Our stock market went into the crapper, co-swirling down the tubes with a half-decade of gains for some and more than half a lifetime of equity for others.

A fresh crop of stale politicians lied to us, betrayed our trust and, in many cases, remain in office despite their flagrant misbehavior.

The keepers of our national treasure strove mightily to solve a staggering deficit by throwing more money at it.

An emerging generation of young people raised misbehavior to a new low and good taste to a fond memory.

The income gap between trash collectors and top executives became broader than a fallen televangelist's smile.

The Internet became a cesspool of smut, misinformation, bad jokes, chain letters and mean-spirited political propaganda.

Global warming replaced wrinkles, sexual dysfunction, obesity, starvation and junk mail as personkind's most grave threats.

Thrift drifted toward the same obsolescence as modest clothing, premarital chastity, respect for authority, patriotism and common courtesy.

Behemoths in banking and industrial production were punished for their lack of foresight and good judgment with massive bailouts (where have you gone, Lee Iacocca?).

Believers in a higher power were reduced in stature to a level slightly below that of town drunks and village idiots.

Our elected reprehensibles gave us one finger, while pointing another at everything around them except the mirror.

In the minds of a hapless, hopeless few these days, life's a bitch, and then you die.

Well, let's cut some slack for those addicted to the whine of "awfulizing" about the undeniable pain inflicting many of us as we face (or turn our backs to) present reality and future whatever.

While the sky has yet to fall, we appear to be, at best, in the midst of a powerfully underwhelming surge of prosperity and promise.

That said, here's a flawless formula for success and peace of mind during the year (and lifetime) ahead:

1. Separate what's real from what's remembered, and/or feared and/or fantasized.
2. Focus on the "real stuff" ONLY if you can do something to make it better.
3. Do what you can and can what you can't.

Doing what you can means taking some kind of action that either eliminates or mitigates a "real" problem, which is something that massive amounts of awfulizing will never accomplish.

If you're not ready, able and willing to take such action, do not - repeat, DO NOT - waste a single moment thinking about what's getting you down (or preventing you from getting up).

Twenty-five centuries ago, Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu wrote that "a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."

Unspoken, but implicit in that saying are these facts:

1. The step can be either toward a favorable or unfavorable destination. 
2.  Without taking that step, you ain't goin' nowhere, Baby!

Resolve, then, to avoid even sipping on the "whine" of awfulizing, or pouring it for others. If you can do nothing about something, nothing is EXACTLY what you should do - and that includes dwelling on it, even momentarily.

If you CAN do something to make a bad thing good, or at least less bad, just do it; the effort alone will make you feel at least a bit better, which pissing and moaning about it is less than likely to do.

Negative thoughts lead to negative visions of the future - which, in turn, lead almost inevitably to negative outcomes in that future.

What you see now, in your mind's eye, is what you tend to get in your life ahead. (Let's face it: what you saw in the past is, very likely, what you got!)

As you look ahead this year, see only the opportunities that will exist for making the best of whatever comes next...one"next" at a time.

These are the things you should - make that you MUST - think about and talk about, both to yourself and to others.

That is what you are most likely to "get" in in the sweet (or sour) bye and bye.

Happenings, both past and future, are not always controllable, but forethoughts about them ARE!

Want to MAKE it a good year? Wishing won't do it - and neither will awfulizing!

Do what you can to make it a fine 2009 - without binging on whine!