The best gift you give is the one you give yourself.
At this point in the holiday season, you have probably started selecting and wrapping presents for others. Now is the time to think of yourself and what gifts you would like. I would like to suggest that you give yourself the gift of peace. The gift of peace comes with serenity, courage, and wisdom. These gifts are inspired by a short prayer known as the Serenity Prayer. Each word has a power that can change the life of anyone who has experienced an unplanned job loss. By following the advice in this prayer, you can change your life for the better.
Serenity to accept the things that cannot be changed—You have experienced an unexpected separation from your job, and you have to move on. You hang on to what could have been by bargaining, denying and wishing that you can go back. However, by refusing to move forward you run the risk of suffering from many health issues. You notice changes in sleeping and eating habits. As humans, we find change difficult. Losing a job is a huge change. Your daily routine has changed; you interact with different people; loss of dignity and confidence are common. Give yourselfserenity, and you will find things will become much easier. Serenity is being able to leave the past behind you, and know that the future is yours.
COURAGE to change the things I can—Job loss brings new opportunities. Many people fail to see the bright, new future that awaits them when they wallow in the various losses they experience. In talking to several people who have been laid off, I hear in their stories that there were aspects of the job they didn’t actually like. Here is a excellent opportunity to find something you will enjoy, meet new people, change your commute, use skills you love or that are new and do something that most interests you. No longer do you have to do a job that you have trained to do; you can explore new challenges in many different directions. With a little training, you can be in a different career—one that feeds your passion. This takes courage. It isn’t easy to make changes toward a goal that is new and unknown and to move toward a future that will show itself as you inch along.
WISDOM to know the difference—There is a wide discrepancy between what you can change and what you can’t. One thing that can’t be changed is that going back to your lost job. Take the memories and skills and move on. Leaving that job in the past is a decision that has to be made and accomplished. (There are a variety ways to do this. The Job Loss Recovery Program© by Lynn Johnson, Ph.D. is an ideal way.)
Your attitude is a powerful way to start the change. Give yourself the gift of looking at your job loss as an opportunity to reinvent you. A chance to do what you love and enjoy; to do what you have always wanted to do but couldn’t because you did the job someone else wanted you to do. Now is your time to be what you have always wanted to be. The opportunities are as endless as your dreams. All you have to do is do it. It may take some training, but you have the time without giving up your secure job with benefits. You need wisdom to take what you have accomplished and make it into something that makes you happy to go to work every day.
This holiday season is your chance to become who you want to be. Take some time to think about what you honestly want in a new job. Find out what you will need to do it and go for it. You have it within you; all you have to do is give yourself the serenity, the courage and the wisdom to do it. It will be the best gift you receive and benefit you for a long time.
How can I help you in your job search?
