Author: kidatheart

The opportunities

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Change is always in our midst.

The choice on when to change our attitude is a personal one. When we’ve made that choice, there are five “opportunities” that Maxwell points out around us, that make this decision a success.

I will rewrite parts of it for easy recall.

1. The friend

We need one another.  Few people are successful unless a lot of people want them to be.  Change has a tendency to intimidate us.  Add to that intimidation the realisation that we have a long way to go before proper attitudes are established.

To help overcome this feeling of inadequacy, you need the help of a friend.

The real friend is the one who does not take advantage of that relationship.  Remember, we can never do anything for others that will not have some eventual benefits for ourselves.  There is a law of life that will, in time, return good for good.  Therefore, enlisting someone’s help will not only assist you, but it will also give a friend a blessing in return.

2. The associate

There are two keys to determine who we are: (1) who we perceive ourselves to be and (2) who we associate with.

Birds of a feather do flock together.  From friends, we acquire many of our thoughts, mannerisms, and characteristics.  Changing an attitude from negative to positive often requires changing friendships.  It is no accident that kids with good grades run around with other kids with good grades.

Many times people blame circumstances for their problems.  But usually it is the crowd we run with, not the circumstances we encounter, that makes the difference in our lives.  Good circumstances with bad friends result in defeat.  Bad circumstances with good friends result in victory.

When people who you “trust” pull you down because they have their own agenda or their own ghosts of the past to live with in order to survive, they are not good associates. They are bad people who will let you hang yourselves to dry when they don’t need you anymore.

3. The model

Communicators say that 90% of what we learn is visual, 9% is audio, and 1% comes through the other senses.  Our dependence on the eyes to learn, no doubt, is at least partially a result of television in our culture.  Visual messages last longer than those we just hear.  You could select someone to follow who would give you a constant visualisation of what you want to become.  Making a single decision to alter an attitude is not enough.  To achieve the kind of life you want, you must act, walk, talk, and conduct yourself as the ideal person that you visualise yourself to be.

Our children and the youth, more often than not, have parents as their role model.  We start them young – as the posters say it.  The apple, after all, does not fall far from the tree.  What we become, what our children become, what the nation becomes – is a reflection of who leads and how we influence our children as well.  The future started yesterday.

4. The mistake

The first instant an idea is conceived is a moment of decision.  When an opportunity of growth is opened to you, what do you tell yourself? In that moment, you choose between success and failure.

You cannot control all circumstances.  You cannot always make right decisions that bring right results.  But you can always learn from your mistakes.

We are all human and mistakes will always be the best teacher. Acknowledging that we are wrong is the lesson learned. And there is no shame in that. Pride, after all, can be swallowed without loss.

5. The experience

It takes five positive experiences to overcome one negative situation.  When faced with the possibility of failure, our tendency is to sit back and be anxious.  Fear is nature’s warning signal to get busy.  We overcome it by a successful action.

Nothing intimidates us more than constant exposure to failure.  Nothing motivates us more than constant exposure to success.  People change more quickly if they are continually given situations in which they can be successful.

We need to value other people’s worth. No one wants to work in a continuously negative environment. It is not only inhumane but tiring as well. No one wins a war. We are all losers.

The storm

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The perfect storm is when everything in the universe conspires to align.

When natural disasters occur, we can only prepare for survival.  It is humanly impossible to challenge nature. This blog is not about the force of nature. The intangible is difficult to foresee.

Let’s talk about the tangible. Man made disasters can be averted when calculated risks are taken before decisions – whether life changing or minor ones – are made.

The Philippine economy has seen a dramatic free fall in the last few months.  As in my previous blog on WHY THE NUMBERS MATTER, the political environment has lately borne the brunt of the initial salvo of a storm.  The short discourse on my previous blog made mathematical sense, with no additional confounding factors needed, to arrive at the conclusion that if policy makers and economists running the country don’t get their shit together, we’re headed for that perfect storm.

I was telling a friend of mine, that in a country like the Philippines, where the poor and marginalised make up 3/4 of the total population – productivity, savings and consumption  – take a big hit during an economic tailspin that is politically driven.  These three factors affects the most vulnerable in society because they now have to spend more for basic necessities, when they have the least to spend. These factors are present regardless of who the sitting president is.  

