Nothing beats the sucker punch of losing your job. The term “reorg” never bothered me so much till then. Sure, I’ve fired a few people but once it happens to you, you never experience it the same way. That long taxi drive home, the tears, the questions, the concerning texts from friends and family, and the resentment all came my way; but what I did after really surprised me and started giving me the confidence to do better.
After being lazy my whole life, and always thin (approaching thirty makes this questionable) , I never realized till then how unhealthy I was. So to keep my working schedule alive, I would mimic a work day and everyday I would wake up early and go to the gym for an hour and a half. Sure, I got a gym program and the bodily pain was unbearable. But for me to gain my confidence I had to do it. I also paired my exercise with an clean eating regime; and boy did I see changes. I also signed up for my first 5K, and I did it faster than I anticipated (28.4 minutes)!
I also signed up for my order exam, again. Yes, you won’t hear me say this often, but I failed my HR order exam 4 times before passing it this final time. I wrote the exam in May and found out the good news in June. Everyday after the gym, I would study till about 4:00 pm. I knew I had to keep my work structure so when I went back to work my body wouldn’t be in complete shock.
Also, I signed up for the Professional and Personal Coaching Program at a local university. I realized that if I do not take the leap and apply I won’t want to do it once I started working. This course always interested me, because it would be an excellent lateral shift into performance, professional and wellness coaching that interests me so much.
I even realized I had to become more efficient. I use to get home, watch TV, eat peanut butter out of the jar (yumbang) and vegetate. Soon after loosing my job I started preparing my clothes in advance, meal prepping, multitasking and making my priorities number one so I can turn my priorities into healthy habits.
This experience helped me become more self-aware and more confident. I know I am not at my 100% confidence level but I am a work in progress and I respect that. By keeping busy, and setting myself goals helped me deal with my situation and helped me get to know myself better. Sure getting terminated is always a shock, but it is up to us to make the situation better and constantly improve so we can become our best selves.
After that experience I can confirm that being well and living a healthy lifestyle can make us more confident and more self aware. This is the best feeling of all especially after dealing with a life changing event. Be like a lotus flower; believe in the mud and and you’ll grow into something spectacular.