You’re comfortably sitting at your desk minding your own business and your boss suddenly calls you into her office and announces that your services are no longer needed. Should you panic? No! Not at all. For sure, you’d better head to the local unemployment office to open a claim, or you can do that, in most states, via the Internet. Once you’ve filed forms, you have given yourself time to breathe, regroup, reorganize, and decide what you want to do next.
Personally, these are the next three things I would do:
• Go home, change into something comfortable, brew a cup of herbal tea, and relax.
• Call a friend or lover and make plans for a wonderful evening.
• Take at least a week off with no intention of job hunting or stressing myself.
To Work or Not to Work
In today’s economy, it isn’t unlikely that it will take time to find employment, if that’s what you choose to do. Spend part of your week off making a plan and organizing your thinking. Do not search the Internet or the classifieds for work. You can start Monday morning and look for a new job, if that’s your choice.
Your unemployment should last between 60 and 99 weeks, depending on what state you live in.
Take your time. Figure out what your dream career is and go after it, or choose to go back to school and prepare yourself for that dream. If you have other kinds of support, appreciable savings, or a way to replace your employment income, you can choose to go a different direction for a while or forever. It’s all up to you.
This is a perfect time to consider an entrepreneurial occupation. Create that business you’ve always dreamed of. Are you a crafty person? Move toward marketing your crafts at craft shows, at online auctions, or even through artistic sites like Etsy.com. Ever thought about providing a paid service in your community? Lots of people get paid for dog walking, child care, gardening, running errands, or even paying bills and filing insurance claims for senior citizens.
Rocking Your Unemployment
Regardless of what direction you decide to go, this is the time to fill your life with joy, remove stress-causing obstacles, and open a door that could lead you to something truly wonderful. Adjust your attitude.
Wake up each morning and spend 10 minutes meditating on your good fortune. Push away the internal critic that might be yelling, “You need to get out there and find a job right now. Today. You’re desperate. This is an emergency!”
You are not desperate. It’s not an emergency. Have a delicious and healthy breakfast. Check your email. Check the weather, and go for a walk.
I’m not saying shirk your responsibilities; just take care of and nurture yourself. Begin a new life pattern so you move yourself toward what you need to make a living and support yourself, but build in ample time for relaxation, spiritual growth, mental growth and joy.
From that position, your meditations bring answers seemingly without much effort. If you need to find a job, you’ll know that. If being an entrepreneur is the answer, you’ll find that out. If it’s time to live on other resources as you attend to your heart’s desires, you’ll figure that out, too.
“Whatever you desire for your career is destined to happen and your intuition will help you.”
Losing a job doesn’t have to be a tragedy. Yes, it causes change, but change can be exciting. Throughout life, we get opportunities to reinvent ourselves. Don’t overlook your chance to stand quietly and watch the clouds roll by, giving way to your golden moment in the sun.