This too shall pass!

So, the job I relocated to Dubai for 3 years ago was made redundant in March 2016. In June, I joined another company after 3 stressful months.

Joining a new company in a new industry to my experience, a new work environment and dynamics, and definitely a new manager with new characteristics and personal qualities. We couldn't get along, soon enough things went south between us and we came to the mutual conclusion that it is not fitting in well. I resigned!! Yep, end of September was my last working day. Since October 2016, I have been jobless and begun my endeavor to secure a new employment.

It has been 4 months; 4 stressful months in a shaky economy. However, I managed so far to keep a smile on my face. Everyday, I manage to stay strong, not solely for my personal sake, but also for those who look up to me. Bearing robustly my belief that God Uses Tough Times to Shape Our Lives, and with it, we learn how to become invincible.

There are times when I am temporarily incapacitated. Surprisingly, It is neither the financial stress nor the slow job market. It is because of my surroundings, people's curiosity, and the human nature of either sticking nose where it doesn't belong, or caring too much.

From day one of my unemployment journey, I came to grips with the pressure of answering questions. On daily basis I keep on bumping into friends, receive (whatsapp, FaceBook, LinkedIn) messages and calls asking the same exact questions. My answer to The Question of what happened was simply I couldn't fit in. That being said; the reactions were far from what I could call helpful. Maybe my answer wasn't comprehensive enough, therefore; the drill commenced.

People ask endless questions (everyday). Although, I fully understand and appreciate these questions are coming from people who genuinely care. Yet; sometimes these questions become mentally agonizing and deprive of vitality. I repeatedly get asked the same questions by friends and family. Questions like (what are you going to do? What's your plan? How are you managing your finances? What if things don't turn around positively?) questions that I personally don't have answers to! Questions that certainly don't help anyone, nonetheless; they burden more. So I decided to ignore my friends and family, and screen messages and calls, only to save myself from the surge of anxiety, if I have to answer one more of these questions.

Few people who could understand and just did what was expected and "needed" at the time, which is asking the right question (Is there anything I can do to help?). Not that I will jump on it and ask for their help, but because simply it is the thoughtful thing to say.

I am lucky and cursed equally. I have too many friends who are concerned and do care, but if we do care, we got to consider more elements in the caring equation than just the basic formula of I called/messaged/asked and showed sympathy. Think more of the other party state of mind and what their self-defense mechanism is doing to get them on their feet and keep them strong.

My conclusion is: next time I will resign from a job, if I want to reduce the amount of questions that could be thrown at me by other people, I'll just keep it quiet and carry on with my life.

On the other side: People please, think before asking questions. Ask yourself questions like where am I leading to by asking these questions? How am I helping by asking these questions? We all have been in these shoes before, nonetheless, we know how tough and exhausting period of time it can be. So, let's stop asking more questions and just wish each other's luck!