So what kind of standards are worth keeping even in a market meltdown, and how do you build the stamina for this now if all is not perfect?

First of all, if you want to emerge better off at the end of this recession, then focus on what you can control and influence, not what interests you. The more you focus on the prognosis for Jade Goody, or peace in the Middle East, or what party Sienna Miller was seen at, the less powerful you’ll feel. Eradicate wasted time, remove people who leech, eliminate negativity ruthlessly, and always ignore people who don’t treat you well. Just ignore them. It’s worse than being rude; it means "you don’t exist in my universe".

You control your attitude, your time, your company (who you spend time with), your character, even if you don’t have as much in your current account as you’d like or your boss’ mental state leaves much to be desired.

Second of all, you will positively stand out if you persist to live from an abundance mentality.  Abundance mentality people think that there is enough out there for them to be successful as well as to selectively invest in others’ success. This can be a real struggle as a scarcity mentality is a natural dark human reality for Darwinian reasons.

However, adopt the motto for the downturn – “lead, follow or get out of the way”. Plot your post-recession course now. Figure out where you are going to lead, and keep holding that image in your mind so that you act like a leader, and before you know it, you’re no longer acting. Before you know it, the recession is history.

A recession is like a good pilates work out. Hold your stomach in and breathe in and out the right way three times a week and you notice ever so slowly, and then all at once, that you have a tight belly where once you had a roll.

If you want to walk tall on the other side of this recession, start the training now.