The peso now teeters at P54.15 for every USD$1.  The domino effect results in increase cost of fuel at almost P60 per litre. Delivery of goods and services are driven by fuel, which indirectly raises the cost of goods, commodities, and services.  Coupled with inflation is the demand for higher wages and compensation. While some economists claim that the region is widely affected, it is without doubt that the greatest free fall currently is in the Philippines.

In a perfect storm, the casualties are high.  At what price will we pay for not heeding the signals early on?

The country and its people are the casualties of any political storm. There is no yellow or red army when the lives and livelihood of people are at stake. As a nation, we’re all in this together. The greater good should be what we all work for. And the president is correct when he says that corruption must be stopped. It is without doubt that the political noise must address this storm. And like the storm that nature brings, it is the periphery that brings most havoc.

When the people around him is the storm, the greatest destruction is only felt when the trail of the typhoon has left. The damage has been done. And the people will have a more difficult time rebuilding their lives.

Like a thief in the night…

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The recent deaths of popular personalities – fashion designer Kate Spade and celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain – have triggered a media frenzy on the topic of depression and suicide.

Many of us may not really know what depression is. Take it from me, I’m writing from experience. Let me point out the reality that the consecutive untimely demise of famous personalities should not be the basis for reaching out to people who encounter depression.

Depression is a sensitive topic to discuss. Some people prefer to sweep this under the rug when the issue is raised. Until of course, it hits home.

What does depression feel like?

You don’t want to live but you don’t want to die. You don’t want to talk to anyone but you feel very lonely. You wake up in the morning and simply wait for the night to come.

Everyone comes to a point in their life where depression comes to us like a thief in the night. Whether it is from abuse or loss of a loved one or financial difficulties, drug dependence or at the throngs of death because of a disease impossible to treat, depression is a slow mortifying event of the mind. It robs us of our happiness, sanity, then dignity.

What drives one to depression?

No one exactly knows. But 10-15% of us will be depressed in our lifetime. Several factors lead to depression, namely:

1. Genetic predisposition

2. Brain chemistry (neurotransmitters) imbalance

3. Female sex hormones (probably explaining why more women suffer from depression more than men)

4. Circadian rhythm disturbance (seasonal affective disorder)

5. Poor nutrition

6. Physical health problems

7. Drugs and alcohol

8. Stressful life events

9. Grief and loss

Why certain people are more predisposed than others may be a combination of the above factors. Suffice it to say, those that have multiple factors above are most likely to be depressed than others.

Dealing with depression

Seek help when you need.

It’s usually denial at first signs.

Recognising the little things that distract you or make your daily routine unusually difficult to bear eventually accumulate over time. We wake up one day, not only denying these, only to find out that those physiologic symptoms (heartburn, abdominal pain, headaches, easy fatigability, frequent urination) are not anatomical problems. It’s probably psychosomatic. The mind controls our whole physiologic function.

Changing lifestyle may be a good option.

The best medicine is seeking for help.

Easier said than done

The problem with depression is that it is filled with so much guilt feelings.

You know you’ll be fine but still feel awful.

You know there are people who love and care for you but doesn’t feel like they do.

You know you want to get better, but don’t know how to get there.

Like a thief in the night…

The only way depression ends is to end it all.

And standing in the sidelines when a loved one is battling with depression can be frustrating and a helpless, overwhelming experience.  Depression is an isolating illness.  The major mood is that of a sad, hopeless, discouraged, let down world. Many have persistent anger.  Social withdrawal and lack of interest is common among people with depression.  Joy is not found here anymore.

How can you help? (adapted from Psycom.net)

  1. Learn about depression

People with depression can have very good days, even a few good days in a row, only to experience depressed mood once again.  There is an ebb and flow to depression that always isn’t understood by loved ones. From feelings of sadness and hopelessness to loss of interest or pleasure in normal activities, to anxiety and agitation, to trouble thinking and making decision, or to ending it all.

Because symptoms of depression can vary and change over time, the best way to understand depression in your loved one is to ask open-ended questions and use empathic listening.

2. Be there

Sometimes we feel that putting our loved ones with people who have the same problems or a support group may be the solution to the problem.  More often than not, the solution is just around the corner.  The best thing you can do is to show up when they need you.

