So, I had this whole plan to write a post about appreciating our freedom, in honor of the upcoming July 4th holiday. I wasn’t sure when I was going to write it, since life has been particularly busy recently. And then, all of a sudden, my schedule opened up…and I also got an even more relevant topic for a blog post.
Okay, here it goes, deep breath…I’m unemployed. Yep, as of yesterday, I am a free bird. The position that I had at my company for the past year and a half has been eliminated. This came as a complete shock, and I was pretty upset as I packed up my spare shoes and desk toys on my way out. But, as the day went on, I realized that I had a choice. I could feel bad for myself, think about how life just keeps handing me lemons, and wonder why the universe seems to have it out for me; or, I could make the most of this opportunity and see it as a blessing in disguise. If you’ve read any of my other posts about the challenges I have confronted in the past couple of years, you will not be surprised to know that I chose the latter.
A couple of friends have posts up today about setting goals for the second half of 2010. What a timely topic! So, here’s my goal for the rest of this year: be happy! I know, you were probably expecting me to say “get a job,” and while that’s included in “be happy,” it’s certainly not all of it. Yes, a top priority is finding a job, something that I can bring my skills and experience to, and something that I truly enjoy doing. I’m going to believe in myself and be confident in what I can bring to the table. When I do find something, I want to wake up every day and be excited to go to work, and if not every day, than at least most days. I also want to be happy about myself. I just joined a new gym, and I’m really pumped about it. And now that I don’t have to sit at a desk all day, I can get outside and enjoy the fresh air more. I’m also planning my wedding, and I have been determined from the start for the fun to overtake the stress of the experience. So far, stress is winning out, but soon most of the big things will be out of the way and it’ll be all fun.
Look, if I’ve learned nothing else the past two years, it’s that we can’t always control what happens to us, but we can control how we react to each situation. Yes, this sucks, but I’m choosing to find the silver lining in the cloud, to realize that it could be much worse, and to look at this as a fresh start. I mean really, the possibilities are endless, isn’t that exciting?!
