12 Healthy Ways To Stay Positive When You've Lost Your Job
Facing a job loss is hard.
Unsplash Handling unemployment can be tough for anyone facing this difficult time and learning how to stay positive in the midst of it seems impossible.
I worked with eight different individuals over the past few months who are recently unemployed or seeking some type of job transition due to a layoff, job loss, or personal life change.
And, as we all know, figuring out how to find a job right now is not as easy as it sounds. The job market is really tough, but with a little positive thinking, you can get through it as you search for something new.
According to recruiting company Glassdoor's annual Job Market Trends Report, 2018 witnessed a power shift for job seekers, employees using their voice, and technology becoming a worker's friend, not foe. In 2019, they expect more demand for non-tech workers, new job search methods, and a possible economic recession.
So, even if you are gainfully employed, it's never too early to take a cold, hard look at your resume and see what can be improved!
To stay positive in the face of unemployment, there are 12 ways to survive and avoid depression and anxiety while you're looking for a job.
1. Let the dust settle
Invariably, the first step during any job change is to allow yourself to let the dust settle.
One of my clients showed up at my doorstep on the evening of the day he received the news of his pending layoff. He knew I did career coaching and helped people with their resumes. But, at the time, he was in no shape to begin the resume review process. He was still struggling with the shock of the news.
Shock is a real, tangible response to job loss. And you may not even recognize your own symptoms. Letting the dust settle allows you the time you need to begin to look forward to taking the next step.
2. Take some time for yourself
Do you live to work or work to live? This question is so important to consider during a job transition. So many people get so bogged down by having their job define who they are, what they like, and what they make important.
I had a business colleague who was hired after his own transitional period of unemployment. I always admired his positivity about his time of transition. He treated his unemployment period as if it were temporary.
Instead of suffering, he worked on side jobs that he'd always wanted to try. For instance, he helped out a friend at a florist shop, waited tables, played music, volunteered at non-profit events, worked out at the gym, and carried on as if his life were worth living.
Additionally, he spent concentrated time weekly searching for a job. Instead of overdoing the search, he maintained his social schedule as if he were still working: attending gatherings and an occasional dinner out with friends. For extras, he used his credit cards, but his temporary employment jobs paid the bills.
Throughout the time of unemployment, he kept his mindest positive. His position was clear: when the right job came, he'd accept a job again at an appropriate salary. Once employed, he'd work toward paying off any debt he'd amassed during his time off.
So, it's important to take time to do things you love without the excuse of letting work get in the way. When the time is right, a job will come — but you'll never have now again. Do something now that you've postponed because of work. So, think positive!
3. Look deeply
While you're unemployed, it's a great time to take an honest look at yourself. What are your strengths, weaknesses, and skills? How do they influence — positively or negatively — your transition? Sit down and list your skills and assets.
Now is the time to consider what you really want in your future. Crystalize this idea into the vision of what you'd like to have in your life with your next career step. Write this vision statement of yourself on card stock and post it in a prominent place as a way to sharpen your focus and have a constant reminder.
4. Step up self-care
Major changes are physically and emotionally taxing. You need self-care now more than ever. Take time — daily — to do something that serves you physically, emotionally, and spiritually.
Don't compromise. Just do it! See what happens when you boost your endorphins and give yourself the space to feel good.
5. Be curious instead of critical
When you've created some space from the transition, take a curious look at what went wrong or right with this job loss. Now is the time to explore what you may have done better in your previous job. Think about what worked really well for you in the previous job. List aspects of your past job and success to share with potential employers.
What results did you bring forth? How will you share with a potential employer about why you lost your job?
Consider taking this to the next level by crafting appropriate interview statements that demonstrate past situations. Come to grips with your personal hindrances or obstacles.
Identify the actions you took, emotional responses, and lessons learned. Potential interviewers will be interested in what you are great at, what you know, and what you've learned from past experiences.
6. Retrace your steps
One exercise I use in my career/resume classes is a Job History Timeline. Get an oversized piece of paper, or tape three together, and draw a yearly timeline across the top that represents your working life from your very first job. Brainstorm a list of all the jobs you've ever had. Assign approximate dates and times to the jobs.
Then, draw a "T-line" underneath each job title and list what you liked (+) and didn't like (-) about each. Take the time to review each job and list what was satisfying or demotivating in each one. Focusing on your past experience and what you've loved (or didn't) can help re-connect and refresh your inner curiosity and passion, especially if it's been squashed by big business, exhaustion, or an inappropriate career fit.
Reconnecting with the level of satisfaction you've experienced in past jobs will help you gain perspective and motivation to look for certain qualities in your next career move.
7. Figure out what you want
Perhaps, the biggest stumbling block for adults dealing with unemployment is to answer this question: "What do I want?"
It is a "stop-in-your-tracks" question that I ask quite frequently as a career coach, and it never ceases to amaze me how many people can not answer it for themselves.
What do you want for your next 2 years, 5 years, 10 years? Go for what you want and keep your eye on the prize.
8. Find your satisfaction
Use this slip in time to engage in something new that you've always wanted to try. Don't just focus on what satisfies you within the scope of a prospective job, but also what satisfies you personally.
While you're unemployed, it's a great time to knock off a few things that may be on your bucket list: sky diving, belly dancing, yoga training, painting, or golf lessons. Try whatever you've said: "I'd love to do ____ if I weren't working."
9. Get support
Support can be a trusted friend, a coach, a counselor, a career center, or even someone who's been there before. Enroll people on your unemployment journey. Since your transition affects your family as well, it may be helpful to seek the outside support of friends or professionals.
Utilize the freedom, flexibility, and universality of Social Media engines to help you network and get to people who may be able to help you. It takes a village to find a job these days and you never know who knows whom until you enroll others in your search.
10. Shape-shift your thoughts
Calm your fears and reinforce your sense of hope and happiness daily. The people who follow the well-known advice of "the secret" know — that putting your thoughts out in the world make them a reality.
To survive a period of unemployment avoid searching until you're bleary-eyed looking for one more open job. Instead focus on what you'd like next, ask for it, involve others and quell your fear and shame-filled thoughts of loss and scarcity.
11. Let go of how things are "supposed to be"
When you let go of what was and begin to accept "what is now", you move into the present moment. This is the only moment you can control.
Unemployment can breed negativity. Instead, find appreciation for what is. "Should be's" are usually things we think in our heads and are attributed to other's expectations!
Letting go of how it should be is a wonderful example of surrender.
12. Keep things in perspective
I often think of the first time I crossed the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, California. I was simply amazed. At the bridge entry point, it was cold, rainy and so foggy we couldn't see more than 20 feet ahead. Yet, as we traveled across the bridge in our convertible, the air currents shifted and the fog literally disappeared. It has always stayed with me as such a strong experience in perspective for me.
The sunlight is always there, despite the fog all around that might be clouding your view. Job transition can be a wonderful time to try on a new perspective. Don’t let yourself get stuck in the fog. Just keep moving forward, the air currents will shift and the view will change. Remember, the only real constant is change itself.
Cena Block is a Productivity Consultant and Certified Organizer Coach (COC) for professional women and entrepreneurs with ADHD. She is also the CEO of Sane Spaces and creator of the Time & Space Style Inventory™.