You don’t have all the answers.  That’s fine.  Just sit and listen.  Ask the right questions – how can I help? and provide the assurances they expect to hear – I will be here for you and we can get through this together.

3. Encourage treatment

Depression seldom improves without treatment.  Some people may think that it’s just a phase and they can shake themselves free from that state.  Of course, it may be painful to point out what you notice with your loved ones.  But they will want to hear what you have to say.  After all, their symptoms are noticeable to them as well.  And they are subtle signs asking you if you’ve noticed them.  Express your concern.  Your willingness  to help.  What you’ve read about depression.  Treatment options.  And even if you have to accompany them to the doctor so that you get a clearer picture of what is happening.

4. Create a supportive home environment

Why your loved one is depressed is no ones fault. You can’t fix this.  But your just being their for the long haul means a lot through this difficult time. Lifestyle changes can make a big difference during the treatment process.

Healthy eating.  Low stress environment.  Helping with the appointments with the doctor. Making plans together. Positive reinforcement. In short, you may need to change your lifestyle as well in order to adapt to your loved ones. But isn’t that what love is all about?

5. Focus on the small goals

Depression feels overwhelming.  Even the act of getting out of bed can feel like a monumental task. Help your loved one set smaller achievable and realistic goals and tasks.  Patience and understanding when working through a depressive episode is of monumental help.

6. Know the warning signs of suicide

They’ll never let you know that it’s time.

The risk of suicide is highest during the major depressive episode.  There are red flags that we should be aware of: They talk about suicide, dying or death. They find means to attempt at suicide. The extreme mood swings – one day fine, the next day at the lowest ebb. Social withdrawal. Overwhelmed and hopeless. Engaging in risky and destructive behaviour. Saying goodbye.  Giving away belongings. Getting affairs in order. Personality changes.

We may not live in the same mental environment as those that go through depression, but we can help them live better lives.

One day at a time.

Paranoia

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That irrational and persistent feeling that people are ‘out to get you’.

That instinct or thought process believed to be heavily influenced by anxiety or fear, often to the point of delusion.

That feeling of of intense anxiety, or thoughts related to persecution, threat or conspiracy.

People who are paranoid mistrust others and remain in a state of suspicion.

Remember – it is NORMAL to have minor feelings of paranoia.  When paranoia causes significant fear and anxiety and results in a pronounced effect on social functioning, the person may have underlying mental issues and will need to seek professional help.

Is paranoia a psychiatric problem alone?  While schizophrenia may be an underlying disorder for paranoia, other medical diseases like Alzheimer’s, multiple sclerosis, alcohol intoxication and drug abuse may lead to feelings of paranoia.  The elderly population is at highest risk because an underlying disease may be synergistic with the drugs the patient is taking. The perfect storm is when all these are present.

In 1906 Auguste Deter, a 50 year old woman was the first person diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, a form of dementia. The disease was named after Alois Alzheimer, the doctor that first described it.  When Deter died, Alzheimer performed a brain autopsy and discovered that the brain of Deter shrunk dramatically and had abnormal deposits around the nerve cells.

Alzheimer’s disease is characterised by agitation, odd behaviour, paranoia, memory problems, disorientations, and delusions.

Dementia is not a specific disease and can be a presentation among patients with Alzheimer’s or due to other disorders that can affect the brain.  In short, dementia is a composite of symptoms that may be due to different disorders of the brain.

Patients with dementia have impaired intellectual function that interfere with the activities of daily living, including personal relationships.  This impairment includes memory loss, language difficulty, decreased perception, and impaired reasoning. Sometimes, people with dementia go through personality changes or develop delusions. Among the ageing population, dementia is often mistaken for senility or a mental decline as part of the ageing process.

The discourse on paranoia, dementia, Alzheimer’s disease and other mental health problems should be arrived at with proper professional help.

Paranoia is a symptom that is of grave concern that requires medical attention.

The key to true paranoia is when the person exhibits an unreasonable and/or exaggerated mistrust and suspicion of others. The suspicion is not based on facts.  Usually based on hearsay from friends and enemies, the paranoid person builds a world of fantasy and lives in that world, creating a delusion.  Untrue.  Unreal.  Unlikely.

