Another week back in ‘real life’ and I have to admit, there’s been good and bad days since posting part one last week. Despite going through unemployment before, I can’t say that I ever feel prepared to go through it again. I’ve worked hard in my career to do great marketing and set myself up for success, so to have all of that taken away without me being able to do anything about it, is a really shitty feeling. Combine that with viewing the endless posts on LinkedIn from job hunters who have been looking for 6, 9, 12, or more months, and it’s enough to scare anybody in this economy. Thankfully, I have support through this time from my loving girlfriend as well as some of my close friends who check in periodically to help me stay positive and looking ahead rather than getting too caught up in my own feelings. I’ve written about what it’s like to go through unemployment before, and a lot of those emotions are present again, so instead of recapping those, I’d rather focus on the remaining reflections I had while in Japan that could be useful reminders for myself or for you to take and apply to your life. Here we go.

Timing Isn’t In Your (Full) Control

An oldie but a goodie. I’ve stated this many times on this blog, but I am constantly being reminded by life that the timing of events is unpredictable and something we have very little control over. Most of the time, things will work out. I’m not exactly sure when, but they always seem to figure themselves out as long as you are moving forward in some capacity within your life and putting in the work to keep yourself going. That doesn’t mean you need to sit at a computer for 10 hours a day and apply to jobs, network, and do all the things either. Something I have a hard time coming to grips with but is absolutely essential in keeping my mental health positive is having an ‘off’ day where I don’t put a ton of work into figuring out my career. While this sounds scary since it could make you feel like you are behind, we were not born on this planet to work all day every day, and job hunting is a form of work. Take a break, do things that you enjoy, and set time aside to actually live life. No matter how much time you put in, that next opportunity may not have been posted yet. Just because your career is on pause, doesn’t mean your life is too (this one hits home for me especially).

Stop Playing Small

With that, when you do have the days that you put in effort and work towards getting your career back on track… stop playing small.

Getting laid off or becoming unemployed in general is a hit to the ego. Trust me, as someone who has been through this repeatedly, I can tell you that my ego has been bruised a lot. When your ego is hurt, it’s hard not to start having imposter syndrome and doubting yourself about your capabilities. There have been too many times that I wonder whether I’m actually good at marketing, whether I’ve just fallen into some luck that’s run out, and whether I earned the accomplishments on my resume. The fact is – I am good at what I do and I have earned everything I’ve worked for, and so have you. We need to remind ourselves that if we talked to a version of ourselves from 5 or 10 years ago, they’d be amazed at how far we’ve come. Despite this, it’s easy to get sucked into the negativity that tramautic events cause so I won’t sugar coat that it’s easy to handle, but remind us that we need to keep our heads high in times like these if we’re going to pull through. For me specifically, I’ve noticed that layoffs in recent years are not so much about the individuals and more so about the companies & industries doing the layoffs. While it may feel personal, it usually isn’t. If I take a rational look at the reasons I’ve been laid off in my career, each one didn’t have much to do with me and was usually a result of much larger problems that were affecting the company.

So what does ‘stop playing small’ look like? It looks like you going after the things you are passionate about. Investing time in things that make you happy. Recognizing your own self-value and celebrating the achievements that have gotten you to this point in your career (and life). It’s about showing up for yourself first, feeling confident in your ability to do great things, and then going and doing those great things. Which leads me to my final reflection…

Legacy

Honestly, this is not something I have thought too much about until recently, but it’s definitely been on my mind more and more as I get further into my 30s. What is my legacy? What have I achieved, and what do I still want to earn? Who have I been, and more importantly, what type of person do I strive to be? What mark do I want to leave on the world, if any?

The word legacy itself can be intimidating because it is usually associated with powerful or famous figures that have made an impact on this planet at some point in history. The thing is, all of us have the ability to do the same… we all have friends, family, acquaintances, and even random strangers that we have the potential to leave a mark on in a positive way. That’s legacy. My Nana always taught me to leave this world a little better than I found it, and as I navigate this next chapter of my career, I am hoping that I can find an opportunity that continues to let me grow in my experience & skillset while making a positive impact on it’s community of customers.

What does the future hold? I have no clue. I just know that I am tired of being afraid, feeling insignificant, and I want to put my happiness first going forward. I don’t have all the answers at the moment while I navigate this uncertainty, but I am certain about what I want; and that’s to live life to my full potential.

Hopefully you feel the same way about yours.