A bit behind...and OK with it

Life interrupts again...
Lots to juggle when you're unemployed, and while you think you should have enough time to do it all, it doesn't work that way. Tonight's topic: The Stigma of unemployment.

I remember the first time I heard Everlast's song, "What it's like" and understood the depth of the social commentary. People without jobs are considered to be lazy or unmotivated or even unskilled. Even in this economy where MBA's are finding it difficult to find work in some venues, this mentality still applies. I find it galling when I have a degree, have been gainfully employed for almost 20 years non stop and I would be put into that bracket. Now, employers aren't thinking that way at least not with the folks looking for work. They may have a similar mentality with people in their employ, but that's a separate topic for another time.

When I went down to my local WorkSource office, it was depressing...the stigma is less placed on people by others now and more by ourselves. I've been feeling it creep into my days lately too and I've only been unpaid for like two weeks. It is a sinister thing that finds its way into the background thinking and preventing you from looking outside the box of scheduled work and at other soul-healthier things that can make money. I'll give you an example.

Right now, a publishing company is about to do an anthology and is looking for submissions. It is a company whose books I read often and enjoy and is on a subject and genre in which I am well-versed. Synopsis and sample are due by end of July, so I've been working on it. As far as plotline and what I want to have happen, I'm doing well. But the moment I start to actually "write" my editor in chief starts in and it s far nastier than it used to be. I started listening to it and what it was really saying last night and it was tapping into the "you got let go, you have no skills...look no one is calling you" motif. Once I heard that I was thinking that I now knew why I wasn't really writing. Writing is fun for me, and if I could do that for a living, I think it would be awesome! Not sure if I'm ready to do that which is why I'm starting with the short story to test the waters. It's also why I have been blogging a lot (though not the last few days).

At any rate, end result for those on the hunt for new work. Do not listen to the voice in your head telling you what you are worth. That voice knows only that it cannot do anything itself and wants to take your talents, your dreams, and your goals and flush them. Dabble in those dreams while looking for work and you might start seeing ways to work and be happy doing it. No one else right now thinks badly of you if you've been laid off. Most folks know someone personally who has been affected by the economic downturn. So buck up, and get ready for a new day.