Doing "Enough" in Down Times

Having reached an age at which I have been through more than a few economic downturns — and subsequent upturns — I have always found it challenging to manage my way through these difficult periods.

What often happens is that we discover that we are working harder, yet end up with lesser results than we are used to. That subsequently gives rise to an inner feeling that we're just not doing enough, even though we're working harder than ever.

However, how we feel about the situation isn't necessarily representative of what's actually going on. We end up with a bit of cognitive blindness as we only look at our diminishing returns on our effort expended without adding context to them, that is, the context of the greater world being in the middle of a major downturn.

I look at my eBay business at the moment and realize that I'm working harder than ever and putting in more hours than ever and yet my sales are declining. But in this instance, there's nothing wrong with my business, there's something wrong with the world.

Of course, having this information doesn't necessarily help you pay your electric bill because it's due, no matter what the greater world is doing. But it does help us not get down on ourselves.

Here in the USA, tax season is upon us, with the annual personal tax reports being due on April 15th. As I muddle my way through the process, I find it amazing (and a little distressing) that I live in the lowest income bracket, yet I will still end up owing taxes... even in this country that offers virtually no social support systems, and I'm stuck with the suspicion that my tax dollars will just go to buy guns and bombs for a war I did not approve...

The so-called system doesn't really care whether we're doing well or not doing well — it simply keeps demanding its proverbial pound of flesh. And if you happen to be among those who are not doing well it can become a real struggle. And that is when I sometimes feel like I'm just not capable of doing enough.

And yet?

Down times are often the best times for growth, because so many people end up just giving up, so you end up sharing the "pool" with fewer people. And when the difficult times end, you have an advantage because you already have your base built while everybody else is starting from scratch.

It is that last bit of information that often inspires me to keep going when it feels like no matter how much effort I put into things, and how much it feels like I'm not doing enough, things still aren't getting better.

This could even be applied to something like maintaining a blog, or a monetized website. It may feel like your returns are diminishing, but that's even more reason to keep going because more and more people will decide that it's just not worth their while. If you, on the other hand, decide that it is worth your while you will have an advantage over the competition.

Of course, we should never lose sight of the fact that "doing enough" is very much an individual judgment call.

Thanks for stopping by, and have a wonderful weekend!

How about YOU? How do you handle difficult times? Do you work harder, or do you work about the same as during good times? Why were you so certain... and did you turn out to be right? Leave a comment if you feel so inclined — share your experiences — be part of the conversation!

(All text and images by the author, unless otherwise credited. This is ORIGINAL CONTENT, created expressly for this platform — Not posted elsewhere!)

Created at 2026.04.03 17:58 PST
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