In my last post I discussed the importance of being true to yourself as a worker and job seeker, and especially if you have just (or may soon) quit a job.  If you missed it you can read Part 1 – Worker, be true to you and pop back over here when you’re done.

Today, in the second and final part of this series, I would like to present some ideas if you do not know what to do next.  So let’s assume that you have made the decision to quit your job (or that you have already done it) and don’t have anything lined up.  The main question we want to ask ourselves is: what do you do with yourself now?

Ok.  So you may not know exactly what you are supposed to do next.  You may have no job to go to, and are wondering what decisions need to be made. 

Do Nothing… to Find Yourself Again

Firstly, unless you are in dire need of money for food, accommodation, debts, etc. as I outlined in Part 1, I would say that you do nothing.  That’s right.  Nothing. Note that ‘nothing’ is really all about waiting and seeing what time presents to you too – something our modern culture is not good at advocating.

The single worst thing you can do once you have quit a role, particularly if you left in a fluster, are emotional, or perhaps you were bullied out, is to jump into another role that you didn’t really want to apply for in the first place.

You see, you need time to heal.  And if you have enough of a money buffer to see you through some months at least, then take the chance to embrace the silence, engage in creative activities, meditate, pray, travel, go see a concert, sing (or scream) your heart out, play soccer, ride your bike, or do whatever feeds your soul and mind. 

Job hopping when you are not ready for it can make things worse.  Negative emotions stick and you will have baggage, so take a gap between roles or major decisions to just be for a while.  It may feel completely counter-intuitive for you, especially if you are a Type A personality or a go-getter, but you will be thankful for it later.  You need to give your brain time to sort out any muck that you may have been through, and clear your head to get thinking a little more clearly.

How long will that be, you may ask?  For some people it may be a few months, or a year, for others a few weeks.  It is up to you.  Somehow your soul will know when it is time to take action in the world again.  Usually, some inklings of what you love to do will come to the fore when your life isn’t as frenetic as it used to be.  You will need to do some research however (yes, technically this is doing something, but you’ll find yourself wanting to do this naturally once things are calmer).  Look at how you spend your time, what pleases you and what does not, what gives you a buzz, and do some sort of inventory of your skills and strengths.  Buy (or borrow) books about finding your passion, read articles, talk to others who have made similar decisions, and reach out for help.   

Pray – Detach – Pray, Repeat

Some of you may turn off at this point, but my belief in God is a huge part of this blog and everything I write with passion.  Please, touch base with the Someone who knows you better than you know yourself – God.  This is a very difficult part of your time out.  Why?  Well praying is easy, but believing what you are praying for is hard.  Very hard.  Trusting in God is something that we all struggle with.  But God has the best perspective as He knows what you’ve been through and what is ahead for you. 

Read about the saints and what they went through.  Many of them endured incredible struggles.  Find your favourite saint and ask him or her to intercede for you (St. Anthony of Padua, St. Expedite, and St. Rita of Cascia are good ones to start with).  Absorb the spiritual side of life.  Go to Mass.  Go sit inside an empty church.  Go to Adoration before the exposed Holy Eucharist and sit with Jesus for a while.  Tell Him about your concerns and repeat positive phrases of scripture.  One that helped me was:

“Trust in the Lord.  Have faith, do not despair.  Trust in the Lord.” Psalm 27:14

What makes prayer challenging is detaching after you have prayed.  Usually, answers don’t come quickly, so giving up your prayer to God’s will is not easy.  Waiting.  Waiting.  Waiting for what feels like is forever and impossible.  It is painful, but we must trust in God’s wisdom and goodness that He will lead us exactly to what we are meant to do next.

Moderate Your Media Intake

My household is filled with news – TV, internet, radio, etc.  Sometimes this feels like pure madness.  Get away from it.  Switch of all media, don’t watch the news bulletin, turn off your phone, go into a garden and cut yourself off from all information sources at least for an hour or more, if not a whole day.  Treat your time like a mini-sabbatical. You need headspace, not bad news, and frankly, 95 per cent of news seems to be all terror and doom.  Your spirit needs time out.

