Losing a job is one of the hardest encounters someone can get exposed to, bearing in mind the ordeal one has to face in paying the bills and adjusting to current jaws of jobless world.
Isn’t it crazy how life works? You’re 100 percent happy with your life and then it knocks you down.
The pain and disappointment someone goes through after losing a job is something I would never wish upon anyone. Right before that very second, I thought I had it all together.
In my mind, there’s no better feeling than having a stable income. When that gets taken away, life suddenly becomes scarier than the clown from “It.” It’s like having someone steal all of your comfort and sense of maturity.
It’s so easy to sulk in sadness after losing something you were so used to. A full-time job is like having a significant other: You spend all of your time there and put so much effort into it.
And then, just like that, it’s gone and you’re left broken hearted. You’re afraid because you don’t have a plan to get back on your feet. I mean, where do we go from here?
There are two choices you can make after being let go. You can either lie around and worry you’ll never be able to get another job again and wallow in self-pity or you can stand up, dust yourself off and keep on moving.
Here’s a tip sheet, not just from me but also crowd sourced from the smart people I know to make you get over a job loss:
- Get on a plane or a bus or a car or a taxi, go somewhere remote and hot, turn your phone off, crack open a few bottles of your favorite wine, and lie on a beach. No one will sue you for taking time off to rejuvenate your senses. Make your Instagram followers jealous with those awesome shots & remind yourself how much worse your career could have been.
- Close your eyes and picture that one thing you’ve always wanted to do. Get up and do it. What are you waiting for?
- Issue a public statement to your family, friends & haters confirming you’re not actually dead. Many people will get confused and start talking about you in retrospect. Or put their arm around you when they see you, lower their voice to funereal levels and tearfully whisper: ‘I’m so, SO sorry.’ To which the best response, I’ve discovered from experience, is to say: ‘For what, your halitosis?’
- Do normal things again like sending a letter. Dust off that book you’ve wanted to read but didn’t have the time to because you were too busy working a nine-to-five; learn how to cook. You can open up a whole new world for yourself. Do anything that excites you.
- Avoid the overwhelming temptation to slag off your former bosses. It just makes you look petty and bitter.
- I don’t mean this in the rude, “Get a f*cking hobby,” way. Start taking a fitness class. Get fit. I know this will be total anathema to you but it’s tremendously helpful to the process of clearing your head and making sensible decisions about your future. Start slowly; the same kind of half-the-speed-of-a-snail pace you departed the pub that night on your bicycle.
- Spend more time with your family. I could have all of the money in the world, but nothing makes me happier than being with my family. Of course, I will run to my parents when something really sh*tty happens. They are the only ones you can really trust at times like this and the only ones who genuinely care more about you.
- Keep your temper checked when drunken louts mock you in the street. Let’s face it, you’ve been one yourself. So suck it up, give a cheery wave and grin, and content yourself with the knowledge that you’re almost certainly worth £50 million more than they are.
- Take the time to look at opening positions every day. At times, you will definitely feel stressed out, but just remember that you want to be able to wake up and be happy with what you’re doing. Don’t apply to jobs just for the money. Apply because you want to.
- You just have to learn how to deal with it. You thought you were happy? Well, life shuts you down, so you can figure out another way to be happy. Be the strong person you are.
One day, you’ll look back and realize all of these experiences you go through are just stepping-stones to greater things.
Losing a job doesn’t ever mean you are a failure; it only means that there is another door waiting for you to open it. That door is filled with creativity, ideas, new people and adventures.
Just remember to use your downtime wisely. A body at rest stays at rest. Your only goal should be to keep on heading in the direction of your dreams.
