank you, thank you! Great post. I was just talking about this yesterday and our common tendency to think that the world will end tomorrow if we can’t recover those good old days, even though the good old days were never as good as we remember.
So many modern prophets of doom, for example, predict the demise of marriage and the family pointing to our elevated divorce rate. That´s a problem, to be sure! But, few check history. The biblical city of Corinth had an astounding divorce rate and a culture of lawyers that rivals ours. Somehow, the world has endured these past 2,000 years. The Apostle Paul´s advice was similar to the Apostle Tina – he gave them key truth and principled application with admonitions to develop necessary skills and attitudes while eliminating the bad attitudes and habits.
There are always problems, but they should serve as agents of growth when we respond properly. Things are never as bad as we fear and never as good as we imagine.
Comment by Jeff Adams | July 26, 2010
This is very interesting and makes me stop and think. I see you mentioned in a reply that you have more Time covers to use. I hope you use them soon because I really enjoyed these. You have a very interesting web site. Thank you!
Comment by M.G. | July 26, 2010
This bit of reality is needed right now. It doesn’t make it less harrowing to live through, but it’s a good reminder that the economy has cycles that are often predictable. We should be prepared for that, but we seldom are. I did learn a bit from the 1980s though and was more alert than I might have been. Thanks for your reality-based optimism! (Your message about using this time to improve ourselves instead of only complaining, wasn’t missed either.)
Comment by Careerist | July 28, 2010
As long as the economy is a political football, we’ll have the cycles “Careerist” talked about. I get the point you were making though, and I agree with it. Most of the people doing the worst complaining don’t want to admit they’re brought on most of their financial and personal problems. Interesting take on the subject…
Comment by B.A.E. | July 28, 2010
Tina says: Thanks to all of you for reading and commenting. I’ve sent you all personal notes. I have other Time covers and will be using them!
Comment by TLR | July 28, 2010