I was listening to a radio programme last night where a river pilot was talking about the way he knows if the economy is in recession. His indicator was the number of steps he has to climb to get onboard ship. If the ship is laden with goods on its way out of UK waters with exports to the Far East, the ship will be lower in the water, hence fewer steps to climb. More recently he had more steps to climb on ships leaving than ships arriving from the Far East.
A simple indicator that gives him an impression of the world's economy.
It reminded me of the wonderful time I have when staying with my cousins in Astoria, Oregon. As their house faces the river, we can sit at breakfast and watch the tankers and bulk carriers going up and down the Columbia River. You can also find out where the ships are going to and coming from, courtesy of Joanne Rideout's daily Ship Report. It makes it much more interesting when each ship has a story to tell of its journey. Her photo below (thanks Joanne) shows a carrier sitting fairly high in the water.
So what are your indicators of change? Whilst financial ones may seen obvious i.e. not enough money to have meals out, or an evening at the cinema, there are other indicators that are around us all the time.
I notice the changing seasons whilst walking the dogs. Trees with the leaves changing colour, and horses wearing rugs in the fields indicate that its autumn and the temperatures are dropping.
One skill is being able to observe change and another, perhaps more important, is being ready to adapt to the changes.
So today, as you go about your business, be extra observant to notice what might be different from yesterday and work out what it means and then what you need to do in order to adapt to the change. This helps to build resilience and flexibility.
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