POSITIVE PANDEMIC

Just over a year ago I resigned. Just over a month ago my position was eliminated as part of the Covid-19 downsizing of Corporate America. Just over two months now, I have spent sheltering in place all by my lonesome…well, there is Buddy and a fish named Magoo to keep me company.

WHAT NOW???

Realizing that the world economy as we know it will never be the same again. I thought…What do I want my life to look like on the other side of all of this? The first thing I did was assess my situation. What did I have that was an asset that could help me on my journey? What things do I already own that can help me? What things in my life are holding me back? Are there people, things or habits that I need to let go of? I had to lean in, cuz the faster I can get to acceptance, the less pain I will endure, and I can simply move on.

COURAGE AND FEAR ARE INVERSE RELATIONSHIPS
WHICH EVER ONE YOU LEAN INTO WILL GROW
CHOOSE WISELY

I got rid of unnecessary subscriptions/memberships immediately. I had a meeting with my financial advisor. I leaned into MLM and our Business School. I have gained so much benefit from the teachings of my leaders the value is unparalleled. Those who speak from the heart, have constant contact, are generous with their time, wisdom and advise and choose to offer solutions and inspiration daily that are applicable to not only the business we are trying to build but to so many other avenues and aspects of life. This is true servant leadership. The only thing in my life that has given me this much wisdom and value has been my 500+ hours of yoga teacher training.  Everything I have learned has allowed me to come into a place where my courage is greater than my fear. 

COME INTO A PLACE WHERE YOUR COURAGE IS GREATER THAN YOUR FEAR

Loosing a job is not the end of the world. Getting laid off is not an uncommon thing, especially right now. It is not unheard of. It is not the worst thing I have been through and I am about halfway through my life, and I doubt it will be the most severe thing I have to overcome in my time on this planet. I have literally been treating this time with gratitude. When else in my career will I be paid to stay at home and figure out the next chapter of my life. Sabbatical.

SABBATICAL

So I keep an open mind. I feel like the things I need to move forward in life are coming at me in full force. I signed up for a ten day digital marketing course that two of my colleagues were running. It was so inspiring and got me into an entrepreneurial spirit. After the ten days was up, I signed up for another digital marketing course. This one is a 30 Day Challenge and I will come out of it with a completed project that will position me to be profitable in the market place. More to come on that in the near future!

My lesson to you is to not get caught up in the fear of uncertainty. The quicker you get on the other side of fear, the quicker you can move on. The sooner you let go of fear, you will find ease and be able to move onward and upward. Dig deep. Find the courage to rise above. Get out of your comfort zone. Lean in. Pull through. Push forward. Figure out what you want and GET ON IN! And Remember: A closed mind is the most expensive thing you can own that will cost you everything. 

Don’t get me wrong…there was some drama leading up to the soundness in my mind…so here ya go:

Friday the 13th. March 2020

Panic meeting from the boss lady. FaceTime. She’s out scouting locations. Her phone is shaking cuz she is jolting around trying to find a private place to talk to us and the overall state of panic and uncertainty is plastered all over her face. It was quick. Basically, gather your things and plan to work from home the following week. Any questions? No. We all go back to our desks and start preparing files and paperwork to send/bring home. The office is buzzing as every department had just got out of the exact same meeting. Panic. Fear. Worry. I get my shit together and get the eff out of there as fast as humanly possible.

PANIC . FEAR . WORRY

Friday the 27th. March 2020

This is the day a friend stops by to take a “Front Porch Project” pic of me and Buds. Accept it is not on my front steps, it is taken in what I call my backyard which is the beautiful ocean scape approximately 800 feet from my front door. Photographer friend used to work in my office. She’s like…what do you think is gonna happen with work? I’m like I have no idea, just taking each day as it comes. That is so me.

No lie…it felt like just moments after she drove off to her next front porch, I get a meeting on my calendar for after work hours. I am like seriously, this whole WFH situation has been a shit storm and now they want me to sit in a meeting on a Friday after quitting time? I’m like…whatever. Next thing I know I am getting an email from the CEO of the company. I’m like “oh great. Here we go…” This letter was obviously piece mailed together, the fonts and spacing were in all different sizes and so obvi written by different people. I am like c’mon now…let’s get it together you are a million dollar company. 

This email was basically a WARNING. The company plans to layoff, furlough and force job sharing. But they can’t let us know who or what is happening for sure until Wednesday of the following week. I let that settle for a moment. I am like seriously…It would be so much easier to cope if you just ripped the bandaid off in one fell swoop. Instead we get to chew on that over the weekend and a few days into the following week. How thoughtful of them.

Then boss lady calls an immediate meeting…we all hop on the video chat and have to sit there and wait for like five minutes cuz one girl is out and about with her son and nowhere near something she can video chat on. So we wait. We sit in the virtual meeting room and no one says a word. They just stare at each other and wait for the last of our group to hop on. Finally, we are all together and then boss lady has nothing really to tell us that is any different from the shite letter we just got from the CEO.

PANIC . FEAR . WORRY

I pour some vodka, call my Front Porch Project friend, commiserate momentarily. Then go for a quick hike at my favorite place to go seal watching and all is well in the world again. Monday arrives and we have our first thing in the morning virtual staff meeting and everyone looks solemn. And the days progress just like that until doomsday.

Wednesday the 1st. April 2020

Yep. April Fool’s Day 2020 was no joke. The whole day was just weird. Surreal even. You know something is going to happen but you have no idea when or how. About mid-morning I can see the boss lady’s calendar fill up with a sequence of fifteen minute meetings back-to-back. I’m like it’s starting. Here we go. But I did not get a meeting invite? G-chat from co-worker who was curious if I knew or heard anything. I notice boss lady’s calendar of events has disappeared. In my head, they made them private, the fact that I could see them was an oversight on their part…Then I get a text from another coworker saying she is safe, we are safe, our department is safe. That is the last time I heard from that person ever again.

And then I get the meeting invite. And that was it…my email got shut down while I was on the phone with HR. Never in my life have I felt more like a number in sea of whatevers. The conversation was scripted and one sided. I tried to make inquiries but she just kept talking over me. I remained professional and understanding to the situation. They even thanked me for that. It truly was a heartless and faceless transaction. I had to go in and clean out my desk several weeks later. That was like going back to a crime scene especially with the mask and gloves on.  

BUMMED IS WHAT YOU ARE WHEN YOU GET THE CALL FROM HR AND YOU LOOSE YOUR JOB