Why you should never feel guilty about losing your job

You may think that losing your job is probably the worst thing that has happened to you. It sure sounds like one. It may make you feel terrible at first. You may start imagining yourself as running out of money, losing your home and assets, perhaps, even your loved ones. One day you may wake up and think—why me? When did things get so bad? However, losing your job is not such a bad thing. Feeling guilty about losing your job serves no purpose, finding a way ahead does.

You have to look at it from a positive angle. While you may not have a job in hand at the moment, it is not the end of your career. In the meantime, you have to utilize the time you have in hand to figure out other things in your life.

Here are a few reasons why you should not feel guilty about losing your job:

Stop and Think

Losing your job may be a terrible thing, but look at all the time you now have in hand to do the things you never managed to do before, as a working professional. You have spent so many years of your life behind work, that somewhere in the pursuit of money and a better career and life, you left behind the things that you loved—your interests and hobbies. It is time to rekindle that love.

It is also time to take a step back and evaluate where you are—in your career and in your life. This is the time when you can get a lot of thinking done and figure out the next steps in life. You can work part-time or as a freelancer if there is a money crunch. But, consider taking some time off from work. Do not rush into finding another job immediately.

Make Some Decisions

This is the time when you get to think about what you really want from your future job. See where your career is headed and if your professional life is as satisfying as you wanted it to be. You may want to run after money and a higher position, but it may not be about that at all. You may want to pursue a completely different career. Think about the rewards that you already have in life from your profession.

Meet New People

While this may not sound like a great plan or something that you would want to do especially after you have lost your job, networking is important at such a phase in life. The more people you know and meet, the more will you know about the market and other job opportunities, be it in your own field or in a completely different sector.

Meeting new people will open up new doors for you that you may not have been aware of. You will be more aware of what’s happening in the world and around you. Even if new job opportunities may not crop up, at least you will have had a great conversation, which is always better than sitting at home and mourning over your lost job. And who knows? You may even come up with a bright idea suddenly and think of starting a business.

You Become a Stronger Person

Kanye West’s song ‘Stronger’ has some lines that make perfect sense in this situation—”What doesn’t kill me, makes me stronger.”

While it was philosopher Nietzsche who said this, the rapper definitely brought our attention back to these lines and showed us how it holds importance even in today’s world.

When you lose your job, you learn so many things. You learn how to live with lesser money in hand, you learn to survive in a tough situation, and without many things that were once a luxury you enjoyed, and perhaps learning new life skills such cooking your own food and washing your own clothes.

No matter how depressed you feel about losing your job, these life lessons will turn to be valuable as you grow older. There is no reason why you should feel guilty about losing your job.

Welcome the New You!

Never associate yourself and your whole life to a particular job and position that you’ve held at a company. Now when you meet new people and they ask you what you do for a living, you can perhaps, throw some ideas to them and see how they react to your future plans. Earlier, you looked at yourself as the “Communications Manager”, or the “Assistant Editor”, or the “Talent Acquisition Expert” of a company. Now, you can build your own identity with the interests you hold close to your heart.

You Deserve to be Appreciated for Your Hard Work

While being let go from a job may feel terrible, think of it this way: you were fired from your job because maybe you were underperforming, or perhaps the company was downsizing and you happened to be unlucky to lose your job in this process.

But think about it this way. Your company let you go because they felt something was off with your performance. They may have overlooked your hard work and thought of you first to let go when they had to make a tough call.

It is always better to be part of a company and culture where your ideas and hard work are appreciated. You should surround yourself with people who encourage you to do better in your life and career. Make sure your co-workers and employers appreciate you. Only positive vibes will push you to do better both in your professional as well as your personal life.

So, come out of your home. Dig yourself out of those quilts and take a shower and be fresh. You must remain positive and not feel guilty about losing your job. Guilt is never a solution, an attitude to deal with it, is.