Listen to Music or Sing

Now you knew I had to include this one, didn’t you?!!  I have a quote in my room which says: “Music is like medicine for the spirit: the right kind, taken regularly at appropriate intervals, works wonders toward bringing about inner healing.” It is true!  I have felt it, and believe it. So take the time to listen to your favourite tracks.  Get up and dance.  Sing your heart out like no one is watching.  You will find that you will feel better.  If you can combine this with exercise or just stretching, this is even better for your health.

If you need some inspiration or even learn how to sing check out The Music Room.

Touch a Tree

…or in other words, get your hands stuck into nature.  You may want to start a little garden or tap into a community garden.  You won’t believe how soothing planting something and watching it grow can be, especially if it is edible.  The taste of your own produce is out of this world! I used find the idea of gardening a turn-off because I thought it was just for retired or old people (very ageist, I know), not to mention getting pricked by thorns or dirt under my fingernails, but once I started it become addictive.  Give it a try and you will see how it helps your soul.  Head over to The Garden page for some ideas.

Get Involved – Volunteer

Is there something you can do in your community, church, or for your neighbour which will take your mind off your worries and give you a new experience?  I used to turn my nose at suggestions to volunteer.  I didn’t want to waste any time doing something that had nothing to do with my career, but helping others in a positive way is the best thing you can do in life.  Can you create a new group at church?  How about reading to young children at the local library?  Feeding the homeless at a shelter?  Think of something – even the tiniest little thing – to help someone else.

Study

This one still makes me wriggle with fear!  Assessment, exams, scores, yuck!  As one grows older you realise learning is for the sake of learning, but if you are considering a serious career change, you know that your heart and mind will be all in, so go for it if you need a new qualification. 

You may otherwise want to dip your toe in and do a low-fee, short community course or study as an audit student at a college or university (which means no assessment is taken).  If you are a mature-aged student, you will also need to adjust to a scholarly environment again if you have been working for a while, and to being with people in their late teens and 20s, but we can all learn from each other, right? Lifelong learning is for everyone. 

Yeah, Yeah – But What Am I Supposed to Do About My Career Already?

You might be thinking that this is all well and good, but that it is all airy-fairy stuff. At the end of the day, you want a career, a job, an income, and some sense of certainty back. You want your place in the world. You want to be respected for your skills and experience. Believe me, I know. For many years my jobs became who I was.

At the end of Part 1 I asked some specific questions:

• How can a future job mismatch be avoided?
• What if you fear making another mistake when applying for the next role?
• Is it safe to get excited about a new advertisement?
• How can you trust people and organisations again?
• How do you know what you truly enjoy or are passionate about, and still make a decent living?
• Can this be a real job you get paid for and be enough to survive on?  How do you know? 

There are of course other specific things you can do to find the answers such as consult a careers counsellor, ask friends and family what they see in you, do the skills/strengths inventory, retrain for a new qualification as above, etc. and you will find an answer with time.

But if you look closely at the questions above you will notice these words: fear, mistake, safe, excited, trust, enjoy, passionate, living, survive.  These words are matters of the heart and spirit. Things we can’t see. In my experience and opinion, the suggestions presented in this post are more important because they are fundamentally about your soul, mind, and emotions.  You will carry these with you everywhere in life, wherever you go. You MUST therefore put these intangible parts of your life front and centre to find out who you are in this world and what you want. You need to take care of you.

In short, my friends, finding your way again cannot – and should not – be rushed.

By taking time to nurture your body, mind, soul, faith, and connection with real life away from a computer or a desk – away from noise, office politics, distractions, and any past negativity – you will find your way.  Nothing is for certain in this world, but ultimately, you’ll become someone who will trust again and take the risk to go forward. You. Can. Do. It. 

Image Credit: pixabay.com