Wake up and smell the coffee

This week, Adlai Wertman, a professor at USC’s Marshall School of Business, wrote a post about how the growing numbers of unemployed upper-middle class and rich people could be a good thing. These are highly-skilled laborers that could put their capabilities and resources to good use: volunteering and assisting charities. While not generating any monetary income, opportunities exist for these individuals to work out their professional muscles by giving back. A good idea that I’m sure most will embrace in theory but no one will try out or take on.

When we’re down, that’s the time we most need to work out, eat right, and get out of the house. But it’s also the time we’re least likely to. Whether we're talking about how to function in winter or during unemployment, these are the times we most need to bolster our mood, our emotional health, but the times we’re most likely to sulk, wallow, and let the situation exacerbate itself. We actually sit there and watch it grow, getting worse by the hour and day, knowing we need to act, but becoming increasingly paralyzed by our fears. I’m sure it would help, just like working out when it’s grey and cold outside can really mitigate the despair of winter, but people are going to come up with excuses why they can’t. “I don’t want to promise something I can’t keep. What if I get a job in three months?” “I can’t get sidetracked. I need to devote my time to searching for a job. In an economy like this, you need all the time—40 hours a week—to look for a job.” I appreciate Mr. Wertman’s point, but it is an ideal that will never be realized. It’s the quintessential thing you say to someone when they’re down and feeling overwhelmed by the state of things. You say, “Hey, this could be a good thing! You could turn it into something positive!” as they sink lower into the sofa cushions.