Have you lost your job or are worried about the possibility of losing your job?  I can certainly relate.   I am in the real estate industry and even though I am still in the game, there is no question that this year’s production is down from last year.  I have to work to stay positive about my own situation.  However, I have had past experiences of not being able to work and they were devastating at the time.

Losing a job, no matter what the reason, can put your head into a negative whirlwind.  The more negatively we talk to ourselves, the more we put ourselves into that doom and gloom black hole.  I had been sick for three and a half years and once I finally was diagnosed with lyme disease, I knew I needed to leave the workplace to recover.  Since I was 18 years old, I have had a job.  I couldn’t imagine what my world  was going to look like, not going to work every day, but I was too sick to make another choice.   I had no idea what I was going to do.  I applied for disability but because I had not filled out the proper paperwork before I left, it was an uphill battle, actually taking a couple of years to resolve.  How could I support myself, here I was sick and out of work.  

The first thing I did was take an action to lower my overhead.  I put my townhouse on the market.  It was a dismal prospect as I loved where I lived and couldn’t imagine where I could go.  It helped that I knew about real estate, so I put an ad in the paper.  Luckily, it did not take more than a month to sell my home.  In the meantime, I found an apartment that cost me less and allowed me to take the extra money from the sale to live on.  I had some friends who came to my rescue for the short term.  It took me over a year to return to work and I was still not recovered.  I started out part-time, four days a week and then worked my way back up the ladder.  I had been President of a Real Estate firm in New York City, before I moved to New Jersey and then to Westchester so it took a few years to work my way back up to Vice President.  

I had some “Poor Me’s” along the way but mostly, I pushed forward and worked on having a positive attitude, always saying that “When one door shuts, another one opens,” and “Everything happens for a reason.”  I joined as many groups as I could to get support.  I am now in full recovery and have a wonderful job.  Yes, because it is real estate, I really don’t know what is going to happen, but I keep a positive attitude in spite of what is going on around me because I believe that what I think is what I will get.

Perhaps there is something creative that you can do and you just don’t know it yet.

Recently, I went to Circuit City to see how the employees were doing there.  I couldn’t get a recorded interview, but the manager that waited on me told me that he is going to use this opportunity to work part-time and go back to school.  His wife returned to the workforce two years ago and was doing well which would afford his the ability to do this.  Everywhere I see, those that think positive and make the most of their situation are thriving.  

Do any of you have stories of your current difficult situation and are in need of some support or a success story that might help others to get through this difficult time?