To reiterate, paranoia is a symptom of some mental health problem and is not a diagnosis in itself.  It’s like saying that fever is a symptom of some other underlying disease like an infection, dehydration or metabolic disorder.  Paranoid thoughts can be anything from very mild to very severe.  The crux will depend on how much:

  • you believe the paranoid thoughts
  • you think about the paranoid thoughts
  • the paranoid thoughts upset you
  • the paranoid thoughts interfere with your everyday life

We all experience mild paranoia at some point in our lives.  They change over time.  It’s called reconciling with our past.  Moving on.  It does not mean we forget the events.  It just means that we’ve made peace with the issues that have dragged us to a corner and cower for awhile.

And then there’s the one that’s really bad.  Those delusions which are persecutory in nature.  They stay in your mind forever.  Destroying not only you, but your relationships with people around you because of the obsession of believing fantasy.

Believing in the paranoid is being duped of your principles of rational thoughts.  It’s like following a herd of swine where in the beginning, only one is afflicted with a disease.  When the disease spreads to the heard they either throw themselves off a cliff or the master slaughters all of them, afraid that the healthy herd would die as well.

Mr. Stupid and the Emperor’s New Clothes

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There’s nothing like growing old and remaining an idiot.

Being an idiot is bad enough.  But to grow old and stay an idiot, that tops the list of being the greatest imbecile of the world.

Miriam Defensor-Santiago, God rest her soul, was right – “stupid is forever“. We don’t need to compare our country with other nations.  We’ve got the numbers and the data in ours alone.  Hell, we’re doing a heck of a good job advertising stupidity. And we have media as the main driver for pushing stupid up the pedestal and them to blame come election time when these idiots get voted into office.

That’s because as long as it is news – good or bad – it made the headlines! And people will always remember Mr. Stupid. That’s media mileage for them.

Idiots are not born.

They are man made.

Some say they are mentally retarded.  I beg to disagree.  Mental retardation is not something that people wilfully want to be.  It’s a natural disease.  And it’s an insult to call people who are mentally retarded idiots.

An idiot is a fool. An ass. A dunce. Ignoramus. Cretin. Moron. Dolt. A halfwit.  Imbecile.  The simpleton. In short, an idiot is stupid. To be called an idiot is never a compliment. It illustrates how menial your mental processing capacity is. But the idiot is also a scheming whore.  He sells his soul to the highest bidder – never mind his moral compass or his allegiance to the constitution.  He has no capacity to think on matters of justice and being upright.  Most, if not all, lack a conscience.  For lack of it, they have no remorse.  It’s because stupid is as stupid gets.

Name calling does not hurt them.  They are the epitome of what I would call the persons-with-disability (PWD) of entitled people.  Worse than the entitled, they are the first in line.  They demand that everyone else be a quarter wit. What can be lower than a moron? Whatever it is, they demand everyone to be that.

But stupid is seen in every nook and cranny.  From government to the private sector, there will always be Mr. Stupid blabbering away and trying to run the show. Mr. Stupid thinks he is intelligent or people adore him.  On the contrary, he is like the King in the story “The Emperor’s New Clothes“. In that short story by Hans Christian Anderson, the emperor who was fond of new clothes was duped by two strangers who came to town.

The swindlers said they could weave the most magnificent fabrics imaginable. Not only were their colours and patterns uncommonly fine, but clothes made of this cloth had a wonderful way of becoming invisible to anyone who was unfit for his office, or who was unusually stupid.

The story goes on with the gullible emperor being deceived, paying the swindlers a large sum of money.  But the swindlers were just weaving at air.  They stole all the silk and fine thread and placed them in their bags.  The emperor asked his honest minister to go to the room where these two men were working at empty looms. The minister saw nothing being weaved, but became afraid to tell the truth because he thought that if he said he saw nothing and would tell the king that there was nothing there (which was the truth), he would be called unfit and stupid.  So he lied.  The old minister just went on with the stupidity by saying it was beautiful!

