Shift your Thinking

Over the past year, the news has been harrowing, and I've seen it across the board from all industries: Layoffs. Whether due to economic hardship, corporate reorganization, or falling victim to the "fake it till you make it" trend that has flooded our workplace, it hurts. It can rattle your bones, give you cold shivers, and leave you in despair. I know; I've experienced it, and I felt destroyed to the core. That is, until the day I shifted my way of thought.

The hardest part is letting go of the past. You've worked your butt off for months or years, you’ve built relationships with customers and colleagues alike. You had a routine. You had a plan. You had an upcoming vacation to Hawaii that you were looking forward to, and now you are wondering if they sell ramen there in bulk. You might even have looked forward to your next 1:1—if you’d known that would be your last moment employed. Sudden life changes you don't see coming can halt everything. Death, divorce, physical changes due to disease or an accident, mental health—you get it. It changes you and everything around you. You have to move on, but how?

I felt a lot of these emotions. I spiraled mentally, although I pushed out the perception that I was happier than ever. I smiled. I laughed it off. Then I realized I was no longer really me. I felt as if there was a weight that was holding me down. It was then I stopped saying I was fine, and began asking for help. It was then that a good friend said something that has forever changed my life: “Shift your thinking.”

Life changing events can leave you stuck in quicksand, frozen and unsure of which way to go next, what to do next. You conceptually get that you have to move forward, but how? It always starts with that first step—the hardest step.

You may think you know which way you're supposed to step, and that's what makes it so terrifying. It's into the unknown. Here is the key - shift how you think about that step. That first step is not forward. The first step is to the side. Instead of thinking “What next?”, shift to “What else?”. Once those words resonated with me, "Shift your thinking," I did just that. I began to think what else? I love me, I want me to succeed—what else can ensure my success for my future, for my family?

Try something you love. Pick up a task you’ve been putting off forever. And in the middle of all of it, don’t forget to make time for you.

When I shifted my thinking, I realized I had a few other skills in my utility belt that I had let get dull. What a perfect time to sharpen them. I've always watched bartenders dish out fancy cocktails and found myself thinking, “That's pretty cool, and I'm great with people” so I went and spent two weeks at a hands-on bartender training facility, and guess what—now I can bartend if I want. What else? I sharpened my intellect and began progress toward achieving my PMP certification, I’ve taken some AI training, and I’ve debated starting my MBA in January (although perhaps a bit too much “what else”...). I also began to assist others who struggle with unemployment and am launched a hosting platform for their portfolios to help them stand out. Once I realized I was focusing on “what else,” I then realized that the pain behind me had drastically reduced and no longer pressing at my throat.

Now you step forward.

Let's be real here. This is great except for one glaring omission. Income. Most of us do not have that reserve we can tap into to keep us afloat. We still need to survive. We have to provide. As Clifford Smith Jr. methodically said, “Cash rules everything around me.” So, let's get the money.

When you step to the side, the road doesn’t end; it opens into many new paths you couldn’t see before. Your visibilty has increased, and so will your opportunities. The days of old are gone. Some people balance multiple jobs; some are lifers at one. Some bunny-hop from one job to another and you wonder how they've had seventeen jobs in five years. With a renewed outlook by a simple shift in mindset, instead of that daunting feeling of what was, I'm focused on what will be.

Shift your thinking.