5 Ways to Self-Care After You Lose Your Job (and why it is important!)

Recently I was let go of a job.

And that sucks.

In the embarrassingly short time I worked for this company, I managed to do my job and do it extremely well. I had things going and was creating opportunities for the brand.

But I also stood up for myself. I spoke up and was vocal about things that did not make sense or things that could be done better. And that is probably why they let me go.

Whatever the reason, I now am left feeling a myriad of emotions. I am okay for the most part, but I still feel, well icky and I am calling my feelings to the mat to honestly deal with them. I have told you all before that I struggle with rejection (who doesn't). I feel cast aside. I feel thrown out. I feel like my work and my work ethic should have spoken for me.

It really sucks and it needs to be dealt with.

Here's how I am self-caring myself in this season:

Feel what I feel:

I heard someone once say that 'It's okay to have feelings, as long as your feelings don't have you.' And that has been so real to me. As people, we have feelings, and we are allowed to have feelings. But that doesn't mean that those feelings are allowed to govern our behaviors.

Sure, feel what you feel. Let the wave of feelings wash over you. But don't live in that wave. Let it pass, don't force it to. Once that wave has passed and you have acknowledged everything that has arisen, let the feeling go. Move on, feeling acknowledged and validated within yourself.

This is a good time to bust out that journal and get to writing how you really feel. Give yourself time and room to work through it, and writing will help.

Knowing that I did my best and moving on to the next:

At the end of the day, I know I kicked major butt at my job. OF what I was allowed to do, I did to the fullest of my ability. I did a good job, and simply knowing that makes all the difference to me. I feel inner encouragement and acknowledgment of my own gifting.

And that's what I would encourage you to do. Instead of spouting negative things about the job, look at your own role and ask 'did I do my best?', 'how did I leave the place better than I came?', 'what did I do well that I can take with me to the next place?' That self-affirmation is vital to moving on in a positive way.

Leave the season and take the lessons: 

Everything in our lives has the opportunity to become awesome teachers. This experience, in particular, has taught me so much. I learned the expensive price of standing up for yourself, a price I would gladly pay to call out toxic, negative, or backward environments. I learned that I have become way more confident in my own skill set that I thought. I learned that I am very comfortable working in a team and asking for help or offering help. These empowering lessons are going to help me as I transition forward.

Here's a chance for that trusty journal to emerge again: What did you learn from your last job, and how will that propel you to be better in the future? Record your own answers.

Taking the blow to the ego:

This may sound contradictory, but its really helping me. I know what I have to offer. I know the skills I possess. I know that I am good at what I do. I know that I am professional and courteous. I also know that no matter how good I am or how I carry myself, that for some people, it may not be enough. And I have to be okay with that. But to know that, within myself, I am enough, is so empowering. You should remember that you too are enough, no matter what anyone else thinks. You are enough.

Find a new opportunity:

Once we have dealt with all of that, its time to find a new opportunity. God allows things like job loss to get our attention. Needless to say, He has mine. Maybe God allowed us to lose our jobs because He wants us to start our own business. Maybe He is moving us out of the way of an oncoming bad situation. Maybe He is opening the doors for new opportunities. Whatever the case may be, it is time to get back out there and find out.

Those are just a few ways I am loving on me during this transitional time.

Honestly, I am appreciating the free time I have away from that position to grab hold of a few new opportunities of my own. I hope you too if you are currently experiencing job loss, can embrace this new season in a freeing and practical way. Here's to a new season and to loving ourselves through it.