Flashback to April. My husband was away, my dad was having a stent replaced, and worst of all, I was working in a stressful and unorganized work environment. Every morning I dreaded the ring of my alarm clock and some days it took all I had just to get out of bed to go to work.
Despite working in a less-than-desirable environment, I’ll be honest: a paycheck was a paycheck and I did enjoy the swell in my bank account every other Friday.
Then one day it happened. Because of financial difficulties caused by the economy, I was let go, along with another employee. I’d like to say I was crushed and that I went into panic mode at the thought of losing my income, but the truth was this: I felt a tidal wave of relief, like someone lifted a 50-pound weight off my shoulders. I knew right then and there that no matter what happened, from that moment on my life would be exponentially better.
Then the next day a close friend was killed in a motorcycle accident. Because I no longer had a job, I was able to spend the next few weeks with his wife helping with whatever she needed and most importantly, just being there.
We all know that life is too short to spend our days being miserable in our job, but how often do we take the risk of leaving a stable position to find something more fulfilling? Sure, I could have quit at any point, but with the economy in the can and living in a resort town, my options were few and far between. So how did losing my job change my life?
I was forced to decide what I truly wanted to do. It sounds silly to be 30 years old and still not know what I want to be “when I grew up”, but surprisingly, there are millions of women, many older than me, who are in the same boat. Suddenly, it was impossible to ignore that little voice in my head telling me to go for what I love, regardless of the money or the grueling hours it may take to achieve it.
While the prospect of doing my own thing is extremely daunting and there is no end to my to-do list, I am super excited to give my little venture a go. I may fail, but at least I will have tried.
I learned to live with less…and like it. There’s nothing like the loss of a paycheck to put your spending in perspective. Despite being frugal with my money, there were little things I was buying, like pedicures, weekly girls nights out and all those glossy magazines in the check out line at the grocery store I couldn’t resist buying. I was shocked at how much it all added up to every month. Now the girls and I do $1 taco/$2 margarita nights; I give myself pedicures every week during Grey’s Anatomy and I subscribe to magazines instead of paying four times as much at the grocery store. The changes may be small, but they do add up.
I’m happier than ever. For the first time in my adult life, I don’t have to put up with office politics or power-obsessed bosses. I don’t have stress headaches, I’m not always in a bad mood and my marriage is stronger. If I had known a layoff would have such wonderful effects, I would have left my job to do my own thing long ago. So if you’ve recently lost your job because of the recession just know that there is something better waiting around the corner. I’m proof of that.
Photo by frank331
