The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that an average of over 200k new unemployment claims are filed each week. This staggering average may provide some comfort that you are not alone if you have just been laid off from your job. But if you’re like me, who was also recently laid off, this sudden change may not come off as just concerning or challenging – it may be monumentally rattling. What do I do now? How will I pay my bills? How does unemployment work? Will I find a new job quickly? If those questions sound familiar, then read on for three suggestions that I am also using to better embrace this next new exciting chapter of life and reconnect with my highest potential.
But before we dive in – how do you feel? Besides the financial anxiety and other common emotions that come in this situation – how do you feel about the separation from your job? Did you love it and you are devastated? (Type A, we’ll say). Or does the layoff come with a bit of relief? (Type B). Check-in with how you are really feeling about the position first. Many people stay with companies or in positions longer than their interests serve, or they get comfortable in their routine. Could this have been you? Recognizing how you really feel about the separation from the position/company itself, apart of your emotions/anxieties of being laid off, is important as it will help shape the moves that happen next on your journey.
“There is a moment when you have to resist the temptation to believe in powerlessness. You have to resist the lure to see yourself as the victim, instead of as someone who can still choose to create a new life with heart, integrity, mud, spit, and whatever else you’ve got in your emotional cupboard.”
-Tama Kieves, ‘Thriving Through Uncertainty’
Regardless of if you are Type A or Type B, your next new job is this: to learn how to embrace uncertainty and reconnect with your personal and professional goals to reach your highest and truest potential. I will share with you three suggestions on how to move forward that are helping me and I hope will also help you:
1. Goal Re-Assessment
Now’s your chance to re-examine what you love and make sure your new efforts are aligned with that. Maybe you’ve been doing a job or working in an industry that you weren’t passionate about. Figure out what lights your fire! What do you enjoy doing? The goal here is to not just find another passionless job to get stuck in. You want to set yourself up to find the position you’ll love. Start by writing down your goals – all of them – and determine connections. Then, do a little research if needed to see what some good career options based on those goals may be. I also took a free personality test on 16personalities.com, and this helped me gain a lot of insight about my strengths and weaknesses and evaluate my career options. Or maybe you already know what you truly want to do – great! Go start doing it!
2. Positivity Brain-Training (Through Repetition)
This one has helped me a lot. As the name implies, this second suggestion is about re-training your brain to naturally think more positively (if you’re already a pretty positive person – despite your recent lay-off – I am envious, and you can skip right to suggestion #3!). You’ve probably already heard all of the terms – positive daily affirmations, mantras, etc, and how they all end up on sticky notes on the bathroom mirror or on the fridge. But what many folks miss when they are doing this is the repetitive aspect of it, which is crucial. To truly re-train your brain to default to a positive mentality (which, by the way, will attract success and opportunity much more than a negative mentality), you must continuously – almost neurotically – repeat your chosen mantra or affirmation all of the time throughout the day, every day, until you find that you are no longer needing to. To read the sticky note on the bathroom mirror once in the morning is more of a gentle reminder. To really change your outlook, you must repeat it constantly, and whenever your brain begins to revert to old habits.
3. Trust the Universe
I know how this one might sound, and I invite you to interpret this suggestion however is most comfortable or natural for you. I talk a bit more about my perspective on the ‘Universe’ in one of my other pieces, These Six Steps Helped Me Redesign My Reality, and I encourage you to give that a read as well, but what is meant by trusting the universe is this: whatever spirituality or belief-system you lean on for your understanding of why things happen, what life is, what your story is, etc – begin trusting that again (here, I’ll refer to it as the ‘universe’). Start by thinking about how you got or found the position you just got laid off from. Had you just been laid off or fired before that and in desperate need of a new job? Or maybe you heard about the job through a friend who heard about it through someone else? Or maybe you just walked in off the street and applied and were hired! The point is – you were likely feeling uncertain and unsure about the future before you got your last job, but it all worked out, perhaps even through unlikely or non-traditional methods! Trust that the ‘Universe’ will line things up for you again.
Hopefully these three suggestions will help get you in the right mindset for your next new chapter. If this was encouraging and you’d like to read more, I have listed some of my favorite books below around this topic that have helped me. The important thing to remember is that this is your chance to reconnect with your goals, your potential, and your soul’s true desire. This is an exciting transition! And with the right mindset, the right opportunities will come to you.
Books I Recommend:
- Thriving Through Uncertainty: Moving Beyond Fear of the Unknown and Making Change Work for You by Tama Kieves
- You Are a Badass: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life by Jen Sincero
- Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
Please feel free to share this with a friend or family member, and comment below if this helped you or resonated in any way. I would love to hear from you!