Think back to a time in your past-five, 10, 15, 20 years ago. You probably envisioned a happy future making more money, having fun, enjoying romance, or living in a bigger place than you did previously.

Although few things turn out perfectly, or even the way we thought they might, chances are that at least one area of your life saw some growth and improvement out of desire if not necessity. The standards of a 30-something year- old adult are going to be necessarily different than those of a late teenager. In that sense, most of us have undergone economic, social, and career upgrades.

Given today’s economic super storm, faith in the future can seem fanciful. The realities of the current climate are pretty harsh. People are losing their homes, losing their 401Ks-losing faith in their prospects for security and prosperity. “Positive thinking” is often the last thing they want to hear when they’re months behind on their mortgage, the job market tightens, and their retirement is in question. But our lives mirror the cycle of everything that ever was and ever will be-nature and the seasons, governments, bear and bull markets-the world itself. Anything that involves life and/or people is going to go through seasons. We will experience a spring-like bloom, the reaping of summer, the preparations of fall, and the chill and severity that winter brings. This unavoidable cycle occurs in our individual lives and in society as it does in nature.

We are certainly in the midst of a severe economic winter. However, if we can remember that we’ve all experienced times of growth and improvement in our individual lives after a period of lack and want, we can re-adjust back to a mindset that focuses on a future we can look forward to again. That starts with accepting and embracing the now.

This wintry economic season provides an opportunity to hibernate, recover, and start planning for the next spring ahead-the same kind of spring that gave us relief before and will bring us relief again. You can do this by:

1. Defining what you want to create

Be specific. Sometimes luck helps, but there’s no way to get what you want until you’ve defined what that is, and, just as important, why you want it. Your motivations will steer you through this winter storm.

2. Controlling your focus

Worrying does not make dire circumstances better. The problem isn’t going to change any faster by obsessing over it. Focus instead on finding solutions, and focusing on the life you’ll be living once you’ve found them.

3. Taking inventory

List those attributes that enhance the quality of your life right here and now-family, friends, the network of colleagues who might help you take that next step; resources that are helping you get by economically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. You might be surprised at just how many resources are at your disposal.

4. Being grateful

For every “negative” thing that may be happening to you, someone else is undergoing more pressing challenges. Gratitude has a way of dispelling fear, anxiety, and a self-defeating attitude. You can’t focus on what you don’t have when you’re grateful for what you do have.

No matter what the conditions, we’ve all made some kind of improvement before, and the truth is that we can and will do it again. How we progress isn’t solely dictated by what we don’t have, or what we might’ve done or not done in the past. It’s about how we use what we do have now, sowing seeds of growth that we can reap later.

If we can recapture the hope and faith that helped us grow throughout our lives, we position ourselves to not only survive this winter, but come out of it happier, healthier, and wealthier than before. Winters are sometimes long, but they don’t last forever. And they aren’t pervasive. Somewhere, right now, someone is enjoying summer. That’s as true for the world as it is in our individual lives. Use this time to hibernate, re-focus, heal, enjoy your blessings, and start planning your next spring now.

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