With the holidays nearly in full swing, there is so much to be thankful in our fantastic world. Yet, so many of you, including me, have been rocked by the economy in myriad of ways in 2009.
In previous articles, I mentioned that I was laid off from my dream job earlier this year because of the economic perfect storm. You may have had a similar plight. Or, you are trying to adapt to a new scenario at your work because you are being asked to do much more because many colleagues have unfortunately received the pink slip. Sometimes even more challenging, you may have dealt with a personal issue of losing a loved one, struggles with your kids, or the ending of a long-term relationship.
No matter the instance, there are very few of these circumstances that should make you drop to your knees in shame, regret or sorrow. While your stress may have reached a crescendo this year, the All-Mighty – no matter what your faith – has a plan for all of us. Usually, this plan has many rewarding facets, and opens a door that you never thought was there before. It can be truly amazing!
For me, this has happened in a couple ways – professionally and personally. Both have been profound and have emphasized to me to always believe there’s a new resilient road waiting for all of us.
Professionally, as I mentioned, I began 2009 as one of 1,500 great employees who were beginning to be laid off from a terrific company. This company relied on credit to do business, which made it a multi-billion company through its more than 50 years. The Great Recession, however, brought this venerable corporation to its knees. More than 75 percent of its nationwide workforce has been laid off to date.
Then there’s me. A corporate communications executive looking for work that had disappeared – or at east been put on hold – from nearly every company. The open jobs out there at my level also were being pursued by 400 other qualified individuals. I’d get to the final group of applicants but there always was someone who had 30 of 30 requirements – while I had 29 of 30.
As you should in a similar circumstance: I began looking “outside the box” and finding a new course that could take advantage of my 25+ years of writing and speaking skills. After focusing on fine-tuning my personal brand, I began writing a resiliency blog and the rest has been so rewarding and very humbling. More than 1 million hits…top four personal branding blogs in the nation…speaking engagement locally, nationally and possibly worldwide….and, yes, gratification and peace of mine.
The point for all of us: Believe in your skills and look for ways to apply them in unique ways in these challenging times. You need to create a large space between feeling helpless (like I initially did), and finding something you truly want to do in life that, of course, pays the bills. I thought my previous position was fantastic but helping me and all of you get past our life and career resiliency struggles is much more rewarding and gratifying. What do you ultimately want to do in life?
For me personally, it was also an enriching year. My wife and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary, and our 14-year-old daughter is achieving her black belt in Kung Fu and doing extremely well in school. Most importantly, I found a way to look past my life struggles as a person with a disability (Cerebral Palsy), and show great folks like you the ways to successfully apply resilience in every part of your life and career.
Talking frankly about my disability as a resilient example to you was not an easy transformation for me. Those with disabilities are taught through experiences at a young age “to stay in the weeds” and not become too noticeable in this “normal” world. Especially at a young age, physically challenged folks like me don’t always want to highlight their “differences” because they want to fit in and be seen as “normal” as possible.
Now that I am celebrating 50 this month, I have found that you can’t worry about your perceived “weaknesses.” You need to focus on your strengths because that’s what folks will remember. Since my mid-forties, I began to realize that my disability, which affects my walking and balance, was actually a resilient strength not a weakness. It only took me nearly 50 years to realize my lifelong adaptability has made me a hopefully better and more compassionate person…
The next time you see yourself in a discouraging light at work or in your personal relationships, please remember all of your unique strengths that have allowed you to be successful. But also look inside yourself for an area or two that you can crystalize to be healthier and a more resilient person in all aspects of your life. I did this, and it is making such a difference in my life!
The holiday season is time for joy and a resilient anticipation for tomorrow…if only you make a commitment to see past the challenges and be the best and courageous person that you are. You know that YOU are that person…
Until next week, I encourage you to please stay strong and resilient no matter what challenges you are navigating through!
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