How Did I Get Here and How Do I Get Out?

Life is to be lived deliberately, not by chance

You have gone through high school, maybe college.  You entered the workforce and worked in a job for 15 to 20 years.   Recently, you were laid off and now you are faced with the prospect of finding a new job.  The job market is tight and finding a job is not what it used to be.  (Remember the days of looking in the newspaper classified section?)

Yes, you still need a resume, but now a resume does not get you a job, just an interview.  Depending on the position you are looking for, you now need to be Linkedin, signed up on Monster, Yahoo, Career Builder and the numerous other job boards if you ever hope to land a new position.  Oh, don’t forget you need to start networking and attending job fairs.  Looking for a job is now your job.

Each day you sit in front of a computer for hours looking at the various job postings and you have sent out what is now hundreds of emails into the space of the internet. Now you wait to hear back, and after weeks you still have not received as much as an email note from a perspective employer.  Frustration begins to set in and fear soon follows.  Will I be able to pay my bills, will I ever get another job?  Will I lose my home or my car?  All of these questions fuel anxiety and hopelessness.  Many of the unemployed have given up and have fallen off the radar.  If you are one of the many thousands of unemployed who have given up, I want to encourage you to get back into the flow of life.

Have you ever asked yourself the question, “How did I get here and how do I get out?”  I know I have.  Over the past several years I have implemented the following powerful steps that have helped me during the trying times in my life.  I know they can have the same impact in your life and help you to get back into the flow of really living life to the full:

• Live life deliberately.  Each day have things you want to accomplish.  Life should not happen by accident.
• Set realistic goals and stay focused on accomplishing them.  Write them down, you have to see  it to achieve it.
• Be grateful for the good things in your life – Don’t let one bad thing outshine the 10 good  things that happen in your life. 
• Serve others and not yourself.  Helping others takes life to a different level of living.
• Enjoy Life!!  Don’t let circumstances dictate your happiness!
• Motivate yourself, (if you could do one thing each day that would motivate you to achieve your  dreams and goals what would it be?). 
• Think about what it is you want and go for it.
• The most important step to living a powerful life and having a real and sustainable breakthrough is having a POSITIVE ATTITUDE!

Put these key steps to practice for 30 straight days and you will find that your life and mind will be transformed.  Remember that you are in charge of your thinking--what you think about yourself--and how you respond to life’s challenges.