Why Losing Your Job Could be a Good Thing!

Losing your job can be really painful but you can also leverage this as a time to set yourself up for a new, even better position and an even better person. 

Whether you’ve already lost your job through downsizing, redundancy, or any other reason, or if you’re under threat to lose your job, your first thoughts run from blind panic to anger, desperation, and all points in between, especially if you have a family and all the commitments that go with it. 

It’s especially daunting if you’ve been in that position for a long time and assumed that you had that job for life. When it’s the only job you’ve ever known, finding out that your job has gone can be devastating. 

Even if it’s a job that you’ve tolerated for years, when you no longer have it, you suddenly forget all the things you didn’t like about working there and remember only the good. It’s human nature. 

But the feelings of loss, of being in free-fall, create feelings of doubt. And doubt can cause a huge loss of self-confidence at a time when you need it the most. 

Rather than block out those feelings, acknowledge them, embrace them, and then let them go. They will not serve you in moving forward. 

Keep in mind that many layoffs are activated by accountants – usually people you don’t know and have never met. They have no idea who you are, what your skills are, what your true worth is, and how your family might suffer from your job loss. They’re just doing the job that they’re paid for. 

Why Me? 

The accountants are simply moving numbers from one column to another on the balance sheet to keep the company solvent and in business. So, avoid wasting your time trying to figure out ‘why me.’ You are just a number to them and there’s no answer to that question. 

Granted, it might be tough for you to make sense of the situation. But sooner or later, you know you have to get past it, over it, or around it, so why not make it sooner? Later has no merit at all, does it? 

Here’s the truth. Losing a job is part of modern society. We live in a rapidly changing world, and this is just another kind of change, and change is the only constant we can truly expect. 

Look around you. Everyone you know that has a job has come from some other workplace. And most of them ended up with a better job after their move! You can too! 

Regardless of what happens to you, it’s what you do about what has happened to you that’s important. 

So, although you didn’t anticipate this change, you can look at it as an opportunity to rethink, reset, adjust, and get a clear idea of not only what is possible for you, but what could also change your life for the better. 

Have you ever had thoughts about a career change? It just might be the perfect time to consider one. It could be so much easier to make such decisions now that your old job isn’t holding you back from going after what you truly desire. 

Could There be a More Perfect Time? 

Think about it. Could there be a more perfect time to re-define what you want to do with your life and get clear on what’s important to you? 

Follow these steps to plan your perfect direction: 

1. Decide what you want to avoid. An easy place to start is with what you DON’T want and then look at the opposite.

• For example, if you totally loathe commuting, look at a role where you could work from home. Tens of thousands of people already do, why not you?

2. What about your chosen field of expertise? If you’re tired of that kind of work, maybe you could look at something completely different. 

• You can find free courses on the internet for thousands of different skill sets. Sign up for as many as you need to get an understanding of what’s out there that just might be a perfect fit for you. 

3. Explore new ideas using your current interests. Consider anything and everything that gets your attention. Start paying close attention to what interests you and what fascinates you. There could be something within arms-reach that you’ve had an interest in for some time. For example: 

• If you go to the bookstore, what sections do you visit most often?
• Or if you’re channel surfing on the TV, what kind of programs do you stop at most often? 
• Maybe you’re scrolling social media, what stories do you read the most and/or comment on the most?

Make copious notes for a week or more. Then go back and review. Notice where the commonalities are and make a decision to follow up on what gets your attention the most. 

You may find a fascinating new direction to pursue! 

Some people have found that losing their job was the very best thing that could have happened to them. Why not you? 

Losing your job gives you time to stop working. You’ve spent the last however many years of your life working, and working hard (we assume), but now you can relax for a bit. You never get to do that! You don’t have to think about work straight away, you can sleep in, eat better, go to the gym.  But keep in mind, all these are temporary. When you’ve found that it’s time to look for another job, get up and start straight away!