When I told them I had gotten laid off from my office job many of my friends didn’t know how to act or what to say.  They knew I wanted to pursue my pottery as a full-time occupation and this was the opportunity to give it full-time attention.  Still “congratulations on your lay off” just seems inappropriate.

I’m one of the lucky ones.  I knew a lay-off was pending, I didn’t have a specific date but that still gave me ample time to plan.  I was laid off by a company that treats its departing employees very well and I have a lot of support from my partner and my friends.  Sadly, not everyone has the luxuries that I have.  Many people don’t have a plan of what to do when/if they lose their job.  Some people start polishing their resume and looking for a job, some take a long desired trip somewhere, others look for opportunities to start a new business venture and others just give up and wait for economic improvement so they can start looking.

There is always going to be a certain amount of risk in looking towards the future and planning for uncertain events. Even if someone feels their job is very safe other events can happen to prevent them from working at that job.  For me, looking at losing my job and planning for it has been a good thing even though every day feels risky.  The questions about making good decisions are always lingering in the background as are the fears of creating a self fulfilling prophesy when thinking about negative things.  It seems safer to sit around watching reality TV than to explore our own possible realities.

Are you risking looking at your future?

Lori Buff is a successful artist and website designer from East Atlanta Village where she lives with her partner and five dogs. Lori enjoys working in the garden, riding motorcycles and doing volunteer work but when she's not busy running around, she can be found engrossed in a good book.
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