Adios and vaya con dios

What a perfect song that makes so much sense in my life right now. I do need to find my own beach and relax and just have fun - maybe it is time to really focus in on enjoying life, friends, family and yourself. I think we all try to do this, but I think there are many who just take things for granted and when things affect your life (now that I am almost 40), you really start to stop - and think. It is all about balance and perceptions.

I think this video speaks wonders - even though on the surface it is a huge country hit.

Positive perceptions

I found this article interesting and much needed today. It hasn't been a month yet since my layoff and I am really in the dumps and just not sure what to do next. A majority of my thoughts are festering into past decisions I made and it is directly affecting my confidence. Just one of those days where I need that tiny ounce of positive reinforcement.

http://unemploymentality.com/2009/09/how-to-make-unemployment-a-positive-experience/#more-3725

2 weeks in

Time for reflection. I am about 2 weeks into this 'transition' or 're-alignment' to my career path and it is a bit different this time around. So far the momentum is just slow and feels very protected or guarded out there. Not sure how else to describe this feeling....looking for a job with soliciting contacts with your peers or just reaching out to someone (who is employed) and hoping that there is a thread of understanding that you can grab on to and just have a positive conversation with someone. Maybe it is the silence of validation that I am hearing or just the fact that I am really in the dumps right now. Really hard to swallow such a thing called 'unemployment' and I am sure that I am not alone feeling this way.

So now that I am slowly succumbing to this state of mind...trying to grasp the fact that I really do not know what to do next other than run through the broken cycles of networking, applying, tweaking resume, talking, applying, applying and applying...all this good effort with minimal results. There has got to be another way to do this or maybe something I am missing.

One thing that I am noticing is that there is some really GOOD talent out there. Some people who are in my profession or at my level simply have such an impressive background that again, plays into my insecurities that I am either just not up to the task in my field or I just need to toss in the towel and look for something else.

Of course with the idea of completely taking a left at the career cross-road to something completely different may not be economically feasible at this time. I am reminded daily with a close friend who has been out of work now for almost 2 years from the big-orange-box-home-supply-company and hearing how he was weeks away from declaring bankruptcy - and took a job out of state to provide for his family. Is this something that is also in my future? Should I have done something different? How much risk am I willing to put on myself and on my family? Just too much to think about right now.