Yes We Can Campaign

It has become such a motivational catch-cry “Yes We Can!"

A hallmark of the Barack Obama Presidential Campaign was the slogan "YES We Can!"

Since the history making Obama campaign numerous advertising agencies have jumped on the proverbial bandwagon and used it in their campaigns.

For instance the Chrysler Motor car subsidiary here in Australia has used a parody a caricature of the now cliché slogan 'Yes We Can’ in advertising a Jeep.'

I believe it is important not to lose sight of the important message of hope and strength that those three words can bring.

Why it is so easy in the face of what seems to be insurmountable challenges to give up to and wrongly accept that it is all too hard.

We need to put our difficulties in context. We are not living a sub Saharan African country mired in corruption and genocide. Sure there are major issues with health care and unemployment and global warming. Right? So what, all things considered we are in pretty good shape. Most people are living longer now than ever.

Provided you do things in moderation with a degree of prudence you can live a good life movie star or no movie star.

Moreover if you set a goal even small goal chances are if you stick to the strategy you will achieve it step by strep of course.

Look I know it so easy to get caught up in the negative feedback loop where one is blaming the government, big business just about everyone about the so called bad state we are in but hey is it really that bad?

Blame the government. Alternatively take charge of all your decisions and seek a way out of your situation by making positive goals.

Convert the goals into small steps and step by step proceed. This goal can be getting out of debt. It can be getting a job. It can be getting into university any one of a myriad of things. And I know that you know that you will feel better both physically and mentally when you get your self into a positive mindset of doing something for yourself. It need not be just for you can give by helping someone else do the same thing fro themselves. Just as bad news can spread like wildfire or the proverbial plague so too can positive Action for someone else catch on so everyone is going somewhere. Pay it Forward... Why not give it a try?

One of the things that stood out for me a few years ago was this. Now consider these circumstances. I was in a casual job that relied on a car. I was living in a large group share house that needed a car to get anywhere. It was about 20 kilometres from the nearest town. . The work was shift work and contractual so I could be called in at any time of day or night. In other words it was nigh impossible to get to the job without a motor vehicle.

Then my car is stolen.

I lose the contract and all of a sudden things spin out of control.

I have no livelihood and no prospect of buying another car.

Within weeks I find myself living in boarding house in another city and feeling and looking down and out. The other men in the boarding house have similar war stories to tell.

It becomes so easy to get into the negative feedback loop of regurgitating negative thought & feelings about the world and things in general.

You can go down to the local soup kitchen and get hooked into the negative depressive chatter that folks who are doing it tough get into. I got no money for booze cigarettes rent food. Blame the government. Alternatively take charge of all your decisions and seek a way out of your situation by making positive goals.

The only real way of breaking out of this cycle is to realise this come to terms with your situation and find ways and means of improving your circumstances. That is what I did and now I am a whole lot better off for the whole experience.