I read a post on Integral Options Cafe that stated that between October 7, 2008 and February 19, 2009 would be the worst financial times ever. Maybe he’s trying to predict the next Great Depression, I have no clue. But I don’t care. I follow one rule of thumb in my life:

“The past is history, and tomorrow is a mystery. The present is a present. It’s a gift. Open it.” - Gurudev Shree Chitrabhanu

Gurudev Shree Chitrabhanu (Guruji) is my mentor and prominent leader in the Jain community. He has taught me to never fear what is in front of me, behind me, and beside me. Always be resilient in your motives, and never be attached to things you can not influence.

Kinda reminds me of that game ‘hot potato’. Got a bad stock? Why not pass it on to the next guy. Well, you remember in that game the potato kept going around and around in a circle? And guess what, every time you pass it off to someone else the chances of the potato coming back to you increase. When the music stops, guess who loses?Now, I’m sure I’m simplifying things. This whole problem was caused by a whole bunch of finance gurus who decided it was a great idea to give money to risky people, as long as the money was insured. And don’t even get me started on insurance.

Before this post turns into a useless rant, let me go back to my previous point. That quote up there is supposed to mean one thing: Focus on what you can today. If there is something that you can influence, then perform those actions that allows you to influence it. Is there something I can do to turn all this mess around? No. I honestly can not think of anything that I personally can do turn all this junk around. I can try to do what I do best: be a psychologist to people and help them calm down, but besides that, there’s not much I can do. What can you do?

Well, I think the worst thing we can do is to take preventive measures. Preventive measures are based on worry, and remember that we do not want to worry. We do not want to act out on fear and do something absolutely stupid. But once again, I’m not a finance guru and I’m not going to go there.

What can you influence?

It seems that people are so caught up with things that they can not influence but do not focus on things that are within their reach. I mean is Britney Spears’ life really that important to me? Am I missing something here? Seriously, please tell me if I am.

Here are three areas of my life where I regularly use this concept:

1. My Fitness- although I can not exactly control where my weight and bodyfat% goes, I can certainly influence it by consistently exercising and eating properly.
2. My Employment – I can not control where I get a job (except for when I get an offer, then I can choose), but I can influence it by consistently applying to positions which interest me.
3. My Family – I can not control my sister or my parents. They are human beings with their own thought processes. However, if I feel they are about to make a wrong move, I can certainly talk to them and attempt to influence their decision. After that, the game is their hands.

So, let me ask you, what can you influence?