A close friend of mine lost her job this week. Seems like a step backwards, doesn’t it.
Not for her. Sometimes, it’s more like the brief sputter between switching gears when you need to go faster.
She’d been with the company over a decade and a half. Loved by many. Knew everyone. Her home she rented was owned by the company; she walked to work every day and walked home for lunch. She had plenty of time.
Then *poof*. Gone.
She tells me she couldn’t stop smiling through the meeting, though, and I understood why. I got it.
She was waiting for the acceleration to kick in. It’s moving forward. Sometimes another force does it for you.
Something else about this friend…she attracts good fortune. She’ll get money in the mail, outrageous deals on everything without trying, useful gifts when they are needed…I think she’s mastered that thing they call “manifesting” that I don’t quite get because my jaded soul just can’t commit to believing what I say will come true…no matter how many multiples of nine times I speak it. The universe, God, fate answers her needs and then some of that stuff they call abundance.
Two days before being let go, she’d had her third interview with another company. Hours after losing her job, she gets a call for an interview in another department with her company (which is allowed because of whatever her circumstances are, and she can’t say, she’s not suffering from any burnt bridges.) One day after being let go, she gets called for yet another job interview in still another department in the same company.
You guys, the same week one door closed, three others opened. She’s ok.
My point here is that her sojourn has been slow, too, but she’s not done. The step backwards had to happen so she could take several steps forward. It’s her “I’m going to be ok” attitude that is inspiring.
There have been a few times I’ve joked around, like, “Please fire me,” or “Guess I’m fired then, bye,”…and maybe you can recognize that feeling, too. Like, we know that’s what it will take for us to put the car into first gear and get going again, because we know we can’t stay there. We know that staying there won’t serve us at all. Shoot, I’ve been so reluctant to move on, that I once quit a job, but my boss kept scheduling me once or twice a week for two years, with the running joke, “You know I’ve already quit, right?” TWO YEARS.
Losing your job can be devastating. Life hinges on keeping us sheltered and fed, I know. I’ve hit that bottom, and it took a really long time to journey back. I didn’t just lose a job, I lost a business of 14 years after sinking into debt from lack of income in the name of keeping the business going. More on that another time.
Whether you pray your workplace burned down every morning you’re on your way in, or if you actually enjoy your job, be grateful for it. Find something tiny, something, and say out loud (you can just mouth it if your ride to work includes ten or twenty strangers) that you are thankful for it. Because you are.
Then go online and see what’s out there. Even if you like your job, take a peek, because you have to keep moving forward and improving yourself.
Tiny steps, just looking and thinking about it COUNTS. Maybe it takes a day or two for something to resonate enough that you know THIS is the one. Look at your resume, write a draft of your cover letter. Let it all percolate (if you’re under 30, look this word up, it’s a wild way to make coffee). It’s ok to take your time, and it’s ok if you don’t apply. You’re still moving forward if you’re defining what you want and don’t want even more. The slow sojourn is allowed.
If you like hanging out here, please subscribe to my email list, or just come back later. Oh, also, did you get out there for a walk today?
The Slow Sojourn 