The swindlers knew that they now had the emperor and the old minister’s trust.  They asked for more money and more silk and thread.  The emperor went on sending more trustworthy officials to look at the dress that was being made for him.  And the same officials landed in the same predicament as the honest old minister.  And this went on and on until the whole retinue looked at the same empty loom.  Because no one wanted to be called a fool, they all praised the empty loom as some beautiful craftsmanship from the two swindlers.  Even the emperor who saw NOTHING, did not want to look stupid.  He believed the swindlers.

On the day of the procession, the swindlers as the Emperor to strip and pretended to put on the invisible clothes.  During the procession, while riding the splendid canopy (naked), and through the crowd, he heard a voice of a child shout, “look Ma, the emperor has no clothes”!

That was when everyone started agreeing that indeed, the Emperor had no clothes and was naked in public.

The truth hurts when the gullible realise their stupidity.  They will never accept it and will fight tooth and nail to rationalise their stupidity as a sign of loyalty.  I beg to disagree.

Some people will only love you as much as they can use you.

Their loyalty ends where their benefits stop.

The losing attitude

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We’ve all had horrible days.

I know we all want the sun to shine, moon to glow, stars to twinkle…but we don’t live in paradise.  And nothing in this world is perfect.  Not every day is your day.  Even if you think you woke up on the right side of the bed. And the attitude compass moves quickly from one pole to the next. Suddenly, we become Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

Maxwell points out a few rules to remember when we’re having one of those “terrible, horrible, no good, very bad days”.  And our attitude starts to dive.

RULE 1: Maintain the right attitude when the “going gets tough”.

RULE 2: Realise that the “rough weather” will not last forever.

RULE 3: Try to make major decisions before the storm.

RULE 4: Keep in contact with the control tower.

But crashes happen.  It is either internal or external.  As Maxwell puts it, either from within or without.

“There are certain storms within a person’s life that contribute to an attitude crash…They are part of us and must be constructively dealt with to bring inner peace and a wholesome attitude.”

THE FEAR OF FAILURE

This is the first inward storm.  Failure – we hide it, deny it, fear it, ignore it, and hate it.  We do everything but accept it.  Not the resignation or apathy.  But the understanding that failure is a necessary step to success.  The person who never makes a mistake never does anything.

Very little comes out right the first time.  Failures, repeated failures, are fingerprints on the road to achievement. Accepting failure in the positive sense becomes effective when you believe that the right to fail is as important as the right to succeed.  And it is impossible to succeed without suffering.  If you are successful and have not suffered, someone has suffered for you, and if you are suffering without succeeding, perhaps someone may succeed after you.  But there is not success without suffering.

Take a risk.  Climb out on a limb where the fruit is.  Too many people are still hugging the tree trunk, wondering why they are not receiving the fruit of life. Risks must be taken.  The greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing.  The person who risks nothing does nothing, has nothing, and is nothing.  He may avoid suffering and sorrows, but he simply cannot learn, grow, feel, change, love, or live.

Attitude is the determining factor of whether our failures make us or break us.  Winners don’t quit! Failure becomes devastating and causes our attitude to crash when we quit.  To accept failure as final is to be finally a failure.

THE DREAD OF DISCOURAGEMENT

Discouragement causes us to see ourselves as less than we really are.  This fact becomes even more important when we realise that we cannot consistently perform in a manner that is inconsistent with the way we see ourselves.

Discourage comes when we:

  1. feel that opportunity for success is gone
  2. become selfish
  3. are not immediately successful in our attempts to do something
  4. lack purpose and a plan

THE STRUGGLE OF SIN

Your attitude begins to falter when sin enters your life.  A withdrawal, a hardness, and a fleshy nature begin to invade us, all caused by sin.  It is first appealing, then appalling; first alluring, then alienating; first deceiving, then damning; it promises life and produces death; it is the most disappointing thing in the world.

Everything starts within us.  It’s easier to recognise the internal factors first because we have the ability to control these.  They are within our will power.  Within our grasp.  And only we, have the ability to steer our attitude in the right direction when we’re losing the altitude.

The mistake

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The choice of the attitude is ours to own.  We need to take full responsibility – whether you’re a pauper or a king.  And while it can be changed from time to time or situation to situation, it is our personal choice in making that decision.

…the moment we are born excited family members press their noses against the nursery window in the hospital and being playing the game, “Who does he look like?” After much discussion, it is decided that their red-faced, wrinkly, toothless baby looks like “Uncle Harry”.

