With so much going on in the world right now from Wall Street to Main Street, the ongoing war in Iraq, and the presidential election, it can be difficult to find the strength to shift your perspective from fear and dread to hope and optimism.

Today, Congress will vote on legislation to address the urgent needs in our financial system. Many argue that we do not need this fix, that “the markets” will sort this out, and that this crisis is simply “cyclical” in nature. After watching the market decline over the past few months, skyrocketing fuel prices, the failures of Lehman Brothers, AIG, and Wamu, and finally The Reserve money market funds share price “breaking a buck” (going below $1.00); my assessment is that these are far beyond normal, cyclical events.

In other words, yes Virginia (and everyone else), we do need help. The good news is that it’s coming.

This legislation will give us the flexibility to unclog our financial markets and to deliver the credit necessary for companies (both small and large) to operate. Further, it will change the recent focus of return of capital back to what it should be, return on capital. Does this hit the bottom line of Main Street (in other words, your bottom line)? You bet it does. In addition to the obvious, this is our chance to prove that America is the great investment we know it to be. For example, Warren Buffett believes in America. So much so that he made a $5 billion investment in Goldman Sachs. He turned what could have been Foldman Sachs (touche’ Jim Cramer) back into Goldman Sachs. He will make money because his focus is on the opportunity. Our focus should be on the opportunity too. There is a possibility that we too, the taxpayers, will actually make money from this, as well as a chance that we may establish additional markets connected with mortgages possessing a new found transparency. Finally, this is our golden opportunity to put the right regulation in place. Will there be even more opportunities? I think you know the answer.

Many are angry, and understandably so, that the warning signs were there, and suggestions were made to act, but somehow the messages were missed and the suggestions were ignored. What do you think the effect would be if the anger was our sole focus? From adversity arises opportunity-not that we wanted this much adversity. And…be mindful that this legislation is a great start, but it is not the magic bullet. We are not out of the woods just yet.

Okay, enough with the macro-level, let’s get to the micro-level. I really do have a point here. Just as the signs and messages were ignored leading the U.S. to its current crisis, the same could be occurring your life.

What messages or signals are you ignoring or missing in your life?

What actions do you need to take that you have been putting off?

For example, if the signals or actions are those of a health condition, and you are not taking the necessary steps for diagnosis or treatment, it could be as catastrophic on an individual level as the U.S. events mentioned above are on a macro-level. Perhaps you are simply ignoring or delaying decisions and actions that would move you forward at a faster pace and propel you into a future beyond your wildest expectations. Regardless, take care of yourself by paying attention!

The key here is to remember that when we are being challenged to face the truth about our lives, to acknowledge what’s working and what isn’t, and to have the courage to make the necessary changes to live a more authentic life, we often emerge in one of two ways:

Fight mode, which is catabolic and usually represents fear.

Flight mode, which is defined in this newsletter as being anabolic, and involves accepting what is and making the necessary changes to move onward and upward.

In Energy Leadership, we connect emotions like anger, fear, and guilt with low levels (1 or 2) or CATABOLIC or negative and destructive energy. Keep in mind that every level of energy can and does serve us. These emotions, despite being catabolic, all carry a message. Until their message is heard, they will keep knocking at the door of our consciousness. For example, fear is usually conveying the message of a need to prepare or to be aware of something. Guilt is usually a message that we violated our own rules. It’s not the message; it’s what we do with the message that counts.

A shift from catabolic energy to anabolic energy becomes possible the minute that we focus on the lesson or the message behind the emotion; rather than being stuck in it or past-focused. The key here is that when we ask the right question it becomes easier to determine action that will move us beyond the emotion and toward the future. Think of it this way, operating in a catabolic state is like driving with the emergency brake on. Take the emergency brake off by asking the right question.

So what is the right question? It is the one that leads you to a solution. For example, instead of asking “Why does this always happen to me?” ask, “How can I fix this situation and enjoy the process?”

For example, when I was in the investment business, we used a concept with customers called the “sleep factor”, meaning that if their investments were keeping them up at night, the message was that their investments were probably too aggressive. The call to action was for them to change the way they were invested. Often, once the customer took action and changed the investments to a more conservative mix, they were able to sleep again! However, if they didn’t take the action to change their investments, they were stuck with their past investment decisions and remained in a state of insomnia.

Your potential is far more than you’ve exercised so far. One way that you can change your perspective is by focusing on your strengths rather than your weaknesses. Quit rehashing where you came from and get excited about where you want to go. Just as it was imperative for those in Congress to change their focus from past to future to get us to the next level, it is imperative that you do the same to get yourself to the next level.

Your relationship with yourself is the most important relationship in your life. Giving yourself the permission to love yourself and doing so is the foundation of excellent self-care. Being truthful to yourself builds upon that foundation and allows you to bring your best self to the world. Simply put, if you can’t love yourself, you can’t love anyone else. The same goes for honesty and so on.

Love yourself by practicing excellent self-care. This begins with looking for the messages in your life, extracting the meaning, and by making the decisions necessary to propel yourself in the direction of your dreams.