I’m noticing that I seem to be going around in circles, in a good way.

For the last several months, I’ve been the optimistic entrepreneur, working on a new venture (www.abiggervoice.com), seeing my revenues continue to increase year over year, and knowing that even in a down cycle, there’s still a lot of money in the marketplace for those providing valuable solutions to painful problems.

A few weeks ago, as the financial crisis heated up, I became the curious observer. I read the Wall Street Journal with more vigor, made a point of watching the television news pundits, and listened intently to the Marketplace report and Morning Edition on NPR after dropping the kids off at school.

From the curious observer perspective, I had the luxury of abdicating any involvement in my personal finances to my husband. He’s the genius behind living on a modest salary, having a healthy 401k (as of last month, that is) and having a comfortable house that’s almost paid off.

Last week, I moved into the mode that many people are probably in, the fearful breadwinner. My husband informed me that our 401K was down nearly 40%. I could see that Treasury Secretary Paulson was grasping for solutions right and left, with a new intervention proposed every other day. The markets reacted with wild swings. I started looking at ways to cut my overhead, worried about what 2009 would bring.

Over the weekend, I became the panicked investor. My husband and I considered our shrinking portfolio and made some decisions that we would not have considered two months ago. It consumed most of our Saturday morning, which is usually reserved for errands, a bit of cleaning, and maybe a bike ride. We were both anxious to see what would happen on Monday morning when the markets opened again.

The last couple of days, it’s felt like confidence is returning to the marketplace. I’m noticing where the opportunities are (e.g., books on the financial crisis are doing very well), instead of focusing on the most recent corporate collapse. My husband is looking at bargains in the stock market. My 13-year old son is asking the family investor to buy something for him. Banks have the backing of the government, not just in insuring deposits but as a stockholder. The market was up on Monday. (And down again yesterday.) I may be speaking too soon, but I’ve moved back into being the optimistic entrepreneur.

I heard a perspective this week that seems very appropriate, written as an epitaph for a woman who died earlier this year:

"This too shall pass."

Wise words to keep in mind for these interesting times. What perspectives have you been in over the last month?