Saturday, March 7, 2009

The Blame Game

The angry mob is seeking culprits. The game of politics is hot as ever. Rush Limbaugh has resurfaced as the Republican hero. Obama is now to blame for this whole crisis. Those with financial losses are seeking someone to blame. The great financial maestro, Alan Greenspan, is finally losing some luster. My neighbor recently said "if the damn media would stop talking about negative things, everything would be okay".......Really?

The mortgage crisis is a great microcosm to examine. The individuals who now have mortgages resetting to higher rates are "playing the victim". We were all participants in the mortgage game. The refinancing, the home equity loans.....we all played the game in some fashion. When the tide is rising, we're happy participants, but when it lowers we seek someone other than ourselves to blame. As they say, "it takes two to tango". We've done the tango in many arenas since 1982. We've participated in a system, and all participants should accept responsibility. Our actions resemble someone with a massive hangover blaming the bartender. The bartender served up what we ordered. Lets face it, hangovers are unpleasant and they last for some time. Rarely, do we gain wisdom after the hangover. History proves that we immediately seek the next party (e.g. Dotcom party ends, real estate party begins).

In a recent issue, Time Magazine generated a Top 25 list of who to blame. Blame typically is a process where one releases themselves of personal responsibility.

Save yourself some time and negative energy. Fly your helicopter above "the noise", and seek a higher understanding of what is transpiring. Assess the situation and try to understand the potential outcomes. What are the probabilities of each? How will each one impact me personally? What can I do to improve the situation for myself, my family, and my friends? This approach will result in a much different feeling. Instead of the "blame game", you can focus on the "solution game".


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