Finding Your Zenith 2008

Approaches to Creating
Balance in a
Troubled Economy
By Curt Canada, MSW, Personal Growth Coach White Paper
"Your innate potential is limitless"

In a September, 2008 report entitled
New JEC Analysis: American Families
Are Spending Twice As Much On
Household Basics Than 8 Years Ago, But
Incomes Are Stagnanti, the U.S.
Congress Joint Economic Committee
(JEC) detailed the economic struggles
of the American public in the past
decade. According to the report,
“Incomes have not kept pace with the
recent rise in basic living expenses”
and, despite the rhetoric espoused by
many government representatives,
“The 2000s economic recovery was the
first since World War II where the
typical household saw net income
losses.” Although, the
acknowledgement from our federal and
state representatives that the typical
American is floundering in a sea of debt
is the first step toward real financial
recovery, it doesn’t help us wrangle
with the personal repercussions of such
a tremendous negative economic
impact.
For most people, mere debt is the least
of their worries. Americans are
somewhat used to juggling debt in one
form or another. For decades, we’ve
been told that debt is the way to
finance our lifestyles. Still, far too
many people are now realizing that
debt in a healthy economy and debt in
a stagnant or tanking economy are very
different types of debt. The reality is
that maintaining a personal balance in
a troubled economy is difficult and
these times of uncertainty and
ambivalence have thrown many of us
out of balance.

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Curt Canada, MSW
www.findingyourzenith.com 1
Finding Your Zenith 2008

Source: http://jec.senate.gov/index.cfm? o “… prices have

FuseAction=Press.PressReleases&ContentRecord_id=6b4999
1c-ebe1-24e9-f592-7f0f470f54fd skyrocketed.”
o “… families are struggling
to get by…”
How the Lingo Reveals the State
of the Individual Each of these statements reveals what
• Three lawmakers weighed in on many blue collar individuals and
the JEC document; Senator families are going through. They are
Charles E. Schumer, Chairman of struggling, their incomes are growing
the Joint Economic Committee smaller in proportion to their basic
(JEC), Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney, expenses, and they are living in
JEC Vice Chair, and Rep. Rahm economic times that inspire fear and
Emanuel, Chairman of the House uncertainty.
Democratic Caucus. They refer
to the current economic crisis in
terms that underscore the How People are Reacting
seriousness of the situation for October 7, 2008: Man Kills His Family
American families. The report and Himself Over Marketii
contains such phrases as… Unemployed businessman, Karthik
• Senator Schumer Rajaram, claiming his finances were
o “… families’ pockets have irreparably damaged due to the current
been picked at the national financial crisis, shot himself
grocery store, the gas and five family members. He wrote
pump, and each time they two suicide notes in which he indicated
make their home energy, that he had ““broken down
health care, and mortgage emotionally, physically and
payments.” financially.”
o “… unprecedented middle
class economic squeeze.” The American Psychological Association
o “… stark reality for middle (APA)iii reports that 8 out of 10 people
class families.” cite personal finances and economic
• Representative Maloney worries as the primary reason for their
o “Families are being stress. And, per the results of their
squeezed in a vise grip of annual survey, economic anxiety
stagnant wages and rising increased nearly 15% in the six months
prices for basic between August and September, 2008.
necessities.” The poll also indicates that women may
o “… tough for families to be having a harder time than men
make ends meet.” because of their generally lower
o “… drain on family economic placement.
budgets.”
The Great Depression. With the
• Representative Rahm
current economic climate bearing a
o “… smaller paychecks and
great resemblance to the economic
bigger bills.”
times of the Great Depression, it would

