Greetings Playgrounders....

Spring is in the air, for those of us that live in the southern hemisphere, that is. It is time for excitement, birth, and renewal and for some reason... a time to be made redundant or get laid off!!

• They both had career change as one of their objectives for coming to life coaching
• Both were keen to live the "2nd half" of life doing something they were passionate about

Now that the universe has given them a gentle nudge in that career change direction and the world of pure potential has open up for them.

From a Life Coaching perspective, we are now working fulltime on making that dream come true and they have achieved some tremendous results already.

However, this generally is not true for a lot of people out there.

One strong emotion that emerges when getting laid off is fear and security. The question of who I am, what am I going to do now, am I good enough arises... The simple answer to that last thought is "Yes", you ARE good enough. Your ex-organisation no longer requires the role you were fulfilling, so please don't beat yourself up about who you are.

The following is some personal and client insight into what you can do to lessen those fears in these times, things you probably already know but always worth being reminded of:

What are some immediate steps you can take to deal with the stress of losing your job?

• Immediately work out your budget - what does it cost for you to live per month taking rent/mortgage/bond, phone, utility bills, rates, strata, food, school fees, etc into account?
• From there, work out how long you can afford not to work - this will then help you decide whether now is the time for you to pursue a career change
• Where can you make cutbacks in your spending? Found some? Implement cutbacks immediate! Example - one of clients has gym membership but she never goes! She prefers to walk or do yoga from a DVD... Cut that membership out :)
• Look for other similar kind of expenses! In addition to the gym, my client has magazines subscriptions. She is now saving $100 per month. All helps towards the mortgage
• Make breakfast, lunch and dinner at home as much as possible. Accept invites to eat from family and friends
• Who are your mentors? Call them and seek advice
• Go see your Life Coach, spiritual healing, have a massage!
• Who is in your inner circle and your greater network of friends, classmates, colleagues, etc. Who of them can help you? Learn to use to use your network!
• Do you already have the skills required to pursue a career change? If the answer is yes but it may take time to earn from that, can you find contract or part-time work until the other one manifests?
• If now is the time to change, then give it your all... 100% commitment and investment in YOU!
• Trust....

Of course they are many other things you can do to help cope but the one thing I would highly recommend doing is...Go visit a Playground...!

Get on a swing, see-saw... Go nuts and bring out the child like wonder within! Have some fun at this time. A night out with you best friends is another way to let your hair down... The hangover on the morning after... Ah well... You'll get over that too!

Happy Playground, Till next time....

Janet McNally

Business & Life Coaching

www.lifeplayground.com