2008 - A Look Ahead

This year is going to be dreadful you know. There will be a recession, bird flu will finally hit North America and Europe, the housing market will slump even further, homicide rates will rise by record amounts and Jack Bauer will get killed in the 17th hour of 24 leaving the last 7 hours somewhat anti-climatic. On top of that, there will be record amounts of tropical storms and hurricanes, the Internet will grind to a halt after a terrible virus wreaks havoc and Simon Cowell will start being nice to the incompetents on American Idol and Pop Idol.

It’s all true because I have either heard it or read it on the Internet. Well maybe not the Simon Cowell bit, but c’mon I need some artistic license here people.

What if it were all true though? What if I slipped into my pointy soothsayer hat, rubbed my crystal balls, cackled a bit and discovered that indeed all of the above events were going to happen in 2008, then what?

Well not much really.

I’m a life coach so I don’t know much about beating off recessions, shoring up housing markets or stopping people from interacting with badly bronchial birds.

The fact is that there will be misery aplenty in the world this year because there is misery aplenty in the world EVERY year. There will be death and illness, people will lose their jobs and industries will go into decline. Marriages will break up, hungry Alligators will eat cute puppy dogs and the Patriots will probably win the Superbowl.

However, most of the bad stuff that will happen will be so far out of your circle of influence that you would need to the Hubble telescope to spot it. So why even bother trying? Is it really worth focusing on things that will undoubtedly make you feel miserable?

What will also happen this year is that innumerable people will make lots of money (yes, even in the housing market!), countless others will get married and be blissfully happy, an incalculable amount will have great years and millions upon millions wont get sick or have their houses repossessed! How amazingly cool is all that and how come it isn’t making front-page news? That’s a rhetorical question by the way; I think we all know the answer.

You can set off into the New Year thinking that you are doomed before you get going and that life will be one tough slog and guess what? It probably will be. Alternatively, you can set off thinking “Brilliant! A new year, a new opportunity, I intend to have the best year of my life and nothings going to stop me not even that scrawny coughing bird that the dog brought home to play with”