Options and Fallbacks

By now if you've been reading this blog with any regularity you will know at least 2 things about me - nature makes me think and my thinking isn't always linear.

Hopefully you are looking at these photos and asking yourself what they have to do with turning 30. I promise you they are not just images to show you how I spent my vacation. Although, these beach shots were take with my camera phone and I'm a bit impressed by how well they turned out, aren't you?

I took these images while walking along St. Pete Beach in Florida. The weather was in the 90s and the water as warm as a soothing bath. Again, the salty tang of the air relaxed me and got my mind wandering.

While in Florida I noticed things that reminded me about the craziness that is our present economy. My day job is involved with the world of insurance so the AIG fiasco caused a bit of concern for me. Whenever large insurance companies face trauma, the rest of the industry often feels the stress. It wasn't concern for my own career that struck me at this point. Hurricane Ike had just two days before decided to rip through the Texas coast and for me, storms create job security rather than taking it away. I don't say this to be callous, it is just a fact of the industry. Without us, such catastrophes would be even worse than they are now.

But I digress.

What I noticed while in Florida was that the streets were less crowded, as were the restaurants and shopping malls. Upon speaking to a friend who works for the school system in the Central Florida area I learned that families were leaving the area in large numbers. The schools were faced with laying off teachers and staff because the school year began with thousands less students than anticipated from the previous year.

Some educators were leaving the state because their spouses faced layoffs and were unable to find another job in Florida. Along with Arizona, Florida is one of the hardest hit economies in the country. The housing crash hit hard there after a long and robust boom period.

Construction sites stood empty. Neighborhoods of newly paved streets housing just a single model home were becoming prevalent across the state. What struck me wasn't that this economy was struggling so much. This downturn should have been expected after the price of housing rose to extremes the past few years.

Instead what stuck in my mind was that people were leaving the state, some for the first time in their lives, because of economic hardship. Those who left are making dramatic choices to change the lives of their family.

I am a HUGE advocate of following the path that is right for you, of striking out on your own and taking chances to find the career and life that is best for you. In the years that I have stood behind this position I have always felt that taking the risk was worth it in the long run. I have frustrated friends over the years by advocating such risk taking because I (as a single person) have always been willing to live with the consequences of taking such risks.

NOW HOWEVER, I feel like I should temper my own beliefs. With the economy in turmoil risks may be devastating. I'm not willing to do a complete turn about and suggest that we should all stay where we are and follow the safe path. Right now I'm not sure there is a safe path.

What I am saying is that if turning 30 is adding one more stressor to your life, if an upcoming birthday is making you vacillate between taking risks and staying put, it is okay to stay put. Right now the economic upheaval of our country seems to be growing not leveling out. If you have a fallback, a career or skill that may be safer than your dream job - you are not hurting yourself by deciding to hold off for a while. Your dream job will be more likely to be waiting for you when things turn around. Now is not the time to let the stress or fear of getting older push you to make a drastic change that you or your family may not be ready for.

The most positive thing I can suggest is that like the waves in the photos, the Earth keeps on moving, the economy goes up and down (or in and out to sea) and the next wave is following right behind. For now feel comfortable with staying put if you can; you can catch the next one.