Fired: Bad or Good - It All Depends on How You Look at It

 

I received word last week that a dear friend was laid off from her job after over 30 years of service. I felt badly for her. Losing a job, even one you don’t particularly like, can be a blow. It is especially difficult if you happen to like what you have been doing, have been doing it for a long time and are good at it.

I have never been laid off from a job. But I have been fired from a few. Being laid off means you have the possibility of collecting unemployment compensation. I never had a job that provided that possibility. Preachers aren’t covered under unemployment insurance. (Just another perk of the job.) I was just sent home with a smile, a handshake and a kick in the butt. I have been through it and there are at least two ways to look at losing a job. It can be a bad thing or it could be a good thing.

A Bad Thing:

1. You are losing an important (and possibly necessary) source of income.
2. You will not enjoy the close relationships you had with coworkers. (No matter what promises are made.)
3. You feel disposable; less than you were; unnecessary; possibly worthless. Your self-image takes a hit.
4. Suddenly you have at least eight hours a day to fill with meaningful activity. Some advice: Don’t turn on the television. It is a black hole that will consume your life. I was once ill for several months and got hooked on “Days of Our Lives.” I almost had to go into rehab. It was embarrassing to admit what it did to my friends. Especially my male friends.
5. You have to tell significant people in your life that you were fired and deal with their responses. It is always weird.
6. You walk into McDonald’s and think, “Perhaps I could work here.”

A Good Thing:

1. You don’t have to get up early to go to work tomorrow.
2. Time is freed up to do all those projects you have wanted to do when you have some free time.
3. You can stop and smell the roses. (Or whatever happens to be hanging around that might smell good.)
4. You have an incentive change occupations and do what you have really wanted to do for a living.
5. You can now take those classes you have been talking about taking or getting that elusive degree.
6. Exercise. You no longer have an excuse not to exercise. (Perhaps this should be listed under bad parts.)
7. You can find creative ways to live on less income.
8. You have time to hang out at Walmart and take pictures of the amazing outfits people wear there.
9. You can go downtown and pose as a homeless person and see if you can make more money panhandling than working a real job.

I am not saying losing a job is a good thing. I never enjoyed the experience. But, if you look at it the right way, it can open your life to new and even exciting possibilities.

It all depends on how you look at it.

Copyright © 2014, William T. McConnell, All Rights Reserved