If You’ve Recently Lost Your Job, Read This

Maybe your day started just like any other. You woke up and assumed it would just be another carbon copy of every other day you had lived for the past few years. Everything was going according to plan until you got the call. In just one moment, everything you thought you had came crashing down around you. You are losing your job. All of a sudden, the day you thought would just be another “x” on your calendar has become a glaring exclamation point you would do anything to be able to erase.

As much as we all wish we could be prepared for all of the curveballs life will inevitably throw our way, we simply cannot be. There is no guidebook on how to live this life and no way of predicting what our futures will actually have in store for us. Sometimes, our worst case scenario becomes our reality. A moment you considered a mere possibility in the past has now become your real life. It is up to you to decide your next move. Take the time you need to process your shock, your sadness, your anger, but whatever you do, do not make a home in your devastation.

I know you are afraid for your future. I know that you have bills to pay and people who depend on you to get through this crazy roller coaster we call life. It almost seems like every time you finally feel comfortable in your life, the universe chooses to uproot you and once again, throw you into the fire. What you always have to remember, however, is that it is up to you whether or not you let the flames consume you. You need to let yourself be sad. You need to feel your anger. You need to let yourself cry because holding all of your emotions in will only be more fuel for the flames you are so desperately trying to put out. But then you need to let it all go so you can move on to the beautiful possibilities waiting for you on the other side of this pain.

Sometimes, the push we need to find our true calling and happiness comes in unexpected ways. No one wants to be devastated in order to find success. However, I have learned that some of the worst moments in our lives can help us grow in some of the most beautiful ways. Maybe this job was suffocating you and you were not sure how you would ever be able to get out. Maybe you realized your dream job was no longer your dream. The truth comes out in our most vulnerable moments. Listen to it because you might be surprised by what you will learn.

What if the job you had was an absolute dream? What if you had finally found a place you felt comfortable and happy in? That is the unfortunate side of this life that we will all experience time and time again. There will be times when the best things in our lives leave us, and there is simply nothing we can do about it. Just because it was the best thing for you in this stage of your life does not mean it will be the best thing for you forever. This could be the universe telling you that there is more out there for yourself than you ever dreamed possible. Imagine how wonderful of a life you will be living once you find this opportunity that is out there waiting for you. If life was great at that step in your career, just think of how amazing it will be now that you are being pushed into taking a chance on the next big step on your path.

Whatever you do, please don’t give up on yourself or the life you have created. Bad things are never going to stop happening to us, but we do not have to let our difficulties destroy us. You will get through this, just like you have gotten through all of the dark times in your past. It will be okay. You will be okay. Change is necessary and healthy. If we were meant to stay in the same place forever, life would not be filled with so many exciting opportunities.

Here’s to you and the first day of your big, new adventure.