Why those who work in the mining industry deserve a gold medal for what some have endured in the past 5 years. Why thinking like a Pragmatic Optimist, not a Pesky Pessimist will yield more.
Only a few days ago we loaded the following survey poll to our website home page.
The results were staggering in that more than 9 out of every 10 people who visited our site and answered the question have seen their finances affected negatively by the recent industry downturn!
This was a material sample with in excess of 150 people answering the poll within three days of it being posted!
I don’t want to dwell on the negatives here as we all, already know that it has been a tough recent period for large sections of the mining industry and so seeing this incredible number made me wonder:
'How do we all endure through such times?'
The answer of course in a highly cyclical industry like mining is different for everyone, however I suspect some common characteristics of those who endure through such periods would be to:
- Give thanks when the times are good.
- Ensure you bank some of the rewards.
- Never get ahead of yourself and let yourself think the great times will last forever.
- Always think of the people who have less than you and help them out.
- Remind yourself that when times tighten, it is likely that you are probably still better off than the vast majority of the population who don’t have a job in the mining industry, or perhaps don’t have any job at all.
- Try to balance a dose of reality with some optimism. By this I mean see the good, conceive of what could go well and start positioning yourself now for the inevitable return of slightly better conditions. This will ensure you are emotionally better placed, as well as practically better placed to take advantage of the opportunities that do present themselves when conditions start to improve.
In summary, think like a Pragmatic Optimist and not a Pesky Pessimist.
The truth is, I think a lot of people throughout the mining industry do this incredibly well. They deserve more credit for often bearing the brunt of savage cyclical downturns that inevitably hit our industry first and hit it hardest.
If you see yourself as one of these, then good on you for getting to this point.