Staying Positive During a Lay Off

Lay offs are happening all across the country. People are being laid off by the thousands in big corporate companies while small businesses are closing up shop. Homes are in foreclosures. It's a tough economic time. The last thing that a victim of the downsize wants to hear is "Be positive." But sometimes, that's all you can do.

My family has been affected just recently. It's a scary, scary thing because we have three children to support. I almost hyperventilated when my fiancé told me. I never thought that it would happen to us. What will we do? How will we pay our bills? How will we take care of the kids? So many worries filled my head. Then, my fiancé looked at me, took my hand, and said, "Don't worry. It's going to be all right. We'll find a way." I slowly calmed down after that because I knew he was right.

It's so easy to succumb to our problems. Life is difficult already when you have a mortgage and multiple mouths to feed, not to mention never ending debts. Something as unfortunate as a lay off is the cherry on top of it all, and makes life even more overwhelming. But the reality is how is worrying going to help? When we worry, our minds tend to go off on so many tangents because we start worrying about one thing after the other. We focus on the problem and worrying makes it hard to look past that. A worried mind breeds negative thoughts. Negative thoughts attract negative expectations, negative experiences, negative behaviors...negative everything. You're caught in a downward spiral.

A positive mind is clear. It looks beyond the problem and sees a light at the end of the tunnel. Instead of saying "What are we going to do?", a positive person will say, "Now, how can solve this problem?" Easier said than done, I know. But in an economic crisis like this we can't just sit back and worry about when the next job or opportunity is coming. Positive people are creative thinkers who think outside the box. They are hard workers who get out there and make things happen. The point is that having a positive attitude helps you to take your future and your family's future into your hands to continue to build it. It's a matter of choice.

One way to look positively at a lay off situation is to believe that something better is on its way. Sometimes we must go through a season of lack in order to make room for more. As the expression goes, "When one door closes, another one opens." I believe that to be true. It is difficult to have that mindset at first, but with a little faith and patience, things do get better. But the more you dwell on your lack of work or on how things are going to be difficult, the more you will prevent yourself from attracting other opportunities. Like attracts like, both positively and negatively.

If you have children, it is even more important to be positive for their sake. When I was growing up, all my parents ever talked about was how there was never enough money. To this day, I worry about that all the time. Money always seems scarce or difficult to both obtain and save. Try not to discuss your financial worries or loss of work in front of the kids. Otherwise, they will carry those same worries with them as adults if they constantly hear the negative side about money or about work. You don't want your worries to become their worries. They don't need it; they are just kids. Often reassure them that everything is fine even if you don't believe it yourself. Any attitude, whether positive or negative, is contagious so keep a positive one. Wouldn't you want your children to still be happy during this difficult period? Teaching them to be positive will also help them cope with their own problems and obstacles as they get older.

I hope that this article will motivate and inspire others to look on the brighter side of an otherwise impossible situation. We don't know what the future holds. We don't know how much worse it's going to get or how soon it will get better. But what we do know is that we have this present moment to make something happen. Get up each day and just be thankful that you are alive. In this crisis, there is only one direction you can go: UP!