Resilience

Things change in an instant. Life throws us curve balls. The unexpected happens. We so often move through our day on auto pilot, with a plan of how it will go. And BOOM! Disruption!

I’m seeing this play out again and again in my LinkedIn feed with layoffs. I also see when life itself sets a new direction and this is what I experienced two weeks ago. An accident decided to disrupt our happy little life and the plans we made. In a blink I had to shift my plans, change course and make arrangements. Thankfully all will be fine in the end, but a scary time indeed.

I recall that I had very similar feelings the first time I experienced a layoff, back in the late ‘80s. We had a plan, we had just made an offer on our first house, we had a young child and we needed both incomes. We had to shift. We needed to pause and make a new plan. We became resilient and pushed forward.

I have a habit of knee jerk reactions when big things disrupt my plans. I move into action mode. However, I’ve learned often this is an opportunity to slow down and give thought to what’s next. What lessons have I gained and how does that help me in moving forward. When we set out with intentionality, we often bounce back not only to where we were, but further up the road. I know it is cliché, when one door closes, another opens. When I pause and become intentional it creates new opportunities I may not have thought of, opportunity to connect with people I haven’t seen in some time, new people to meet, or new directions to explore.

One of the most significant lessons I’ve learned through these experiences is to ask for assistance. Through our recent situation, so many have stepped up to help. So many offers, support, check ins, and guidance. And each of these have come from some of the most unexpected places, including strangers (no longer). Don’t be afraid to ask no matter what you are going through. People want to help.