Loosing your job in a matter of days, what do you do?

If you are a family man like me and you are told that you will be loosing your job in some few months or days, that news will shake you. You will start worrying about how you will take care of your family. You will start wondering about how your kids can get good education. The stress becomes more when you are working on a project for a high-end client and you need to perform. You suddenly realize that your energy level drops and your willingness to give out your best under those circumstances reduce. To be told months before it happens is a blessing. At least you would have time to look for alternatives or prepare for the worst. I had that blessing of being told about this seven (7) months before it happened. So what do you do? how do you through this? Well I have had the opportunity to tell some people how I managed the situation. I might not be the best example but I learned from the mistakes I made after reflecting on the situation. Below are a few nuggets.

1. It is not the end of the world, most of the things you feared will not happen: Loosing a job, like any crises in life brings fear to our heart. We start imagining things that might not happen. Even if it happens, you will have the strength to overcome it if you remain positive and enthusiastic about life. What did I do? I did the opposite of the things I feared. Instead of saving the money I have, I started to give it out to help others. It was scary because it was during the corona period and there were no jobs. Few people had enough money so one would think saving money would be the wisest thing. But I found comfort and wisdom in giving what I had. I tried to find ways I can do something small to help another person. Like assisting two guys doing their masters degree with encouragement and guidance. For one guy, the subject he was offering was away from engineering so the logical thing was to say no to him but I forced myself to read and help. I encouraged another young guy who also lost his job as a manager. I asked him to stay positive. After about 8 months, this young guy got a job offer from one of his former employers. He is now happily employed. He might have lost opportunities if he stayed depressed and always complaining. Depending on how you look at things, the water hyacinth with its beautiful flowers could be blessing or curse, a resource or a nuisance. So look at the brighter side of life. What I feared did not happen, because I got opportunities to work on my own and for other companies. So the point is, when you loose your job, do not panic. Do not fear. Have faith, it is going to get better!
2. Be thankful: Being grateful and saying thank you will really help you. Someone gave me an advice when I got married. He said, "learn to say sorry often even if it is not your fault". Well, that advice is good. It saves marriages. I have learned from experience that saying thank you always is very useful. If you are religious, Christian, then, saying thank you to God often will be good for you. Learn to appreciate your partner. Learn to appreciate those who give you opportunities. Learn to notice those who have faith in your future.
3. Learn something new. Read books! Add a new skill, read a book on any subject that makes you happy. Spend your time to do things yourself. If you plant a garden, you will learn the patience of a farmer. Things do not grow overnight for harvesting. It takes time. Sometimes the crops turn out good, sometimes they don't. These lessons could comfort you. Our urban life makes us think we are behind because our neighbor is doing better. You see, when you have a poultry caged chicken and a local one they differ in grown pattern. The local hen may fell inferior to the poultry equivalent. But what it does not know is that, the poultry chicken is growing faster because its being prepared for fast food. By reading, observing and learning new things, you would understand live and keep the smile.
4. Start a business on your own. Yes, starting a business is not easy. You might spend more money and might not get returns but if it works out, you would be happy. Again, think about it, you would be in a better position to help other people if you had your own business. You would be giving others jobs which would earn them an income. They would be able to take care of their families and ensure their children get good education. Crime rate will reduce if we had well educated people. So your starting a business will do more good then even philanthropy. So go ahead. Start a business. Give someone else employment. Solve the problem you had and help others avoid it. Make the world a better place than you came to meet it.

Thank you for reading.