Reasons to be cheerful

Okay, so there's plenty out there to be discouraged about, especially as the holiday season approaches: despite improving in November, the jobless rate is still in double figures; the global economic situation is nowhere near stable enough to be able to suggest that we've seen the end of the turmoil (yeah, Greece, we're talking to you); and there are even rumors—unconfirmed at the moment—over the non-existence of a certain jolly gentleman in a red suit. (Say it ain't so!)

Not to worry, though. No matter how bad things get—or how long your job search drags on—there are always some people who are slightly worse off than you. In no particular order, then, here are a few reasons to be cheerful this Monday:

• You don’t have the word "Madoff" anywhere on your resume. Think you're having a tough time finding a job? Imagine trying to find a job in the finance industry if your last employer was Madoff Securities—a name that suggests you were either in on the biggest scam in history, or you were an unwitting pawn. Try explaining either of those away in an interview (if you even get that far). Not that people aren't trying: < a="" target="_blank" href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704825504574586340365352928.html">The Wall Street Journal reported Friday that Mark Madoff (one of Bernie's two sons), "recently met with at least two Wall Street contacts to get their opinions on whether he could find another job in finance." That kind of naiveté perhaps underlines why he was so slow to cotton on to Pop's Ponzi scheme.

• You're not in charge of marketing for the PGA. It's a pretty simple equation: PGA Tournament (–) Tiger Woods = 50 percent less viewers. Ouch.

• You're not Silvio Berlusconi's security chief. Really: you're in charge of protecting the Prime Minister, and you let someone get close enough to bean him with a statue of a cathedral?

  What's the Italian for "pink slip"? Ah.

• You're not a "fat cat banker." In case you haven't heard, President Obama's kinda peeved with that sub-set of the populace at present. Just think how hard you'd have to work to get the President to say nasty things about you on TV.

See? No matter how bad things get, they're always worse for someone else. And, chances are, each of the people listed above will pick themselves and get on with it. Without any of the hindrances facing them, what's stopping you?

--Posted by Phil Stott, Vault.com