OK, it’s happened. You’ve just been laid off or fired. Now what?

First, and this is extremely important, you must stay calm. Please be aware that it is quite normal to experience an adrenaline rush when you first lose your job. A lot of random, unrealistic, and impulsive thoughts may cross the landscape of your mind at this time. You may feel panicky or you may feel relieved all at the same time followed by a sense of disbelief. Whatever you feel it’s OK; unless of course you wish to harm someone as a result of your termination. Remember, no matter how angry you feel it is never OK to manifest that anger in a violent act either against yourself or others.

This BLOG will never support any acts of violence.

Now, just in case you’re thinking, “Who the hell is this guy, trying to tell me how I feel?” Well, I’ve been where you are now. That’s right; I’ve been fired without warning and seemingly without provocation. I won’t bore you with why I think I was terminated because, as you will someday discover, it doesn’t really matter. All that matters is the “here and now.”

You will spend many hours lying in bed, watching television, listening to music, washing dishes, driving, or any number of things wondering why “they let you go.” That’s OK and in fact, it’s healthy. If you are honest with yourself during these times, you will discover some very interesting things. But, when you’re up during the day, you must not dwell on “what happened.”

STEP ONE:

Do not dwell on why you were fired during your “on” hours. Only think about it during your “off” hours such as taking a walk or when grocery shopping.

OK, check back soon for step two.

By the way, this post and subsequent posts on this matter assume that you do not have an actionable recourse (lawsuit) against your former employer.

Mark