The labelling of the little child increases as her personality develops.  That is a normal human reaction.  We all do it.  It becomes hurtful, however, when we start placing limitations on our child because he is a “C” student, a “fair” runner, or a “plain” child.  Unless parents exercise care, their children will grow up selling themselves short because of the “box” parents have put them in, the expectations parents have placed upon them.

In the Netflix movie, Sierra Burgess is a Loser, the protagonists in the film portray various attitudes – from being mean to being ideal.  It’s a simple storyline that brings home the message of costly mistakes people make when constructing an attitude.  People change – whether it is due to environmental factors or peer pressure – we all have crosses to bear and personal crossroads in life.

What are a person’s capabilities? No one knows.  Therefore, no one should be consciously instilling life-limiting thoughts onto others.  Many years ago, Johnny Weissmuller, also known as Tarzan to movie viewers, was called the greatest swimmer the world has ever known.  Doctors and coaches around the world said, “Nobody will ever break Johnny Weissmuller’s records.” He held more than fifty of them! Do you know who is breaking Tarzan’s records today? Thirteen-year-old girls! The 1936 Olympic records were the qualifying records for the 1972 Olympics.

REMEMBER: OTHERS CAN STOP YOU TEMPORARILY, BUT YOU ARE THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN DO IT PERMANENTLY.

An elephant can easily pick up a one-ton load with his trunk.  But have you ever visited a circus and watched these huge creatures standing quietly tied to a small wooden stake?

While still young and weak, an elephant is tied by a heavy chain to an immovable iron stake.  He discovers that no matter how hard he tries, he cannot break the chain or move the stake.  Then, no matter how large and strong the elephant becomes, he continues to believe he cannot move as long as he sees the stake in the ground beside him.

Many intelligent adults behave like the circus elephant.  They are restrained in thought, action, and results.  They never move further than the boundaries of self-imposed limitation.

Edgar A. Guest wrote:

Somebody said that it couldn’t be done,

But he with a chuckle replied

That maybe it couldn’t, but he would be one.

Who wouldn’t say no till he tried…

Just start to sing as you tackle the thing

That “cannot be done,” and you’ll do it.

The choices

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Continuing on the attitude is the choice of what kind of attitude to take?

The word choices rises on the opposite side of environment in the attitude construction issue. Speaking more logically than emotionally, the voice of this word says, “We are free to choose our attitudes”. This logic becomes more convincing with the additional voice of Victor Frankl, survivor of a Nazi concentration camp, who said, “The last of the human freedom is to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances.”

In our early years, our attitudes are determined mainly by our conditions. A baby does not choose her family or her environment, but as her age increases, so do her options.

Hence, our surroundings help construct our attitudes.

The basic principles about attitude formation are:

1. A child’s formative years are the most important for instilling the right attitudes.

2. An attitude’s growth never stops.

3. The more our attitude grows on the same foundation, the more solid it becomes.

4. Many specialists help construct our attitudes at a certain time and place.

5. There is no such thing as a perfect, flawless attitude.

The fifth is my favorite and, in my opinion, stands out as the most important principle (although they are all intertwined).

The air currents of life jolt us out of life and try to keep us from achieving our goals. Unexpected weather can change our direction and strategy. Our attitudes need adjustment with every change that comes into our lives.

Everyone encounters storms in life that threaten to wreck his attitude. The secret to safe arrival is to continually adjust your perspective.

Every day is a new encounter. A new adjustment. A new beginning.

How we take accountability on the choices we make determine the kind of attitude we have chosen to tread the path to. Those nights where we sleep better with the decisions made, that’s what steers our moral compass.

The attitude

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Dr Shirard Adiviso and the Development Team of Asian Hospital recently gave me a book entitled “How High Will You Climb?” by John C. Maxwell.

I had a little time to read this 160pp book during my short travel for a speaking engagement. It’s a highly engaging read and one of the highlights of the book is on attitude.

That inward feeling expressed by behavior. It can be seen without even having to utter a word. As Maxwell put it well, “of all the things we wear, our expressions are the most important.”

The next few blogs will center on a few good points about attitude that I’m sharing with you.  One of the important axioms of attitude lies in what Maxwell points out as: Our attitude can turn our problems into blessings.

