The Worst Decade Ever?
Happy New Year to each and every one of you.
With the recent arrival of our new baby boy, my wife and I decided it would be a neat idea to keep a newspaper from his date of birth, and some magazines about the era in which he was born. As I was looking through a stack of magazines lying around the house, I came across the latest Time. On the cover, it boldly read: The Decade From Hell.
Do I really want my son to know he was born in the decade from hell?
I know…a lot of devastating things have happened in the past 10 years. The media has been really helpful in pointing those things out and bringing back the memories of those terrible events in magazines and articles such as this. My heart and prayers go out to all of those who were affected by these events.
But what about all of the good things that have happened? What about all of the opportunities that have been made available to us within the past 10 years? What about all of the people who have been able to speak their voice and change lives, including their own, in ways that were never possible until now? For those people, the people who’ve taken advantage of those opportunities and have taken action – the past 10 years may have been the best decade ever, not the worst.
So, when my son is old enough to ask about what was going on in the world at this time, this is what I’m going to say:
“Son, the first 10 years of the year 2000 were tough for many people. A lot of terrible things happened, things that people had no control over. But a lot of good things happened too. This was the time when I was able to start my own business, right from the very house I was living in. This was the time when I was able to be heard all around the world, just from writing words on a blog. This was the time when I learned that if you put in the hard work now, good things will happen to you later. That’s how I was able to marry someone as beautiful as your mom, which resulted in the best thing that has ever happened to me in my life. You.”
Posted on : January 1st, 2010
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24 Comments (Click Here to Leave a Comment Below)
Very well put Pat… I feel the same way about my twin boys. It’s been difficult but some really amazing things happened over the past 10 years.
And even more AMAZING things will happen over the next 10.
Happy New Years my friend…
Indeed, Jason. Let’s make the next decade even better
I couldn’t have said it any better, Pat. Life is what we make it, and I choose to make it extraordinary.
Happy New Year!
Life is definitely what you want it to be. Cheers Dustin, and Happy New Year back at you!
Very sweet!
Great insight Pat. The view can be positve or negative. Both are correct, but which view draws the best energy? I won’t forget the bad, but I won’t let it draw a sorrowful future! Cheers to the next ten years!
What you’re going to tell your son is just beautiful.
I, too, don’t get the whole “Decade from Hell”.
Couldn’t we say that about all the decades? Were the 90’s that much better (or worse). We went through a major recession and had wars, then, too.
Bad things happen every single day and every year. Good things happen every single day and every year. Let’s focus on the good things and forget the bad.
Some great things happened during the 2000s for me, as well.
Congratulations on the birth of your son
Karen
Love it! And agree–the media way overplays the negative side of things.
-Erica
Sure politically and financially the majority of the decade sucked, but life is not all about money or politics. I am please and blessed to have awoke everyday to have an opportunity shape my destiny, no sour grapes here.
Thank you for this positive post!
Happy New Year!!!!
Pat,
John Milton, the blind classical English poet wrote:
“The mind is its own place, and in itself, can make heaven of Hell, and a hell of Heaven.”
The last decade – and that before us – are what we make of them.
Post came from heart. Really loved the last paragraph of this post. Why don’t you try for dialog writing in Hollywood. No seriously you are very good at delivering the idea/thoughts.
Wish you best of luck for another decade.
Azad Shaikh
http://www.internetgeeks.org
We just found out 3 days ago, we’re heading for Baby #2. Funny thing, she(hopefully) is coming the same time as Daughter #1. Yeah it’s been a crappy year and decade, but that which hasn’t killed my business makes it stronger.
Happy New Year Pat. Let’s do coffee sometime, I’m in San Diego, Talmadge actually.
Perhaps you can teach your child about history. The last decade was a absolute dream compared to the 1940s where half of the decade involved most of the western world and Asia in war, in the 1910’s when the war to end all wars happened, the 1930s which saw a real depression.
The last decade has seen a whole new world develop as the Internet oped up (blogging hardly existed in 2000), who had a cell phone in 1999? Our standard of living has never been higher – but we have extremely short memories.
Congratulations on your new baby!
M
Sure, a lot of bad stuff happened in this past decade, but a lot of bad stuff happens all the time and has always happened.
The only thing that changed is where, how and how much we communicate about these things.
