COMMENTARY ON THE NEW YEAR : Positive Thinking Can Make 1991 Problems Ancient History : We solve difficulties by controlling how we feel and how we see ourselves in the daily situations arising in our lives.

For many families, 1991 was a traumatic year. We began the year with Operation Desert Storm. We all felt the effects of the increased sales tax, unemployment and layoffs. As Orange County is a community largely dependent on revenue from the depressed industries of construction and aerospace, we have seen no relief from the recession.

Home sales in Orange County are flat. Consumer buying is down, and it does not look as if economics are going to change for several months. Our sports teams--the Angels and Rams--had dismal seasons. Then came the sad disclosure from Magic Johnson that he is HIV positive. Those people who had not been previously affected by acquired immune deficiency syndrome were suddenly experiencing it firsthand. The cumulative effect of all these things has left many Orange County residents reeling.

With people having had a difficult year, it is hard for many not to carry over their worries into 1992. After all, the recession, layoffs, and illness all continue to exist. They did not go away at the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve.

The key to a better 1992 lies in putting aside our worries and keeping ourselves and our outlooks positive. Many of us have difficulty staying positive, because we feel that our difficulties are beyond our control. This makes us feel powerless, ineffective and hopeless. Power is not, however, control over events or control over others. Power is control over ourselves. We demonstrate our power by controlling how we feel and how we see ourselves in the situations we are in.

To start 1992 on a positive note, we can take charge of our self-esteem so we can be more effective in creating a change in our own lives. This can be accomplished by: not taking events personally; changing our focus from negative to positive, and taking action to help create change in our lives.

I have heard many people say: “I just get through one trauma when something else happens. What am I doing to deserve all these problems?” Many of us take the things that happen to us in a very personal way. Instead of focusing on the things we learn, we allow a negative turn of events to consume our every thought. Not recognizing that unexpected things sometimes happen and assuming that we can handle hard times, we begin to think that we have done something wrong that has caused the negative event. Unfortunately, in doing this, we not only have to work through difficult times, but we also have a hopeless attitude, which affects every area of our lives.

If we are to maintain a positive attitude in 1992, it is important not to take our current life events personally. The recession, layoffs and illness are not punishments for something we have done wrong; they are just events that occur because we are living in these particular times. By not taking these events personally, we free ourselves up for problem-solving. We also recognize that our current problems are not happening to us alone. This keeps us from feeling isolated and gives us the freedom to create different outcomes.

Taking charge of ourselves also means that we have to change our focus and stop worrying. It has been estimated that most human beings have an average of 60,000 thoughts a day. Most of those thoughts (95%) are “reruns” from the previous day. This means that we exert much of our thinking power and energy on the past rather than creating solutions for the future.

To redirect your thinking energy toward problem solving, take some positive actions.

List your accomplishments. Include some of the past problems you have worked your way through. A piece of paper with all those accomplishments can constantly remind you that you have survived difficult times--and can do so again. This will give you confidence to begin to look for solutions.

Remember that problems don’t last. Economic ups and downs have been a part of history throughout the ages. Others before you have survived them. You will too.

Keep track of positive actions. In this way you focus on what you are doing, not on what the problems are. This helps you come up with more creative solutions. It also is somewhat reassuring. When you have a list of actions that you have taken, even if you don’t know yet what the outcome is, you can reassure yourself that you have taken some steps to turn things around.

When people are depressed about their economic or personal tragedies, they often miss obvious opportunities to turn the situation around because they do not see those opportunities or they believe that anything they try will turn out badly. If we are to feel positive about ourselves, we need to leave no stone unturned and continue to make efforts to make things better. The recession is not our enemy--fear is.

The recession, layoffs, illnesses and unemployment are all going to continue to exist in 1992. Friendship, caring, and opportunities to enjoy our outdoors exist right along with them. The choice of which you focus on and how you invest your energy is up to you. If we all decide to focus on what is positive in the world around us, we can become more effective problem solvers.

The year 1992 represents something new for all of us: an opportunity to make a choice. We can either be negative and fall prey to fears about the worst possible thing that can happen--or we can choose to be positive and solve problems. The choice is ours.