6 Things I Learned after Getting Fired
Like every other day, it was an ordinary one. Having struggled out of bed, I started whining and getting ready for work. I only slept for two hours that night because of my infant son, who shares a one-bedroom apartment with me and my wife. I drank my hot coffee, got into my car, and headed to work.
Note: This article is by Frank Jennings, and it talks about his experience of being laid off from work, what he learned from it, and how he turned it into an opportunity to achieve great success.
I remember that day as if it were yesterday. It was a beautiful day. I was in a great psychological state, the temperature was moderate, and the sun shone brightly. I felt a great sense of pride in being my family's only provider and a father. To put it simply, I felt like I was the happiest person alive.
My work, on the other hand, was a complete mess. I was working in a retail store. That was in January; the beginning of the New Year season. I was the leader of the team responsible for guest services. I don't recall dealing with any happy people that day. I felt that people did not like me because of how they spoke to me, and they all had a bad attitude toward me.
Layoff from Work
I never imagined that dealing with clients would be so stressful, but because of the bad words they used to describe me, I became convinced that I was a bad person. I got to the point where I was furious, but I had to keep working because I had to provide for my family. Later, during my shift, I was summoned to the manager's office for a brief conversation.
We talked about my performance, my career path, my personality at work, and the decision to terminate my employment. I was forced into taking on the role of team leader. As a result of my inexperience, I performed poorly. Although I have a lot of experience serving clients, I am completely untrained in managing staff members and their erratic emotions.
The bottom line is that I was fired. You can choose any other fancy term, but that doesn't change the fact that I was fired.
I felt like my life was falling apart. It was difficult for me to accept the idea of returning home to tell my wife that I had become unemployed while our newborn child was there. I did not know how I would be able to cover the expenses of renting the apartment, food, electricity bills, etc. I didn't have any emergency savings. I felt that the life I knew was over.
Fortunately, my life did not end there. I started to have a lot of opportunities that I never would have thought to exist. I started to read a lot, study a lot, and spend a lot of time enjoying myself. Despite the difficulty of this stage, I did not feel afraid. Instead, I was unconsciously getting ready to step up to a whole new level of life. I was really grateful, even though I didn't realize it at the time.
Beginning of Inspiration
I believed my life was over when I was fired. I was certain that everything that would occur to me after that would put me in a worse situation. I had a pessimistic outlook on life. I did not have an academic degree that I could rely on, not to mention that the owner of the apartment had restored the furniture we were renting.
Life went on even though I didn't think this was possible, demonstrating to me that my mistrust at the time was only the start of a new life. I'm still content with my new life and the direction it took. After I was laid off from my previous job, I found a new one.
I performed better than my peers, despite the fact that I lacked the required qualifications, experience, or certificates to do it in theory. I am regarded as the team leader now. I'm sure that I never thought I would succeed to this degree. All of us encounter situations in life that go against what we desire, but the good news is that we always have an option. Either we accept this as the end and never stop whining, or we see this as a chance to start over.
I learned a lot from this experience, and I hope that anyone suffering from the same circumstances will do what I did. Here is what I learned from my experience:
- Nothing is impossible.
- Reading is free but it teaches you a lot.
- Experience is the most important thing to succeed.
- You create the life you want for yourself.
- You can choose an unhealthy lifestyle but the consequences will be severe.
- It's okay to have a little fun, but you should focus on developing yourself most of the time.
The bottom line is that you always have a new opportunity as long as you are alive