In Awake, My Heart, my friend J. Sidlow Baxter writes, “What is the difference between an obstacle and an opportunity?  Our attitude toward it.  Every opportunity has a difficulty, and every difficulty has an opportunity.”

When confronted with a difficult situation, a person with an outstanding attitude makes the best of it while he gets the worse of it.  Life can be likened to a grindstone.  Whether it grinds you down or polishes you depends on what you are made of.

Few people knew Abraham Lincoln until the great weight of the Civil War showed his character.  Robinson Crusoe was written in prison.  John Bunyan wrote Pilgrim’s Progress in the Bedford jail.  Sir Walter Raleigh wrote The History of the World during a thirteen-year imprisonment.  Luther translated the Bible while confined in the castle of Wartburg.  Beethoven was almost totally deaf and burdened with sorrow when he produced his greatest works.

When God wants to educate a man, He does not send him to the school of graces but to the school of necessities.  Through the pit and the dungeon, Joseph came to the throne.  Moses tended sheep in the desert before God called him for service.  Peter, humbled and broken by his denial of Christ, heeded the command to “Feed My sheep”.

Great leaders emerge when crises occur.  In the lives of people who achieve, terrible troubles force them to rise above the commonplace.  Not only do they find the answers, but they discover a tremendous power within themselves.  Like a groundswell far out in the ocean, this force within explodes into a mighty wave when circumstances seem to overcome.  Then out steps the athlete, the author, the statesman, the scientist, or the businessman. David Sarnoff said, “There is plenty of security in the cemetery.  I long for opportunity.”

Today, at the crossroads of the economy and politics in the Philippines, we need to make sure that we keep our integrity and principles in serving the people.

The lost. The least. The last.

We need to make sure that our attitude is one where it is not self-serving.  Like the plane that takes off against the wind, where the turbulence is part of the climb, the noise we hear and feel are just part of the political climate.

We cannot (and should not) mix politics with personal gains.  In the end, a nation of hungry people creates masses that are discontented with governance and will pay a price dearly. At what cost is human life worth?

It’s all in the attitude.

Why the numbers matter

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6.4% – the inflation rate for August 2018 (up from 5.7% last July 2018 and highest since 2009).

P53.93 – the currency exchange for the peso for every one (1) US dollar, up from 53.75 the other day.  The lowest value of the peso in the last 12 years.

P57.00 unleaded gasoline per litre.  NFA Rice at P50-P60 per kg. Prices of commodities up by 10-30%.

Trade deficits – Export vs. Import

The economists paint divergent scenarios to the numbers.  For one, the decline in value of the peso is attributable to the strengthening of the dollar.  On the bright side, this means that this is good for exporters and the OFWs.  According to investors last December 2017, the export industry would see a growth of up to 12-20% in 2018.  But that was just a prediction.

The Philippine export industry faces challenges around the Southeast Asian region where the cost of labor is much cheaper than here. With that alone, the cost of export of goods manufactured in the Philippines would certainly be more expensive than say, the same goods made in Myanmar.  Hence, while a strong dollar may be advantageous to some sectors, it may generally be bad for the country as a whole.

OFW remittances are another major source of dollar inflow to the Philippines.  This country is one of the major exporters for menial labor to other countries. Unfortunately, OFW remittances will have its peaks and troughs because it is highly dependent on the geopolitical climate where the OFW is based.  While the personal remittances had slightly risen during the first few months of 2018, these remittances were down 4.5% last June 2018 mainly due to the government’s decision to repatriate thousands of Filipino workers suffering from abusive working conditions in the Middle East.  The countries that reported the largest decline in remittances were Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Kuwait (PDI, Aug 16, 2018). It is expected to improve as the year comes to an end.

It is easy to tweak the data to look like the economy is a rosy one. The question is, are we interpreting the numbers in favour of providing a make-believe picture or was the economy of the country in a better place before the TRAIN law and the Build, Build, Build program of the government?

An indicator of the gains of the weak peso is the trade deficit.  In short, one must not only look at the export industry but the import as well.  The import expenses minus the export is called the trade gap.  The more we export, the better for our economy when the peso is weak because we’re getting more bang for the buck!  The more we import, the larger the trade gap. This means that we’re losing because we’re buying “imported goods” at a higher exchange rate – the lower peso value vs. the dollar.

