Why A Recession Is Good For Us
Thursday, May 22, 2008 Posted by Christina
The media is expounding its gloom and doom depressing recession talk, and it's got me thinking.
There are some good things that come out of a recession:
Recessions force us to think. When the housing market is lousy or when we fear potential job layoffs, we make more calculated decisions. When gas prices sky rocket, we must make some decisions about our driving habits. We're forced to consider what things are "wants" and what are "needs." We're forced to consider our values and determine what our goals are. We're forced to get creative to make our dollars last.
Recessions help us to conserve. When the economy is bad, we're more likely to do things that will help us conserve our resources. We may cut back on driving. We cook our own meals. We may start using CFLs to save money on our electric bills. We recycle things. We fix things. We borrow and lend things.
Recessions inspire us to save money. We look at ways to eliminate our debts, to earn more money, and to make our money go further. We prepare for that rainy day because we can see the clouds on the horizon.
Recessions foster stronger communities. When times are tough, it's harder to buy gadgets and toys and go on vacations. Recessions help us find inexpensive, local activities to participate in. We get to know our neighbors and spend more time with our families. During recessions, we also are reminded that others may be having a hard time, and seek ways to help them, because we know what it feels like to struggle.
No one likes a recession, that's for sure. But during a recession there is potential for personal growth, innovation, and kindness that doesn't always appear when times are good.
There are some good things that come out of a recession:
Recessions force us to think. When the housing market is lousy or when we fear potential job layoffs, we make more calculated decisions. When gas prices sky rocket, we must make some decisions about our driving habits. We're forced to consider what things are "wants" and what are "needs." We're forced to consider our values and determine what our goals are. We're forced to get creative to make our dollars last.
Recessions help us to conserve. When the economy is bad, we're more likely to do things that will help us conserve our resources. We may cut back on driving. We cook our own meals. We may start using CFLs to save money on our electric bills. We recycle things. We fix things. We borrow and lend things.
Recessions inspire us to save money. We look at ways to eliminate our debts, to earn more money, and to make our money go further. We prepare for that rainy day because we can see the clouds on the horizon.
Recessions foster stronger communities. When times are tough, it's harder to buy gadgets and toys and go on vacations. Recessions help us find inexpensive, local activities to participate in. We get to know our neighbors and spend more time with our families. During recessions, we also are reminded that others may be having a hard time, and seek ways to help them, because we know what it feels like to struggle.
No one likes a recession, that's for sure. But during a recession there is potential for personal growth, innovation, and kindness that doesn't always appear when times are good.
May 22, 2008 5:42 PM
Amazing perspective!
May 22, 2008 6:37 PM
I totally agree with you. I keep hearing all this dour news, but I see so many positives. I feel like my social networks are stronger since people are staying home more and we're sharing more via carpools, coming up with our own indoor activities, etc. It also reminds you to do the old-fashioned things with your kids (play outside, play board games, make projects out of "junk") instead of heading to the mall or anything else that costs money.
May 23, 2008 5:51 AM
what a great way to think!
:)
May 23, 2008 12:05 PM
Yes, this is not the end of the world but the beginning of new perspectives. Hooray for the glass half full!
May 28, 2008 9:12 AM
I am so with you on this one! Its like the recession is a giant reset button- to get those who have been screwing up with over use of easy credit, not budgeting, etc to WAKE UP.
Sadly, more still needs to be done to get back on track with normalizing credit, the mortgage messes, etc since so much has been deregulated to where the superfinanciers are making money hand over fist off the backs of those who played the credit games too long.
May 28, 2008 11:01 AM
I could not agree more! Thanks for explaining so clearly and logically that a recession is not all doom and gloom. :)
May 31, 2008 4:06 PM
I love this post, I am going to link to it. :0)
July 29, 2008 4:27 PM
I love this post. You put it all together so well. I have never seen your blog, but I googled "upside recession" or something to see if anyone was addressing what I had been thinking, and I ended up here. I have made changes in my life that, far from making me feel deprived, have made me much happier, and I think that many people will feel the same -- relieved to have to curb their driving and shopping behavior and find things to do that they thought they never had time for before.
October 22, 2008 3:26 PM
Hello! I saw your link on Smart Spending, and decided I'd rather leave a comment here! My husband and I have been saying for awhile that the current situation is (in our opinion) more of a return to normal than a crisis. Things got so very out of control, now life is getting back to reality. I have sympathy for people whose situation is truly bad, but I think most people may benefit from the lessons learned at this time.
May 9, 2009 7:23 AM
Excellent post, it really put what I was thinking into words.
During this recession I have WAY more money than I did before it. The reason is, whenever I hear something negative I look for ways to prove the nay sayers wrong. I make more money, work less, and on a weekly basis spend much less than before.
I'm going to Hawaii in two weeks and flying first class. Last year at this time I couldn't have flown coach. I'm thankful for the recession for changing my way of thinking.