Life Has Been Cancelled - Now What?

It’s September and if you’re anything like me that statement brings both feelings of ‘What?! How can it be spring already?’ and ‘This is the year that will never end.’

Both are fine feelings to have, and in a year where we have all experienced incalculable amounts of change – they’re probably on the milder side of feelings we’ve been through.

There are very few people around whose plans for 2020 have remained unchanged. Most of us have had to delay, reschedule, cancel, or pivot in some form or other. What comes with large amounts of change, is large amounts of uncertainty, insecurity, and worry. Now double that stress when the change and uncertainty is around your job and career.

As humans, we tend to have a limit of how much we can endure before we start down the track of feeling a little hopeless. This limit is different for all of us, but it’s safe to say that 8 months of a global pandemic is enough to mean a lot of us have had some negative ways of thinking recently.

For anyone feeling lost, hopeless, confused, angry, frustrated, or scared by their job situation. I’m here with a very important message that I wish someone had told me sooner.

Your worth is not dependent on your job.

If you’re feeling resentment about a redundancy, think about the thousands of Australians who are in the exact same boat and found themselves there unexpectedly. If you’re harbouring guilt about still having a job but hating it, know that no one is in control of your life and the chains holding you to your desk are only being kept there by you.

Now is the time to shake off what you thought you would be doing, and embrace what you could be doing.

You have the power to craft the life you want by the choices that you make. And since this year has seen us throw out the rule book entirely, why not use it as the push that you need to make the decision you’ve been putting off? Have you been thinking of going out on your own and making a go of things? Do it! The only person in your way is yourself, and the quicker you come to terms with that the faster you can make the decision that unlocks the next phase of your life.

COVID has been a terrible guest that no one invited.

I had built up my business over years and felt that I was finally making the progress I had always wanted to, only to watch it crumble before my eyes in the space of a couple of months. I had every right to hole up in my house with closed blinds and take a 6 month depression nap. But I knew that nothing is as it first appears. So I sat back, and asked myself what did I now have time for that I never did before.

COVID allowed me to pivot into service offerings I had been putting off for years and the proof has been in the pudding.

I’m not saying it’s going to be easy for everyone – but everyone does have the power of choice. We can let this year beat us, keep us down, and break our spirit. Or we can use it as a means of making choices we’ve been putting off, embracing new ways of working, and taking the time to reflect on where we’re going.

If you’re feeling like you need a little help to get to this way of thinking, or can’t possibly see the silver lining on your cloud – please reach out to me and I’ll help in any way that I can. There is always a light waiting at the end of the tunnel and we can get to it together.