The bad news is that the country’s trade gap in June was $3.35B, more than twice higher than the $1.59B in the same month in 2017. Hence, benchmarking us as Asia’s worst performing currency.

What accounts for the higher importation? Basically, imports from other countries increase when one cannot cope with local production.  The cost of local production is something that businessmen take into account.  If the cost of labor (and the conditions of hiring and firing are burdensome to the business community, taxation and exemptions, local government business conditions, ease of doing business, etc.) is more expensive in the long run, the businessmen shift to importing finished products rather than manufacturing it in the country. Instead of opening a factory, they will open a company that manufactures elsewhere, and import finished goods.

The top imports were iron and steel (79%), cereals and cereal preparations (57%), electronics (35%), mineral fuel (32.5%), and transport equipment (27.8%) (Rappler, Aug 8, 2018).

What about inflation rate? 

Economics 101 teaches us that inflation is the rate at which the general level of prices for goods and services rises, and consequently, the purchasing power of the currency falls.  In short, they are inversely proportional to one another.  As the inflation rate increases, the purchasing power of the peso declines proportionally.  A low inflation rate is important for the economy, as it is a reflection on the autonomy of a nation to its own resources. Inflation rate is measured by the consumer price index (CPI).

In short, the higher the inflation rate, the lower the purchasing power of the peso.  For those who earn in dollars or get remittances from relatives in dollars, the exchange from dollar to peso may offset the spending of the household due the weaker peso.  The jump in cost of goods went to food and non alcoholic beverages.  Cost rose faster for alcoholic beverages and tobacco, furnishing and household equipments, health, restaurants and miscellaneous services, and recreation and culture (tradingeconomics.com/philippines).

Central Bank and the interest rates

In order to curb and limit inflation (and avoid deflation) the central bank can intervene by raising interest rates. How does raising interest rates decrease inflation?

One of the reasons for inflation is that consumers use more money to spend for commodities, goods and services. When the central bank increases the interest rate, we have less money to spend because borrowing becomes more expensive. For example, if the interest rate is increased by 0.5-1% for every 1,000,000p borrowed (from 6% to 7%), that would mean paying back the principal by 10,000p more. Factors like duration of loan, down payment, etc will affect the final amortization. When borrowing becomes more costly, as a general rule, people hold back on expenses. With less spending, the economy slows down and inflation decreases.

The last quarter

Unlike the Arroyo administration where the inflation rate soared to 6.6% in March of 2009 (first quarter of the year), the current inflation rate increase comes at a time when we are in the “-ber” months. The last quarter of every year is the most volatile period in any economy. It’s important to also note that the exchange rate of the piso was 45.50-46 at the time of Arroyo.

Every government is like a business enterprise. The last quarter of the year is always the deal breaker. The Christmas holidays in the Philippines is one of the merriest. It’s also the longest Yuletide in the world. And the most number of days with no work.

While the long holiday is a treat for the Filipino community (peak arrival for the Balikbayans and OFWs), it has served as an albatross to the business community.  The work force utilise their saved leaves for this moment.  Operating a business at this festive occasion takes a toll on cost of labor.  The trigger of spending is highest during the last three months of the year where employees get their 13th month pay and the Christmas bonuses.  At the start of the new year, there is more spending for the various businesses – obtaining business permits from local governments, payment of real estate taxes, renewal of additional permits for business operations, etc.  The outflow of cash is highest during the “-ber” season.  And while it may seem for good reasons, remember the cardinal rule of inflation – higher spending means that there is a lot of cash going around and because it is the Christmas holidays, the importation is definitely much higher…triggering more inflation.

The challenge

The aforementioned explanation may be a superficial one.  The difficulty here lies in trying to find a win-win situation for the masses.  While the middle class is now beginning to feel the effects of inflation (coupled with the effect of taxes on what is essential commodity to those who own vehicles and save for vacations abroad), it is the lower socioeconomic class that are most affected.  Healthcare is relegated to the bottom of the totem pole, when having to decide between treating an illness or putting food on the table.  The cycle of inflation comes at the worst time.  And no other disruption can divert hunger from the political circus.