Just combine the fact that nothing gets attention like news of a terrible event and tragic personal stories with the fact that in the last ten years, out ability to receive and spread any and all kinds of news all over the world has sky-rocketed. That’s your explanation for the “decade from hell” right there.
If you look at what we take for granted nowadays and what possibilites are open to us, I think it’s safe to say that the past few years have been the best ones in the history of humanity. And while bad stuff is still happening, we’re definitely moving towards greater and greater betterment.
We (who have Internet access, at least) are a far cry from squatting in the mud, doing back-breaking work all day and being cold all winter, just to die horribly from some illness we don’t know anything about.
In terms of time, you don’t have to go very far back to see the above being the norm.
/rant
All the best with your boy, Pat.
Cheers,
Shane
Hi Pat,
Sometimes the media portrays negative news because negative news sell. But we do have the choice to choose which side of the coin we want to look at. I believe you have chosen to look for opportunities instead of crisis and this may be the main reason of why you have successfully created a business right in your home.
Cheers,
Vincent
Very interesting, as I have been in deep thought on this specific topic for the last month (still am in ‘philosopher’ mode as we speak).
For myself, the last 10 years have been challenging… I could easily use a word like worst, horrible, sucks, etc. — but the true optimist in myself knows to avoid such terminology.
I believe some say ‘the worst decade’ because:
1. Negativity sells more easily over positive (I wish it was the opposite)
2. 2009 was the most difficult/least enjoyable year — therefore it is the most current mood in one’s state of mind. Thus, as humans, we are quick to categorize the immediate feelings with the overall whole.
For myself, I know that the next 10 years will be better, and that is why I seem to think that this last decade as ‘bad’.
As well, what happens is that monumental/significant topics on life, like this one, get’s easily misrepresented with opinions, and there is never a true right or wrong.
so what we need to do is instead is turn our focus on eliminating negative aspects of the last decade & more importantly: of our lives, and focus on the promise of the future — and the only way of doing this is what I have personally coined this new decade as ‘the time of action’. (I made the new blog above, and i’ll go into much more detail with this topic ;P)
Thanks for the allowance of a ramble, so glad to see someone else in this world having a similar thought!
Great post pat!
Pat, it’s true, unfortunately, that the news industry makes a living through negativity. That’s why it’s so important to connect with the winners here and elsewhere. Our perceptions too often govern our reality: I choose realstic (and sometimes idealistic) optimism. Your blog looks fantastic: thanks for the value, inspiration, and motivation your deliver!
What a beautiful way to start out a fresh new year. Congrats and take care.
Judy
jcleery on twitter
Totally agree with this post! Unfortunately the media’s purpose is for ratings and people unfortunately like negative news. It’s part of human nature.
I just reflected on my previous ten years for myself personally and I had a lot of great things happen to me (and now family):
http://investorjunkie.com/2010-is-here-wheres-the-monolith
Personally for me it’s been a GREAT 10 years, even with the many bad things happening in the world and a few bad things that happened in my personal life.
That’s a very nice passage Pat. I think I would do the same for my one year old son. I have started my blog lately and I know it’s going to be hard work. but as you’ve encouragingly said, good things will happen to me later. I know I will because that’s the nature of success.
I wish you more success in this coming decade.
Pat
Hey Buddy it’s Curtis from the old sustainablecoin… RIP. (by way of intheleed)
I was in my bank yesterday and saw that same issue sitting on the waiting area coffee table. I decided to not even flip it open… instead I picked up the issue of Money which featured an article… 5 Ways to Increase Your Income in 2010. That’s how I chose to start my decade…lol.
BTW, congrats on the baby! My son was born on Dec 21st at 10:19pm!! Luvin it but if you’re like me… you’re running on 2-3 hours of sleep at a time.
RE follow me:
https://twitter.com/eclecticpup
Yeah, I have to agree that would be one sucky thing to have to let your child know, that they were born in the worst decade ever. I think there have been worst though in my opinion.
Pat, I have to agree with you. I myself have experienced difficult times, but really some great things have happened too. I had my daughter in 2000 and my youngest son in 2005, I moved to Florida for 4 years and gained enough knowledge about real estate that it has led to my current career. I would not be able to be a real estate virtual assistant if it weren’t for that, and even though we are now back in Ohio, I’m glad that the past 10 years and all the ups and downs have happened. You might also remind Keoni that difficult times are some of the best times to learn and grow. Look what happened to you when you were laid off. What a fantastic way to learn and grow!