I Lost My Job—GREAT!
What if a setback isn’t a setback?
What if it’s a quantum leap forward?
If you’ve never had the experience of being let go from a job, some would call you lucky. But, if you have had the experience of being let go from a job, you could also be called lucky.
Most people don’t see it that way. They only see it as being unlucky.
I have experienced being let go from a position on two occasions in my career now. The first time during the Great Recession of 2008 and then, more recently, in these pandemic times.
The first time it happened, I was utterly unprepared to handle it from an emotional standpoint. I felt like I had come to the end of the road and didn’t know how to continue without the path I thought would always be there. I panicked and fell apart a little bit. It ended up taking me several years to recover. However, looking back on it, I would tell you that losing my job at that time was the best thing to ever happen to me. I ended up going back to school, completing my bachelor’s degree and, my MBA with an emphasis on leadership.
That time ended up being a wonderful mid-life break that allowed me to re-focus, re-learn, and re-prioritize my life. Looking back, I wouldn’t change a thing.
This time around, when my employer let me go, a beautiful thing happened. I was able to skip the panic and fall apart step. I went right to the— ”this is the best thing to ever happen to me” phase.
I’ve put so much work into developing myself and my emotional resiliency that there is not a lot that I fear anymore. I believe in myself and my ability to figure it out. I always figure it out.
Further, I have a spiritual practice in place now that keeps me centered. I trust my higher power is right there with me, every step of the way, leading me to exactly where I am supposed to go. I trust the process. Things don’t always go the way I want them to, at the time I want them to, but I know they are happening as they should.
I have given up on trying to control outcomes. I put all of my energy and focus into being the best version of a human being that I can be, trusting that everything else will fall in line. This does not mean that I sit by doing nothing; I still take action. However, I try to take inspired action only.
Writing and blogging are something I have wanted to pursue for some time. I am utilizing this time I have right now to follow that passion. I’m choosing to focus on this as one of the positive aspects of my being unemployed.
“Labeling something as bad almost guarantees that you will experience it as such.”
In the book, Happiness at Work, Srikumar S. Rao talks about our constant habit of labeling things as either “good” or “bad.” He says, “labeling something as bad almost guarantees that you will experience it as such.”
If you find yourself labeling something a “bad” thing, pause for a moment and ask yourself, “What is the opportunity here?” Asking that simple question will re-orient you to a positive frame of mind.
There is plenty of research on the science behind the power of positive thinking. The beautiful thing is that if you want to experience all the benefits of positive thinking, you only need to do one thing: change your mind.