5 Reasons It's Okay to Lose Your Job

You lost your job? Oh my god. You suck at life. I'm kidding. Really, really kidding. If you've lost your job, whether as a result of the recession or not (I'll get to that), you are not alone. Which brings me to the top 5 reasons it's OK you lost your job. 1. So did everybody else. According to Obama, 600,000 Americans lost their jobs just in January. Even if you were secretly fired for reasons other than downsizing, no one is going to ask you about it. Generally, everyone respects the fact that good, perfectly capable people are losing their jobs right now. 2. You can try your hand at something else if you want. Jonathan Fields is the expert on this -- check out our article about him and his book. Why not try a little "career renegade" of your own? 3. Government money. Know all those taxes you pay? Well. Even if going on unemployment is too hard on your pride, you probably don't have any aversion to applying for a grant! Head to grants.gov to see if the government will literally give you money to start your own business or do whatever you want to do! Browse by category here. 4. Daylight. It's getting nicer outside, and for once, you can actually enjoy it! Being outside during the day is something you may have been missing for years. Many city parks have free WiFi, so bring your laptop and e-mail your resume around if having fun would otherwise make you feel guilty. The sunshine will boost your mood and your health... and who knows? Next week you could have a job -- and another ten years of staring longingly out the window. 5. Time. I won't say, "Oh, you have all this great time now," because I realize you're probably stressed out and working very hard to get another job. What I'm talking about it the time you will save -- at the supermarket, at the gym, the bank, and everywhere else, because you will be able to go to those places at off-hours. You can finally be one of those people who doesn't wait in lines. Driving and public transit will be significantly less stressful -- no more rush hour rage. The economy is cyclical -- a recession now means a boom in the future. Really. I've seen the graph. Hang in there. From Anne Scott, News Contributor for Tonic.com