What are the ways to keep your confidence after a layoff?

Firstly, accept layoff/ job loss as a part of our life like any other. This is easier said than done, but it is necessary to accept our situation in life. Sooner the better. Secondly, the faster we get out of the victim mindset the better it would be for us.

Thirdly, get back to work. Here, we need some contemplation. Often we confuse ‘job’ with ‘work’ and get dejected when we lose our ‘job’. A ‘job’ is nothing but a set of duties/ activities assigned to a person to be accomplished within a time-frame. This is generally defined by the employer (or their HR department). There is also a designation/ position (obviously along with the remuneration) attached to this role which is where the problem begins.

The whole society views us through the prism of this designation/ position. Sadly, this may also include the family members. The more our attachment to this societal view about us, the more traumatic the job loss and difficult the coping becomes. Hence it is important to have a slight detachment with this societal view right from the times when things are good, so that when the bad days arrive the hurt is minimal.

Fourthly, while we have lost our job, no one can take away the right from us to work. It is important to keep working and honing our skills, regardless of whether we are on the job or off it. It is important to take work and income seriously and view job as something that can come and go without we having much control over it. Most stress happens when we try to control something upon which we don’t have any control.

Fifthly, talking about taking work seriously, the way to do it is to break it up into manageable chunks. Our freedom to work will still allow us to utilise the time we have to build on our strengths to bring positivity into our lives. We can use the power of choice to decide which area of work we are good at and would like to build upon and cease the opportunity to get better. This time around we are our own judge, there is no boss/ senior/ HR to take a call on us and impose their judgements upon us.

Sixthly, talking about taking income seriously. It is important to put ourselves in a virtuous cycle rather than a vicious cycle. Here, taking charge of our cashflows are important. Everyone knows money comes and money goes, it is important to be aware of whats happening with the cashflows. Salary by its very nature is addictive, so when we don’t get it at the start of every month we despair and are under stress. It is important to budget ourselves to see where the money is going and whether the money can be stretched while we have it.

Everyone saves for a rainy day, and its during times like these when we realise the importance of our money kept away by us when the times were good. Near and dear ones who really care for you could give us monetary help sometimes. However, ongoing income needs to come in, it may not come necessarily through salary at the beginning of every month. We need to be flexible to look for different sources of income. Here again there is no need to compromise and do something that our value system does not permit us to do. Also, its better to keep away from what one is not good at and what one does not have the requisite skills in.

Seventhly, in todays technologically advanced times there are lots of ways to earn income if we are ready to learn new things and/ or build upon the skills we already have. Complacency won’t do. We need to get up and be at our work in the same way we would do when we had the job. This time around we are our own boss, there is no other boss. So, we better treat ourselves well and be serious in what we do. Access to internet is very important here, there are lots of resources online that can bring positive changes into our lives if we look for it earnestly. It is important to invest a small amount for say a computer and internet access. Be it honing our writing or programming skills, our accounting or technical skills, or baking and cooking skills or whatever else that we are good at or prefer to do. There are ways to generate income in all these and other fields in today’s technologically advanced times.

Remember we find our own way. Help will always be available if we look for it. If we make an attempt there is nothing to despair and only something to be proud about. We can discover different good things about ourselves we never even imagined or thought was possible. We now see ourselves through our own prism as we know ourselves the best. We may find someone like family and friends close to us who would give us courage in times of distress. Discussing our goals and even small accomplishments with them can energise us to chart our own path with zest and devotion.

Lets be positive and work our way to our dreams!

Find purpose; means will follow – M. K. Gandhi.