102: What are YOU going to do about it?

Ever been paralyzed with fear about a situation you're facing? Ever been stuck in a loop of complaining about what's happening in life? Let's talk about an important question we can all ask ourselves that helps us live a solution based life. Listen to the podcast by pressing the play button on the black bar above. All episodes are linked under the podcast tab that you can find way at the top of this post in my menu bar.  You can also listen and subscribe to my Farmish Kind of Life podcast at iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, PlayerFM, and other popular podcast players.  Solution-based life: Stop complaining. There's something that happens when enough people get together in conversation: they eventually find something they can agree to be angry about and then they complain. I don’t have to give you examples of this because I guarantee you can see it going on around you, even if you’re not a part of it yourself. But you probably are a part of it—at least occasionally—because it's so easy to get sucked in. Conversations focused on what’s wrong and what apocalypse is coming next get us all fired up. In a strange way, they even make us feel good—righteous and validated. But they generally don't do anything to change the situation. Information overload  In today's world, we have access to information 24-7, sometimes only seconds after something has happened. The problem with everyone having so much access to information is that people think if they know about it, they can do something about it. With our globally connected world, we have come to imagine we can do stuff about the problems happening everywhere. Y’all, we can’t. There are issues in this world that are too big for you to take on.  Now, that’s not an excuse to throw up your hands and do nothing about everything, but it is a dose of reality to say this is something I have control over and this is something that's way too big for me. Believe me, the smaller things are where we need to start. Start small. Look around. What can you do? A lot of people have talked about what's coming down the pipe. The phrase "coming economic depression" is even being thrown about. Sometimes the problem can feel overwhelming, as in holy moly, I think there might be an economic depression coming and I don’t know how to deal with that. You need to break it down. What can I do right now? What can I do right here? If you are standing in your kitchen, your yard, your barn, garden, or shed, look around. What can you do right here to make life better today, tomorrow, or a year from now? You have options. Be creative. Dig in. If you are second guessing your financial stability, start small. Trying to attack your mortgage payment might be too overwhelming for your mind right now. Start small. For instance, go through all those extras that are coming out of your bank/PayPal every month—you might be surprised at what you find—and cancel them. Yes, the box subscriptions, Amazon Unlimited, Audible are cool. But does the cost work for you right now? And do you actually even use them? (Ahem, speaking to myself—the gal who has every intention of reading all the books via Amazon Unlimited but never sits down to read. C-a-n-c-e-l.) (Looking for a much deeper financial/frugal living conversation? Check out my book: It's Not About Money...except when it is.) I've heard people are worried about getting chicks next year. But hey, you’ve got chickens and an incubator! Hatch out some chicks and sell them to friends and family. Sure, they might be mixed breed. But if there is a chick shortage, a mixed breed that will lay I-don’t-know-what-color-eggs is gonna be better than not being able to get any chicks at all. People are talking about seed shortages. Y’all, are you saving your seeds? If not, now is the time to explore this. Not only will it help you out, but it might help your friends. You can give them away, sell them, or use them to trade/barter.