The nature of this post has me feeling it’s necessary to exhibit my standpoint. I am not writing this as a mum of three children, or even one or two, and so it will be fairly obvious in my writing. I just wanted to make that clear so as to avoid any misgivings of this being a biased point of view, because, well, it is. No misgivings needed. These are my views, not advice to be taken by anybody, just my thoughts for you to read, ponder, disregard, hate, love, inspire, ignore. Whatever the case, I hope you can take a smidgen of positiveness away with you.
After the news hit Cyprus that morning of 16th March 2013 , we were all feeling an array of emotions from panic, anger and the worst of them all – fear.
As the time has gone by and things have begun to unravel, we have been struck by the aftermath that the crisis has left us with. It’s not difficult to see the effects on an individual level. A stroll down the once bustling shopping avenue will give very obvious tell tale signs that things are not the way they once were. This was apparent before the whole eurozone, haircut breaking news. Everybody I know, young and old, has suffered either a very significant pay cut, had to shut down their business, lost shares, or has been made redundant.
Students sleeping in cars, dropping out, unpaid rent, asking parents if they mind their grown adult moving back in for a while! Pay cuts. MAJOR pay cuts of 20 – 50% and more in some cases .. and the dreaded R for redundancies. Once pay cuts are given of such a significant amount you are left wondering how you will afford to pay for rent, your car service, insurance, medical bills, phone bills, electricity, water bills… food! It doesn’t end there does it? We all know how those unexpected costs creep in, and for some of us this happens when we’ve just spent our last euro on what we thought was the last expense of the month. Ok, so now some serious economizing needs to begin. You’ll be amazed at how little you can live on if only you try. For example, try listing all your expenses and start by cutting out the ones you that aren’t a necessity. Let your friends and family know your situation, it’s nothing to be ashamed of. Let them help even if it’s just by arranging fun things to do that won’t cost you an arm and a leg. Take advantage of happy hours! Cook meals at home. Get outdoors. Ride your bicycle! With a little creativity, and research, you’ll find there’s plenty of ways for you enjoy life minus the euro signs.
Ok, so we can happily live on a lower salary but what if you’re made redundant? Then what? That would mean living on A LOT less and waiting about 16-18 months before any sign of a redundancy payment. What’s worse, being made redundant can muster up feelings in us that make us feel a little worse for ware to say the very least.
There is light at the end of the tunnel. The reason this feels as bad as it does is due to the uncertainty it brings about. What now? There is only really one way to look at with a number of possibilities. This is entirely up to you. Were you really happy at your place of employment? If not, then look at this as a blessing. A blessing to open windows that have been tightly shut for way too long. Imagine all the dust and cobwebs! No wonder you weren’t happy.
So in the case where you weren’t really happy at work to begin with, nows time to open up those bloody windows, take a deep breath and BREATH. Relax. Stress is the worst. We all know that and although some may disagree, it doesn’t help motivate you in the long run. Of course a certain amount of stress may work as a short term motivator but that’s not what you need. You need long term motivation that will still be there tomorrow and the day after that and the day after that. The ideal situation is to still be inspired, motivated and WANTING IT, weeks, months and years to come. So say a big poo off to stress and allow your thoughts to muster up a plan of action for your now and future.
If that is not the case, and you were truly happy with your position, chances are you were doing something you are good at and have the qualifications and skills to do just that. You need to ignore the comments, discouraging gossip and news of low unemployment. Being made redundant is not the end. Yes, we are in crisis. Yes, times are tough and employment has risen a lot in the last year but do remember that not every employee has been hit as hard. Some may even be thriving.
So do not wallow, update your CV and get it out there. You need to go out and get it and of course make it easy to be found. Remember you are selling yourself to a potential recruiter, make sure you are going to be seen.
So those are the two scenarios. They are both tough situations but you can find the positive in both, with the latter being the one where you know what you want and where to look for it, whether it be here in Cyprus or abroad. The first scenario may be a little more tricky but that’s where your creativity, loves, passions and happiness and can all come into light. Think of this as an opportunity. Chances are that with the current crisis you have learnt to cut back on expenses, maybe even saved a little. That’s a start.
Fear is one of the major reasons people take on work that they are not really passionate about. Money is a big part of that. You’ll say “oh but I can’t live on less than X amount of euros. Oh please, if you are truly enjoying life, you are happy, truly happy, and loving what you do – money has nothing to do with that. And if it does play the major part, then maybe you need to re-think things.
If you don’t work towards your true loves now it will never happen, right? Being afraid of failure is crippling and being in a job you loath, no matter what the salary, is not something I associate with success, do you? Life is short.
You may be in a pretty pickle now, but there will always be Paris, right? or Amsterdam, or Venice or Bali or Melbourne. Ha! I’ve just opened up a whole new trail of thought.
