As a psychologist, I naturally find myself observing people’s behavior — their choices, what they are saying, and how they are feeling.  And this is the case now, in the midst of the difficult economic times in which we find ourselves (I am consciously choosing not to use the term “financial crisis”.)

There are three core aspects to any situation that involves human perception and response:

• Reality.  What actually “is” — the facts of the situation. (Using a non-related example: the temperature — which is about 30 degrees F. on a mid March day.)
• Perceptions. How people perceive, view, and interpret the facts.  (Regarding the weather, it seems excessively cold and wintery for this time of year; especially since it was 70 degrees for a few days last week.)
• Reactions.  How people respond both to the reality and their perceptions of the situation — their opinions, feelings, and behaviors. (Many people are somewhat irritable, complaining of the cold [because “it should be warmer”], some people are going on trips to warmer climates.)

These issues are relevant to the current economic challenges we are facing.  First, we must ask ourselves: What are the facts?  Some include:  a) real estate values have dropped significantly (30%-50%) in the past six months;  b) stock values have also decreased significantly (40%-50%) and are the lowest level they have been in decades;  c) as a result of these two factors, individuals’ and families’ financial worth is far lower than it was this time last year;  d) numerous companies are laying off workers and unemployment is at 8%, also a high mark for recent years;  e) financial institutions and the credit market are stressed;  f) the Federal government is taking significant steps to try to rectify the situation.

The next two areas are where we as individuals, families, businesses, communities and a nation, can get “tripped up”, if we are not careful.

Two unhealthy responses to difficult situations include:

1. Ignoring the facts.  As Jim Collins emphasized in Good to Great, successful companies (and by inference, individuals, families, et al) need to brutally face the facts of reality.  Acting like “what is” really “isn’t”, doesn’t help.  Some people call this denial.
2. Panicking and making emotionally-based decisions.  Yes, these are difficult times.  Is it a “crisis”?  Maybe.  Time will tell.  But becoming frantic, making quick not-well-thought-through decisions is not a good strategy.  (Note that some people become paralyzed when they panic and “do nothing” — which may not be a helpful strategy either.)

So what are healthier ways to respond to the current situation (”healthier” as defined functionally by thoughts and actions that lead to survival and better functioning in the future):

• Pay attention to important facts, but don’t become overwhelmed with more information than you can process (and filter out extraneous “noise” — other people’s thoughts, feelings & reactions).  It is important for each of us to understand what is going on in our country, communities, and the world.  But Americans have become ‘news junkies’ and taken in more information than we can possibly manage, process, and respond to — especially on talk radio and cable TV news channels.  The basic facts are there and that is largely what we need to know.
• Make reasoned decisions that lower your exposure to the risks that you can manage.  Each of us can make some individual decisions that can help us manage our own risks — whether at an individual, family, or business level.  Steps like managing expenses more closely, not going into unnecessary debt, and taking advantage of purchasing opportunities due to the economic situation — all are reasonable steps.
• Be thankful and learn to be content.  Most of us are still in situations where we have jobs and income, a place to live, food on the table, and live in safety (I do not want to minimize those who are in more difficult circumstances, but these situations are still true for most Americans.) If this is true for you, be thankful.  There are billions in the world less fortunate.  Also, learn to be content with what you have — your job, your car, your life circumstances — versus focusing on what you wish was different or “what should have been.”
• Be gracious and generous to others.  Most of us know individuals, families and businesses who are struggling currently.  A trap that some fall into is to be judgmental of others — thinking that they are in their current circumstance because “they didn’t …” or “they shouldn’t have …”.  In some cases that may be true.  But in most cases, people are where they are due to many circumstances out of their control.  [In either case, how does it help them to judge them?]  We now have the opportunity to be warm, caring and supportive — and potentially to be generous in some way (maybe with our time, maybe by connecting them with a potential employer).
• Manage your own stress effectively.  Try to limit your exposure to negative spins on the current facts — anger, resentment and bitterness don’t lead to a healthy life.  Manage your own thoughts, worries and anxieties.  Exercise.  Sleep. Take time for re-energizing yourself.  Spend time with friends and family.  (All things that we know we should do.)

