Losing a job is a reality of modern life.  Being between work can be unsettling and stressful due to the financial uncertainty alone.  The psychological aspects of losing a job can lead to feelings of depression, despair, and inadequacy.  These components and others, combined can easily lead to counter productivity and a mindset of scarcity instead of abundance.  How can the narrative change and someone become productive and gain an advantage from this situation?

We are inundated with negative feelings the moment we lose a job.  Knowing that these negative feelings are inevitable and knowing that they surface when we first lose a job, we can then label the feelings as temporary and fleeting, rather than wallow in permanence with them.  The uncertainty associated with losing a job can be turned into a certainty.  By no longer having that job, we can now be certain that we have the time that would have been spent on the job to do things that are not part of the job.  If we make choices that do not support the negative feelings of losing the job and complete them during the time that we would have been on the job, we are being productive.  A good example is to make a list of the things you said you would do if you weren’t working at the job or if you had the time to do during work hours on the job.  This list can even be comprised of unfinished things that you would have completed had it not been for the aforementioned excuses.  What this list represents are things that are not associated with the job that was lost, so in turn, they are not bi-products of the initial negative feelings of losing the job and can be deemed as positive things.  By undertaking this list during the time you are no longer on the job, you are now taking that time and creating value, thus being productive.