They have HIRE goals

More than a year into this recession, spirits are flagging and energy is sapped.

Just about everyone over 50 says they need a "spirit injection" — a positive zap to face the future.

There are ways to grow even when embracing uncertainty, say mid-life women who have found their jobs particularly vulnerable. Many are determined to use these months to reinvent their careers and their attitudes.

Women such as Julia Sutton, 50.

Every week for the past 11 months, Sutton has sifted through the experiences of the past seven days and found 10 things she's grateful for in her life.

After almost a year without full-time employment, this could be as simple as having enough food to eat. Or maybe it's being a mother to a wonderful son, Shane, 15. Or for the help she's received from her mother.

"Making the list forces me to focus on something beyond my problems," Sutton said. "I realize the good things that happen to me are the result of a lot of people helping me. And my response has been to step outside of my comfort box and to find ways to help people feel good about themselves."

She's now a PTA president and volunteer coordinator of the WomanSage Re-Invent Yourself! Program.

"I try to take what I have and share it with others to help them grow," she said. "That attitude and a dependence on a higher power are helping me cope successfully."

Once an in-house graphics designer, Sutton now combines a freelance graphic design business with a new career as a representative for Mary Kay cosmetics.

"Neither is enough to make me financially solvent," she said. "But Mary Kay helps me feel good about the way I look, and I can help others also feel good. It's all about shoring up how you feel.

"By virtue of having these products, you look better, so you feel better. It feels good to feel good."

Charlotte McNamara, 65, of Placentia does a lot of praying. She also watches what she eats, insisting that the supplements she takes stave off depression.

McNamara, whose career has primarily focused on accounting, is still working through a temporary agency. But the firm employing her has been sold, and she fears the new owner will eliminate her job.

"I'm trying to be prepared," she said.

She's downsized her life, moving from a two-bedroom to a one-bedroom apartment, eliminating cable TV, trimming her expenses as much as possible.

And then a friend asked her what business she would go into if she could design her own company.

"Well, I made jewelry for special occasions," McNamara said. "I enjoy having a 'total look' when I walk out the door."

And so she is creating a line for brides and bridesmaids, custom-made jewelry to coordinate with the chosen ensembles.

Maintaining resilience in tough times isn't easy, says Carol Orsborn, a Los Angeles-based marketing veteran.

Orsborn has walked the walk. For more than a year, she kept a daily journal of her journey after a layoff and the ways she struggled to make sense of her tribulations. The result is "The Year I Saved My (Downsized) Soul," a book chronicling her personal search for meaning.

"Trying to stay upbeat — even making gratitude lists — are good solutions. But I like to think the advice I give goes deeper," she said.

"The first thing I have to say is that you need to expand what it means to be a fully alive human being. Yes, gratitude and a positive attitude are important. But you have to add righteous indignation and grieving.

"Fulfilling human potential means exploring spaces many of us have been avoiding. It means understanding ways to use things happening to us to tap into a wider range of human conditions."

Let your hair down and cry, Orsborn says.

"Many women feel like crying but believe this is not a positive thought, so they suppress it. Most people who have studied psychology and spirituality understand we can march forward on multiple levels.

"We can have grief and still be successful at making jewelry. We need to acknowledge it takes a certain degree of faith and discipline to make a gratitude list."

She has changed her focus to become senior strategist for vibrantnation.com, a Web site for information sharing and a place for conversation for women 50-plus who "don't want to bump into their kids like they can on Facebook."

Vibrant Nation is not about finding a man or listening to experts, she says. "It's about sharing the wisdom and expertise we already have."

How do you keep putting one foot in front of the other when you know you are no longer the master of your universe? Orsborn shares one solution:

"Whatever your concern — maybe you won't get a raise, maybe you face a major health problem — you need some level of discrimination.

"Get a candle that represents the size of the difficulty — from a birthday candle to a bigger one. Light it for a certain amount of time every day. You might say you are going to light the candle for half an hour, for example. "And during that time, you have complete permission to feel all of the feelings from grieving to anger. "Then when that half-hour is done, blow out the candle and get on with life."

You cannot deal with the meaning of your life when you are focusing on survival, she says.