Re-Igniting Your Life After Job Loss – Part II

Coping with Job Loss

"Hope is what remains when all your worst fears have been realized." - Unknown

In Part I of “Coping with Job Loss” I discussed common reactions to losing a job and how this loss may affect you.  Now that your worst fears about losing your job have been realized and you know you’re not going crazy, here are some tips to give you hope and help you feel better and move forward.

Kathy Smith says, "Your choices today determine your tomorrow and you make your life through the power of choice."  There are several effective methods you can choose to help yourself feel better and work through your reactions.  

First, get support!  Talking to others who care about you can help to diffuse your anger and fear and can help you develop a positive attitude about your future.  Try to maintain as regular a schedule as possible.  Eat right and get plenty of exercise and rest.  Find ways to relax that will help you to energize yourself.  You may want to find a hobby or get back into an old one that you enjoy.  Make sure to find time to play, have some fun and laugh; laughter truly is the best medicine!

Remember, too, that some days will just be difficult for you; so give yourself permission to feel rotten.  On your rough days you may want to share your feelings with others or keep a journal and write down how you're feeling.  Finally, do something to help others; this will help you to feel useful and productive, will help you to put your difficulties into perspective, and make you feel good about yourself.

Some people feel a sense of relief and look at their job loss as an opportunity.  These people may or may not go through the typical stages of job loss, but rather, may begin with an adjustment and acceptance period and move on with their lives, never looking back.  Remember that your job is not who you are; it is what you do.  It does not define you; you define it.  Now is a time for you to decide what you want to do next.

"My philosophy of life is that if we make up our mind what we are going to make of our lives, then work hard toward that goal, we never lose - somehow we win out." - Ronald Reagan

Start by making up your mind now what you are going to make of your life.  Begin by asking yourself the following questions.  Where is my passion?  What do I want to do next in my life?  Then choose to make that your goal.

©Copyright 2008 by Kathleen A. Bowersox, M.Ed., LPC, LPBC, Quantum Leap Success Coaching, www.QuantumLeapSuccessCoach.com - Additional information:  kasox@comcast.net.  Reprint permission granted in part or whole when the following credit appears in full:  Copyright 2008 by Kathleen A. Bowersox, M.Ed., LPC, LPBC.  All rights reserved.