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Curt Canada, MSW
www.findingyourzenith.com 2
Finding Your Zenith
be a mistake not to learn from the
events of that era. Suicide rates rose
as the economy plummeted. Families
went hungry, lost their homes, their
livelihoods, and understandably reacted
in unpredictable ways.
In an article entitled, The Financial
Crisis and You, Washington Post writer,
Nancy Trejos, explores how the current
economic climate has resulted in
financial stress for many people. One
individual highlighted in the article
indicated that her IRA account balance
dropped by nearly $100,000.00.
Another individual took a three pronged
financial hit when investments in
IndyMac, American International Group,
and Washington Mutual, were affected
by recent economic setbacks. Others
are wary of purchasing homes,
investing money in stocks, and worry
about the future of jobs in disposable
industries such as travel and
entertainment.
The First Step Toward Recovery
Finding stability in an unstable
economy is far from easy. But one of
the primary factors in remaining
healthy, both physically and mentally,
is to put the blame where it belongs.
Many people make the mistake of
blaming themselves when economic
factors put too much pressure on them.
Individuals who are struggling
financially may tend to say things like
“I’m failing my family”, “I’ve lost all
our savings”, or “I can’t make it work”.
Note, the focus is on “I”. At the very
least, people are rethinking their nest
egg and worrying about how they will
juggle the expenses of the upcoming
holiday season with their current
Copyright ©2008 All Rights Reserved
Curt Canada, MSW
www.findingyourzenith.com
2008
economic pressures. The reality is that
the current economic crisis is not the
fault of any one individual. It is the
consequence of years of poor planning,
major financial mismanagement,
corporate greed, and just bad
economic times. The first step toward
creating a healthy personal balance is
to stop blaming yourself for any
economic hardships you might currently
be enduring. Blame is useless; action is
productive.
Creating Balance
One of the most neglected entities of a
financial crisis is the self. People forgo
personal balance at the expense of
their mental and physical health. In
these stressful economic times, it’s
important to take steps toward taking
care of yourself and your family
emotionally, physically, and financially.
To that end, make sure you take
advantage of one or more (or all!) of
the following tips to help you take care
of yourself and create a balance which
can make the difference between
feeling completely overwhelmed and
maintaining a healthy balance.
• Personal Growth and
Development
o Meditation. Whether it’s
in a group or individually,
a few minutes a day for
meditation can help you
3
Finding Your Zenith 2008
avoid the effects of
stress.
o Relaxation. Find a good
book to read, learn to
knit, or take a long,
relaxing bath. Whatever
you find relaxing, make a
promise to yourself to
spend time every day just
focusing on you.
o Avoidance. In most
instances, avoidance is
not a good thing.
However, make an effort
to avoid television and
news reports that
continuously harp on the
negatives of the economy.
o Make an appointment with
a Personal Growth Coach.
Here, you’re able to
create
strategies, goals, and
actions
plans that helps one
priortize
those things that are
most
important to them.
o Communication. Whether
it’s with a growth coach
or a friend or family
member, don’t hold it in.
Find someone to listen!
• Physical Health
o Schedule a physical. If
you’ve been putting it off,
now’s the time.
o Exercise. Exercise is one
of the best stress busters.
Create a routine, borrow a
tape, or just devote a half
hour a day at lunchtime or
after dinner for a walk
Copyright ©2008 All Rights Reserved
Curt Canada, MSW
www.findingyourzenith.com 4
alone or with someone
you enjoy being with.
o Eat right. We’re often so
swamped or stressed that
we forget to eat right.
Don’t skip meals,
remember breakfast, and
avoid caffeine and fast
foods.
o Get enough sleep. Most
people need an average of
eight hours a night.
Keeping to a reasonable
sleep schedule, even on
the weekends, can help
reduce stress.
o Watch your alcohol
consumption. Even If
you’re a social drinker,
don’t get carried away.
o You have to incorporate
laughter in the overall
equation of life which has
been known to reduce
stress
and lower one’s blood
pressure.
• Fiscal Health
o Coupons. One of the
latest benefits of the
financial crisis is groups of
people that interact
either in person or online
to exchange coupons.
Find a group near you or
create one of your own.
o Talk with a financial
advisor. A professional
can help you develop a
plan for the future that
takes into account your
own personal finances.
Finding Your Zenith 2008

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Curt Canada, MSW
www.findingyourzenith.com 5
Finding Your Zenith 2008

Finding Your Zenith

Our mission is to provide an environment where our clients can create, achieve,
evolve, and find ways in which to solve work/life balance issues, specific goal
attainment, and personal growth.

We provide a client-focused collaborative coaching environment tailored towards

strategies, goals, and actions you formulate because it's the results you realize most
important at the end of the day!

About the Author

Curt Canada has a Masters in Social Work from the University of Iowa,
Masters in Teacher Education from the American University in Washington
DC. Postgraduate Training from the Institute for Motivational Living ,The
Institute for Life Coach Training, and Continuing Medical Education from
Duke University School of Psychiatry .

Copyright ©2008 All Rights Reserved

Curt Canada, MSW
www.findingyourzenith.com 6
i
http://jec.senate.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=Press.PressReleases&ContentRecord_id=6b49991c-ebe1-24e9-
f592-7f0f470f54fd
ii
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/08/us/08slay.html?_r=1&ref=business&oref=slogin
iii
www.apa.org