Take a new approach

Right now millions of Americans are either out of work, recently laid off, or afraid of being laid off. There are millions more, who simply work at jobs, which provide no meaning. They work only in order to get a paycheck.

Stop feeling sorry for yourself

Society norms make it easy to feel sorry for yourself. Sadness, depression, panic are all emotions which are easy to absorb during difficult times. When there are bills to pay and food to buy, nothing else seems to matter. Still, to focus on these emotions is the worst approach to take. Feeling bad only leads to more negativity and sadness.

Celebrate

That’s right – CELEBRATE that you are living now during a wonderful period of life – hopefully you have good health and ability to think clearly. For sure this is a good time for transition.

Transitions in work

Transitions take on different shapes and forms during one’s work life. For example one might be in transition as a result of being laid off or while starting new work in a new area. People adapt to change in different ways. This difference depends on how a person perceives his transition. Is this change moving one closer to an important goal or farther away from?

What causes anxiety?

What causes anxiety for most people out of work and in transition is the uncertainty. Before, a person knew what to expect even if the former job didn’t provide much joy or happiness.

A new perspective is needed

When in transition it is important to think back to the OLD job and analyze what was good and what was not so good. This can lead to new beginnings and finding new work which could fit you much better. Sadly, when people lose their job they also lose their sense of self and who they are. Job titles tend to influence the sense of who you are and as a result can be damaging to one’s soul.

Take some down time

I was in a coffee shop the other day and noticed many 40 plus adults in a frantic pace using their cell phones and laptops to come up with something. In fact, I overheard one man who said to someone on the other end, "I’ll take anything at this point." I thought to myself, "anything?" In the corner of the shop I noticed a woman hard at work too. She was hard at work trying to figure out one of those word search puzzle games. I walked by and said to her something like, "It looks difficult to do!" She answered to me, "Actually, it helps my creativity when I am out of work." And I thought to myself, "Hmm…this was a much better strategy while in transition!"

Exercise your mind

When in transition, it is important to engage the mind in new activities, which will in turn create new ideas. Start with vocation! Think about which work you could do for a lifetime that will give you the ability not to be dependent on others. This is important after 40 and beyond. The Buddha said long ago, "Work out your salvation and to not depend on others." This is a good way to think about vocation (work which you could do forever). The more you are forced to perform work, which you do not like, the worst you will feel. Think back to when you did work and felt like you were volunteering. What was the experience?

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