Finding our Strength during Challenging Times
What we do in life gives us value and shows the world who we are. Many of us focus that outward expression into their work. What then do you do if your job disappears? Where is your value?
Work is an exchange of values. There is the value placed on the service you provide, and you receive compensation for your time or knowledge. Your energy goes outward in the form of ideas, decisions, and actions, and produce results. The primary return may be in the paycheck, but it can also include a feeling of accomplishment, the interactivity with others, a glowing review, or a success to add to your resume.
There is truth in the statement that our energy flows where our attention goes. Much of our energy does go into our work. For many of us we use our workplace for a portion of our self expression and social interaction since so much of our time is spent in the work environment. This is why leaving a job can be so devastating when it has become the nucleus of our lives.
Leaving a job is a big change in our live. It’s not so bad when you hop from one job right into another, but when the economy is challenged and finding a new job is not so instant we can fall prey to worry, and question our value.
In essence we lose many things in a layoff. The most obvious is our paycheck. Survival is our most primal level, one that cannot be ignored. The paycheck is not the only loss: we lose our day to day companions called our co-workers; our schedule and routine is disrupted; and most importantly, we lose one of the measurement tools for our value and worth.
While the best way to step past the shakeup of losing a job is to return to work, you can use this shift as an opportunity to grow. The change in our day to day activities forces us to pay attention again in areas that fell into routine.
Look around you, right now. What forms of self expression do you have available to you? Let’s go through a basic list: friends, family, hobbies, pets, journaling, charity work, worship, gardening, even cleaning your house can be an expression of self. Have you given as much attention to these other areas? Those other acts can give you support as you rebuild your working world.
Opportunity knocks, and today the focus is restoring self through awareness. You have a doorway open to self insights that are not usually in question. Behind those question lies a vast wealth of personal empowerment that can serve you in your future. We will focus on releasing and restoring in part two of this series.
Filed under: Careers