Fear Paralyzes
Downsizing and layoffs create fear and uncertainty throughout an organization. Even if you're one of the lucky ones still employed after the first cut you're left wondering 'who's next?'--If I'm laid off what will I do? Where will I find my next job?
As one of the lucky ones who survived round after round of layoffs, you may find your own fear and anxiety rises daily as you stand in hallways or cubicles with fellow coworkers ruminating over the latest rumors about who is to stay and who is to go. And adding to your anxiety you come to work after a restless night's sleep too tired and drained to do a good job.
Perhaps you think about updating your resume, networking, and LinkedIn profile--but you lack the energy--and secretly fear if you put energy into updating your resume you'll 'manifest' your own demise.
Ultimately you vacillate between frenetically overworking yourself trying to save your job one minute and doing a lackluster job and feeling resigned to losing your job the next.
It's easy to let fear paralyze you into retreating into inaction and indecisiveness leaving you in a constant state of anxiety about your future. So how do you overcome the fear immobilizing you and get on with your life?
Human Hardiness: Tap into Your Strength and Resiliency
"So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself — nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance." FDR 1933
84 years ago, in another time and another context, Franklin D Roosevelt spoke these words to a nation in need of honest, straightforward talk. Today these words ring just as true as we struggle to find our way in the ever-changing landscape of today's workplace.
To move on with strength and resiliency in times of fear we need to unload fear--that nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror--so we can stop retreating into a frozen stance and start advancing and rebuilding the life we want.
When you're ready to give up the fear, get ready to tap into that deep well of human hardiness inside each one of us. In short--snap out of it! Stop wallowing and quivering, and pull yourself up by your bootstraps instead.
You'll discover your strength and resiliency with every step you take.
Refresh your ability to step into the unknown by running experiments without being concerned with the outcomes. Stop thinking; start doing.
Suspend Judgment. Forget about success and failure, and forget about pre-judging the success of your actions. Simply take actions that allow you to explore options or possibilities you find interesting. Keep a journal of your daily experiments.
Be Brave. Always believe in your ability to take another action. Take one step into the unknown each day that allows you to explore your options and rediscover how to find that next job in today's marketplace.
"This is preeminently the time to speak the truth, the whole truth, frankly and boldly. Nor need we shrink from honestly facing conditions in our country today. This great Nation will endure as it has endured, will revive and will prosper. So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself — nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance." Franklin D Roosevelt, First Inaugural Address March 1933
For more than 35 years, Susan Meyerott has been helping people lighten up and step over invisible barriers to change one step at a time. She speaks to your heart, puts you at ease, and makes letting go and moving forward with life easier than ever before.
