A big temptation in tough times is to pull back until things get better. In some cases
it makes sense. You might have to pull back on some of your spending habits or pull back on the kind of vacations you take. But as an overall strategy for success in the tough times, pulling back is not always the right thing to do.
Tough times always offer opportunities however those opportunities are seized only by a few. Here’s why: most people pull back in tough times; only a few push forward.
Think about it: Even in tough times, products are sold, services are rendered and people spend money. Ever wonder who discovers the products people need and the services they desire, or who finds the people who are spending money?
I can tell you one thing: it’s not the person who is pulling back. It is, however, the person who thinks creatively and actively seeks new opportunities. It is the one who pushes forward.
Here are five ways you can push forward even in the tough times.
Push forward in your relationships. Tough times are dangerous times for relationships – especially marriages. It’s easy to blame your circumstances on the people who really want you to succeed. Push forward in your most important relationships by spending quality time with the people you love the most.
Push forward with your personal growth. How long has it been since you read a book that was written to help you be a better person? What was the last training class you attended to sharpen your skills? At age 68 I attended a writing class at my church taught by a high school teacher who had far less writing experience than I did. I came away from the 3-hour course with the idea for a book which I’m writing at this time.
Push forward with a long-held dream or goal. Perhaps it is time to dust off those dreams you had in college or to reconsider the business idea you had last year.
Push forward with better habits. In tough times it’s quite easy to succumb to bad habits as a way of soothing your painful existence. It is also precisely the wrong thing to do. Push forward with some positive addictions and pull back on the negative ones.
Push forward with better networking. Opportunities come to people who know a lot of people. Why? Because people prefer to do business with people they know, like and trust. If you’re a good, honest plumber but nobody knows it, your phone is not going to ring. Expand your network of business and social relationships and you’ll expand the likelihood of personal success. Join a Meet-up group or some other networking group and get to know as many people as you can. Someone once said, “It’s not how many people you know that is important, it’s how many know you.”
So push forward in your relationships, push forward with your personal growth, push forward with a long-held dream or goal, push forward with some positive addictions, and push forward into an expanded network of business and personal relationships.
If you push forward in all those area, you will have neither the time nor the inclination to pull back. What could possibly go right? Lots of things – when you push forward!
