How being wrecked by unemployment was a great thing

Jeff Goins wrote about getting wrecked, and doing something different, something uncomfortable, partly because we long to be part of a bigger story.

While I never would have chosen unemployment as my ultimate Wrecked Moment—how about something easier and more of a conversation starter, like a stateside mission trip?—it was where the sum of my life’s choices placed me.

I have written about that time and submitted the story, Coming Through the Dark Valley of Unemployment, to be considered for publishing in CausePub’s book, Couch Rebels: Because Stories Like These Aren’t Told by Potatoes.

CausePub has teamed up with Blood:Water Mission to help others:

320 million Africans are without access to clean water.

For every copy of Couch Rebels sold, the organization, Blood:Water Mission, will be able to provide three people with clean water for one year. The goal of this Cause is to sell 15,000 copies, which means that 45,000 lives can be directly impacted through your participation in this CausePub project!

Voting is going on Right this Second! is now closed. so I would love, love, love to have you go read and vote for me if you like it.

If you are one of the folks I reached out to already to shamelessly beg for your vote to share my story, my apologies.

Hang around and read some other stories too, and vote for as many as you like. Just click on the orange box to the top left of the story to vote.

Even if you don’t vote for me, think about signing up to buy a copy of the book for encouragement, inspiration, and especially to help those families in need of clean water.

If you know anyone going through difficult career times, please share this story with them, too, for hope and encouragement.

I saw them walking purposely across the shop floor, the vice-president and the human resources manager, and I knew this time they were coming for me.

They had made multiple trips around the plant in the past few weeks, and I was never their target.

I figured I never would be, because I was very good at what I did.

Apparently that wasn’t enough.

As we stiffly sat in their increasingly claustrophobic office, they administered their duties and had me sign the requisite forms. They handed professional words of advice and direction to me along with their unofficial going away present of We’re so sorry, words that stung like hard rain on bare skin.

I put my confident face on, struggling to get through without tears.

It’s just a job. It’s not an indictment of me, after all. It isn’t even what I want to do with my life, not that I even know what that is.

I returned to my workbench, stuffing my broken pride into my pack with my few belongings. My fellow employees awkwardly shared their hugs, words of support and goodbyes with me, no doubt breathing a mildly guilty sigh of relief that it wasn’t them. My husband—my champion, best friend, and co-worker—walked me to our car, hugged me tight and whispered that it would all turn out ok, that it may not feel like it now, but he guessed this was going to lead to much better things.

The next six months were very difficult.

My confidence had been shaken to the core and many of my absolutes died under the crushing weight of a failing economy.

I was never the one let go.

I always got any job I interviewed for.

I was the one in control.

Not this time.

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Read the rest here: Coming Through the Dark Valley of Unemployment

Remember this:

Being wrecked by unemployment can lead to better things!   <–Like this? Click here to tweet!

Question: Have you ever had something bad happen to you and see it later in a much more positive light?

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