So as my wife heads off to work (what a fluke!) leaving me to play Mr. Mom, I’m still continually and constantly trying to locate employment for myself in as many ways as humanly possible (not a fluke!), I’m struggling to maintain order and peace in my family and I’m coping with an ailing parent and dealing with my own health issues. May I share with you one of my favorite comments to my website from Tere:
“At first, I was really spending 160% of all my time consumed and obsessed with finding work. But after ten months of unemployment, totally intent on finding my next job, it was beginning to take a toll on me. Exhaustion crept in and I hated waking up in the morning to another day of non-stop searching and asking for help. It was not good for my ego or my health. I realized it was time to cut back and relax a little. My health was more important than anything else. After all, if my dream job came tomorrow, what good is it if I’m too sick and drained of all energy? It got to the point where I felt like taking a vacation from unemployment! But of course, I couldn’t afford THAT.”
This is what it’s really all about, folks. Probably the hardest aspect of being unemployed is trying to preserve that sense of balance in our lives making sure that all bases are covered. I was doing exactly what Tere was doing and not pacing everything evenly. I’d work my ass off for days, then move on to family issues and then to something else. With each passing day, I am adding more and more layers to my life as life does not stop just because you are unemployed. Things happen that require balancing and fine-tuning with everything else in my life. One must do everything in moderation, again making sure the plates are all spinning on their sticks at just the right speed at all times; an arduous and daunting task, indeed. As a result, my health is suffering and I am now faced with some neck injury as a result of poor home-office ergonomics from working at this computer incorrectly and for unhealthy periods of time and probably lifting too much of something.
Tere is doing it perfectly; if you can’t take care of yourself, you can’t do much else. As we take care of our lives we must first take care of ourselves because, frankly, no one else will. Whatever it is you need to sustain a healthy lifestyle, I urge you to do it. Ask for that help as hard is it may be. Good people are available to assist you with your search. It is tiring, but it is not out of reach. I cannot afford a new desk, chair, lighting, etc., but now I have medical bills that are costing more than if I had just tackled the problem to begin with. Pain is no fun and losing half the use of my right arm and hand is quite debilitating. So whether it’s physical, mental or otherwise that needs repair in your life, just find the means to fix it now – you’ll be painfully sorry later if you don’t. Be like Tere; if it gets too much for you, know your limitations and listen to your body and take a break after awhile. Balance and adjust. It’s not worth getting completely exhausted or losing your dream job over.
Just like looking after your health, make sure you’re using the time for job-search properly. Spend your time wisely and always have a checklist handy to assure you’re reaching your goals to maximize your potential. Every weekend you should make lists of what you want to accomplish both personally and professionally so that each day brings meaning. In order to create desire and passion in your life, it is vital that you lead that life feeling good about yourself and confident about your mission.
Again, thanks for surfing my wave!
Why Just Look For A Job? Create One!™
TheUnemployMENTOR – email@theunemploymentor.com
