What would you do if you lost your job – the only one that puts food on your table – and spent 4 or 5 years without getting another? Would you keep looking for another one or give up altogether? Would you go stealing or resort to begging from well wishers? Would you go to a relative and cry out loud so they can have mercy on you and tell their friend’s brother-in-law’s nephew’s maternal cousin’s neighbour who works with government to get you a new job in the Ministry of Finance? (I do not mind you sharing with us your answer to this question or actually your own experience, in the comment side below this post.)
Such is the dilemma in which someone I have not physically met finds himself. Instead of doing the things above, he has resorted to a very wise step: consulting for advice from someone you know can help you – at least with words of wisdom to stir you up into your next step towards your dreams. Today, I received this message in my Facebook inbox:
Hullo Samuel, I know you are very busy but please reply my question. I had a job 4 years ago in a bank and lost it. I am just too demotivated now. How do I pick myself up?
I indeed replied him, but after that, I deeply thought about it and my heart was even broken the more, knowing that there are very many people out there – probably even YOU who is reading this post – who have gone through (or are still experiencing) such moments of being “just too demotivated” as a result of job stress, wondering how to pick themselves up again. I thus felt compelled to reproduce the few words I wrote back to Dick (not real name) just about 2o minutes ago. Who knows? Maybe, you may be helped to move forward confidently and lay your hands on what you’ve been looking for.
Dick,
Sorry for the loss of your bank job 4 years ago. There is a lot we could share about concerning this, but I would like to just think aloud – briefly:
First of all, what made you lose that job at the bank? What exactly happened? Probably, THAT needs to be addressed if you are to get up again and stride forward. Some things just constantly push us down because we have not addressed them. You see, Dick, NOTHING CHANGES IF NOTHING CHANGES. If the reason for losing the first job is not addressed now, most likely, it will also cause the loss of the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th job. That is my first loud thought. Address the cause.
Secondly, was that your dream job in the first place or do you have something else you have always wanted to do? If it was your dream job, you can address no.1 above and throw your new baits into the marketplace to get it again – probably in the same bank or a different one. After all, it is possible. But if that was NOT your dream job, why don’t you now focus on pursuing your dream job and starting all over again? You can get what you want, something you enjoy doing, something that gives you satisfaction beyond monetary compensation. Yes, you can. I recommend to you a new book I recently gave a Foreword to, titled “Get Your Dream Job in 48 Hours” by Daniel Choudry. It has some goo thoughts to help you go forward. Once you focus on what you want – the goal you want to achieve – it will be your greatest motivator to get you up again. Often we lose hope and motivation because we really do not have a strong goal to urge us forward towards the future we otherwise desire. Make that your goal and pursue it strongly.
Thirdly, have you thought about the probability that losing your job could have been a great blessing in disguise for you? I want to believe that you have some gifts, talents and skills – on top of the knowledge you may have acquired during your academic study. What if you now focused on using all these to do great things for yourself and those around you, instead of looking for a job to work for someone else again. Without doubt, Dick, each one of us has those gifts, talents and special skills. They are the greatest allies for our success – if we tap into them. That is what I personally did. I left the job I had as a Programs Manager for an international charity and started pursuing my passions that were in line with my talents, giftings and skills such as speaking, writing, mobilizing, training, inspiring, among others. So, my friend, who knows whether you lost that job so as to be launched into your real destiny?
Therefore, get yourself up again today. What matters is not how many times you fall but whether you get up whenever you fall down. The harder a ball is hit on the ground, the higher it bounces back. What looked like a setback may have been a setup for your great comeback. Whether that happens is entirely UPON YOU, Dick.
No more time to even speak more. Now is the time to ACT. It is time to DO something. Just stand up now; go and make things happen. You can achieve more than you have ever dreamed possible – if only you can apply your wisdom, knowledge, skills, gifts and talents to your passion. In all this, get on your knees and pray to God for divine guidance through it all because “cursed is he who trusts in the arm of flesh.”
You have my blessing and best wishes and I really hope this helps. Please, keep me informed about your progress.
To your success,
Samuel
That is what I replied to him. For your benefit, I would like to add three more thoughts below:
- Read inspiring books and watch motivational DVDs. When you expose your mind and spirit to stories of success and inspiring words of wisdom, you never remain the same. Something great is added onto you – something you may not easily get from somewhere else. (Tough love: If you complain that books and DVDs are “expensive” and therefore cannot invest in some hard-earned money into your own personal development and self-betterment, you may as well not truly deserve to develop at all, anyway.)
- Keep utilizing your abilities in as many ways as possible. Do not sit back and wait for that day when an angel of the Lord shall push a silver spoon in your platinum mouth to feed you on golden eggs! While you wait to land your dream goal, be doing something now with your skills, gifts, and talents. For example, volunteer somewhere strategic where your saw can be sharpened, your experience expanded, and your productivity noticed by those who matter.
- Keep in the company of those who add value to you. If you want to fly like an eagle, what are you still doing, flocking with chicken? You are meant to fly; why are you scratching the ground with ducks? Go to where the “right” people are – right in terms of those who speak sense, discuss ideas (not people and things), and tickle your innermost being to think outside the box – or “beyond the obvious” like my fellow writer Mutume Sempa would call it.
I believe that you have been inspired and much value has been added to you through this post. I appreciate your say about the matter above.
