Being Laid Off -- Is it a Sacred Opportunity?

By Arleen Hannich

Have you ever noticed that "good" things often come out of "bad" things? Events or situations we see as disasters in our life can actually change our life in profound and wonderful ways.

I believe layoffs offer many individuals a sacred opportunity to re-examine their lives. For many of us, something as serious as a layoff is required before we will pay attention to thoughts and feelings that have been plaguing us for months, years, or even decades. Thoughts like: What am I doing in this job? Where is my passion? What is the purpose of my life anyway? Is this really all there is to life?

We may have ignored and stuffed concerns like these for so long that they have begun to show up in our bodies as disease -- a physical manifestation of the disease of our souls. But if physical illness doesn't get our attention, a layoff quite often does.

Many of us expend huge amounts of energy and time rearranging our lives so that we feel the sense of growth and wonder we crave. Yet we haven't really created anything new, and our relief is short-lived. We may feel safe simply rearranging the box we live in, but our life force does not want to be contained in this way. Our life force wants to experience, grow, and expand. Our life force wants us to take the lid off of our box and explore new territories which beckon to us. Enter the layoff -- a perfect opportunity for self-examination, self-expansion, and self-realization.

As you look now to re-enter the workforce, I invite you to consider the following questions:

1. "What is the most important thing to you in your life today? What do you find personally meaningful?" Take some time to really ponder your answers. When you started your career, your answers may have been very different. Allow this layoff to be your opportunity to "catch up" with all the changes you have undergone during your previous years of employment.

2. "When you were growing up, what were you most interested in doing?" Also consider if there was anything you were told as a child you could not do in the area of occupation or career. What were you told would be "best" for you? Now, as an adult with many years of experience under your belt, take a second look at your interests and the advice you received. Determine if the advice is serving you today, and how you can expand your parameters for success and personal fulfillment.

3. "What fears played a part in shaping your previous career? Which of those fears can you throw away now?"

4. "What part of your potential have you been resisting?"

5. "What possibilities -- that you didn't allow yourself to consider before -- may be open to you today?"

Self-discovery is a continual process. You will not be able to complete it in an hour or two, but it is a process that is well worth starting. Once you take the first few steps, I think you might actually find that you enjoy it!

A layoff is a significant event in your life. Though it may not seem so on the surface, I believe there is something sacred in such a life event. I invite you to allow this sacred pause into your life. Use it as fuel for creating a life that supports you in experiencing joy and fulfilling your true potential.

As a Spiritual Facilitator, I would find it difficult not to end this article by reminding you that Divine assistance is always available to you. Now is a great time to ask the Divine to help you glimpse your true potential. Ask the Divine to accompany you as you lift the lid off of your box and re-create your life. I wish you much success on your journey!

About the Author:
Arleen Hannich, MA, is a Spiritual Facilitator. She provides Divine Presence, Inspirational Messages From Spirit, and the Oneness Blessing to individuals worldwide who wish to live authentically and joyfully. To receive her Free E-Zine, "The Divine Connection," and her Free Guide, "Feel Your Emotions and Create a Life You Love," visit her website at http://newsletters.selfgrowth.com/t/5647988/15703756/494/0/?u=aHR0cDovL3d3dy5zZWxmZ3Jvd3RoLmNvbS9ndWlkZS9hcmxlZW5oYW5uaWNoLmh0bWw%3d&x=dcc175a6

Check out the Experts page for Arleen Hannich, the SelfGrowth.com Official Guide to Self-Realization: http://newsletters.selfgrowth.com/t/5647988/15703756/495/0/?u=aHR0cDovL3d3dy5zZWxmZ3Jvd3RoLmNvbS9leHBlcnRzL2FybGVlbl9oYW5uaWNoLmh0bWw%3d&x=210654b1


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*** Article: The Backsliding Blues: Tips to Get You Back on Track - By Carolyn B. Ellis ***
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Progress is never a straight line. Often it's a matter of one step forward, two steps back. Just ask Oprah, icon of self-improvement, who publicly confessed how sabotaging beliefs contributed to weight issues that continue to plague her. Backsliding after we've started some new habits or set new goals is common. The choice you make after you've "fallen off the wagon" is critical.

Backsliding can show up anywhere. You decide to save some money, but then you can't resist that shopping spree. You resolve to speak calmly with your children, but then you lose your temper and yell at them instead. You decide to end a relationship with someone who doesn't love and appreciate you, but then you rationalize those feelings away.

The best of intentions can get crushed by procrastination, old habits, or disempowering thoughts. Here are a few tips to get back on track after you catch yourself backsliding.

1. Celebrate Your Awareness

Do you immediately launch into self-recrimination and judgment when you backslide? Instead of beating yourself up, choose to celebrate your awareness. Within the seeds of the breakdown are the keys to creating a lasting breakthrough.

Action Step: Come up with a positive mantra or affirmation to use when you discover you're out of integrity with your goals. Try "Hey, I'm curious about what took me off course," instead of "Hey, you loser, you blew it again!" Love yourself forward.

2. Patience is a Virtue

In a world addicted to instant gratification, creating empowering new habits and thoughts takes discipline, repetition, and often, time. How many years did it take to create the bad habit in the first place? A few decades perhaps? Is it so unreasonable to think it may take you a few weeks or months of focused intention and action to unlearn a lifetime of mental programming?

Action Step: Catch yourself when you get impatient and stop. Impatience is a quality of the ego-self, not the Higher Self. While sometimes a permanent shift can just take a split second, often we simply need to be more patient with our process.

3. Think Outside the Box

Einstein said it best when he observed that trying to solve problems at the same level of thinking that created them is an exercise in futility. It's like trying to hammer a nail, when the only tool you have is a saw. Breaking out of deeply ingrained subconscious patterns often requires thinking outside the box.