Something that far too many of us forget about is that life has it’s and downs. It is also fair to say that human nature causes us to dwell on the downs more than the ups. That is after all only natural. When things are going well, we can get on with our lives with no obstacles in our way and end up forgetting what we have experienced on a day-to-day basis. On the flip side when times are bad we are forced to address issues we’d rather not, thus making us think about them more. Out desire to be rid of these obstacles results in us obsessing about them and letting them have a negative affect on our quality of life.

Despite all this doom and gloom, one often overlooked fact remains - we have a lot more good times then bad.

Given enough time bad ‘things’ fade away, they get resolved, or something happens to stop it being an issue anymore. True, there are some bad things that happen that can take an age before they stop affecting you, for example the death of a loved one, but most people still do get over things like that eventually.

You can’t have failed to notice that the world’s financial system is teetering on the edge of total collapse, or so the media tells us. True, things are really bad and it could affect any one of us. Unless you are lucky enough to have a huge wedge of cash safely tucked away somewhere, no one’s job or home is safe. The fear of this happening can really impact on your quality of life.

Despite all this a gentleman should be a realist, assess the situation and realise that no matter how bad things get, they will get better. We’ve had really bad recessions before (the  1930s were no picnic) and the world has recovered from each one. This time around things will be no different.

Instead of worrying about what might happen a true gentleman will start preparing for the worst, so he can provide for himself and his family. How he might prepare is beyond the scope of this article, what matters is that he makes the effort and doesn’t let such worries affect his daily life. Of course, if the worst does happen the true gent will work like a trooper to resolve the problem as quickly as possible without bemoaning his lot in life. At the end of the day it is our actions, words and deeds that have the biggest impact on our quality of life.

Although I use the current financial crisis as an example, the lessons can be applied to just about any problem you might encounter. Just remember, no matter how bad things get they will get better and all you need to do is stay positive, be prepared and work hard to make things better.