Why moaning about the recession is old hat

The recession has been a media feeding frenzy for months, almost years, now. And it's really starting to grate. I write this after having come across yet another doom and gloom article on the economy.

Now I understand why people feel it necessary to constantly write about the recession - I'm doing it right now, so it would be senseless to criticise people for using it as a talking point. But I don't understand why so much of this comment is just that - comment, words - no rallying cries to action. No inspiration to motivate people into a better future. It's almost as if we enjoy finding new things to moan about, most recently the let down on economic growth prospects.

No we haven't grown yet and when we do it's likely to be a slow start, but if you're familiar with the term 'self-fulfilling prophecy' then this is definitely one of them. If we truly believe that the economy will struggle indefinitely, then it's more likely that it will continue to for a long time yet. I'm not talking about something as trite as 'Positive Mental Attitude', but simply recognising that we shouldn't accept that a certain state of play is inevitable. It's a bit like looking at all the problems with the environment and saying: "That's it, we've had it." and then using it as an excuse not to recycle or switch to energy saving light bulbs (which a lot of people do, incidentally).

There are always ways to make a difference, to punch above your weight, to change the shape of things to come. I agree to some extent with Dragon Deborah Meadon's sentiments that most businesses that fail in the recession perhaps shouldn't have been trading at all. There are indeed plenty of businesses that have continued to thrive and that has a lot to do with their business model: recognising the changes in consumer demand and adapting to the times. Much as many of us miss Woolworth's, this was largely their downfall. Great in their heyday, but simply not able to keep up with an ever evolving consumerist landscape.

I also know that the recession has affected many people very badly and had a terrible impact on their lives - no-one would dispute that. But in looking forwards we have to stop resorting to the easiest common denominator, which is counting our woes and looking for the nearest person or institution to blame. It could be the government or the banks, but it's never ourselves.