Just as many individuals recount some of the more difficult periods in their lives as the most rich and rewarding times, so we also have the opportunity to come through these current circumstances as stronger individuals, families, communities, and possibly, a stronger healthier nation.

So, “Carpe diem!” (along with grace and peace in your daily life and relationships).

Often, when talking to senior generation members within a family, we discuss how to transfer one’s values to the next generations.  Sometimes we are talking with parents in their 30’s, 40’s and early 50’s who are still raising their children and teenagers at home.  Other times we are talking to 50-60 year olds with young adult children out of the home.  And many times we are talking to older adults, from mid-60’s to 80’s who have the opportunity to impact their grandchildren’s lives.

Many times the term “mentoring” is used — the process of teaching and modeling various life principles in relationship to a younger family member.  Typically, I find that, although grandparents and parents of adult children want to mentor the next generations, most of the time that don’t really know what that looks like practically.  [In fact, part of the coaching I do with families is to help the senior generation explore this issue, develop a specific plan for mentoring their grandchildren, and help bring resources and structure to the process.]

As a parent of four older “children” (17 to 25 years old), I have had plenty of opportunities to make mistakes in the parenting process (my children would be glad to give some examples!)  And, as I look back over my life, I can see ways that I tried to teach or train various skills and character qualities that didn’t work so well (and I see other parents repeating my mistakes).

One basic mistake is to primarily drag them along with what I am doing and try to teach during this experience.  I say “primarily” because I do think there are times when children / grandchildren can (and should) “tag along”, and they can learn during this process.  This can include running errands, going shopping, working in the yard, doing projects around the house, helping someone else out, going with their parents to meetings or events of interest to the parent.  However, if this is the primary modality of teaching, I think the young person will lose interest, resent coming along, and eventually “shut down” relationally.

Generally speaking, I think it is far better to find ways to “enter into” your child’s or grandchild’s life — come along side and find a way to participate in what they enjoy and are interested in.

I see this even with really young children - two to five year olds.  Many times parents [read: dad’s] and grandparents want to “play with” the young child — but the adult wants to structure the activity in a way they think is best, or try to get the child to do something the adult thinks is a “good” educational activity (or something that will be “good for them”) rather than just getting on the floor and playing what the child wants to in the way the child wants to.  And then everyone gets frustrated when the child won’t do it the way the adult wants, or loses interest.

This occurs in school-aged children, and clearly with teens.  One way many dads try to “enter in” is by coaching the student’s sports team.  And that can be a really great way to experience life together — but it can also be a disaster if the parent becomes more focused on success / winning / achievement than on being together in the experience.

One approach we have had to parenting is to try to do fun things with our kids and invite their friends to come along — that way we get to know their friends, we get to observe how our kids interact and treat their friends, and we can have more input on what’s happening.  We had the opportunity to take kids waterskiing, have them to our place for bonfires or playing “Capture the Flag”.  And I happen to be known in our school circles as the dad who takes his teens out to “T.P.” or “fork” their friends (or teacher’s) homes.

The past few weeks I had the unique opportunity to participate in a high school musical production with my daughter, Lizz, who had a lead role.  Being in musicals is one of her favorite activities (and I had done some in high school and colllege), and when the director mentioned they needed an adult male for a cameo part, I thought it could be a neat way to “enter into” that part of her life for a while.  And it was.  I got to know a number of her friends better.  She and I had a shared life experience — including the anxieties of learning our lines, the joys and laughter during rehearsals, the spontaneous things that happen — and that you can only experience by “being there”, and the satisfaction of a performance well done.
Doing activities with your children and grandchildren is extremely rewarding — but is also costly — it takes time and you have to give up other activities or priorities in your life (remember, you can’t do everything).  But I think most parents and grandparents who make the investment, believe it was well worth it — we’ll have to wait to ask the kids and grandkids to see how it impacted them.

So, next time you are thinking about character development and training for the next generations in your family, I would encourage you to ask yourself:

How can I enter into what they are doing or interested in and have an impact by coming along side them?