What had happened to our misfortuned classmates last November 6 at Iloilo City is a very clear representation of a circumstances beyond our control.
Despite what you have been reading and seeing in the news, we are not approaching the end of the world. There's no question that there are serious, confusing and distressing times. Sometimes it feels as if chaos has gained the upper hand.
Just like you, we nurses do not know what the near-term future holds. The rapidly unfolding economic events this year have baffled many of the country's best brains. Entire books could be written to give us perspective we need right now. But we don't have time to write those books, and you don't have time to read them.
Instead, we want to offer a litttle straight talk among our friends who share common concerns. We have three basic messages. First, these are not the worst times ourselves have experience. Second, we have no reason to change the advice we have been giving ourselves for many years. Third and the most important, there are steps you can take to make things better for yourself and your future.
On the other hand, many parts of our lives are in our control. We control how we invest and wether we diversify well. We control wether we have and follow a sensible long-term plan that recognizes the fact that things will go wrong from time to time. We can avoid the urge to panic when we dont have money and equally compelling temptation to buy wildly if we have a lot in hand.
Apart from our investment choices, we can control how much money we spend and how much money we borrow. We can control what we expect and demand from the world. We can control the values by which we live our lives. This is especially important. In Fact, our non-tangible assets may be our most important assests. Values like courage, compassion, patience, hope, determination and resilience can help a lot as we navigate challenging times as well as good ones. People who regularly nuture and express such non-tangible assets have an edge in life that cannot be erased by anybody.
My bottom-line advice is simple. Invest wisely, live fully, and believe faithfully in God. If you do those three things, the future holds much that is worth looking forward to.
