Snakes & Ladders - Redundancy Limited Edition Version
It’s a limited edition game of Snakes & Ladders.
And in one way maybe its best not to know. But in another way it might be good to know.
If you’ve just been made redundant or between jobs it’s going to be all about how you keep yourself ok. The game has begun - even though it was a game you didn’t choose to take part in.
You win the game by working on yourself; how you keep yourself sane, how you manage your worry, how you don’t put pressure on yourself, how many good days you have, even when technically they should be bad days.
You don’t win the game by just getting another job. That isn’t the aim. Getting a job is the finish line, the bonus prize is getting to the finish line & creating a career that you really want and that you love.
But the real prize and how you win is what you do, how you be, how you feel throughout the whole game. It’s not a race to the finish line, it’s an appreciation of all the highs & lows, and how you’ll grow and learn, and how you’ll help you be ok no matter what.
The good news is anyone & everyone can win.
This is how it’s going to go.
Square 1 - It all started with that meeting.
It took you by surprise.
You were a bit shocked.
But onwards. Advance two moves.
Square 3 - You have hope this could be a good thing. A small ladder up one level.
Square 13 - You sign up to recruitment agencies.
You start to search on Indeed.com.
Advance two moves.
Square 15 - A small idea is brewing, is it time for a change? Advance one move.
But you are worried about money.
Square 16 - You start applying for jobs.
Any jobs. You get your first rejection. Slide down a snake one level.
Square 10 - You see your former colleague has just got a job.
You feel low. Stay in your position.
Square 10 - You get an unexpected message about an opportunity.
Go up the ladder to next level.
Square 20 - The opportunity doesn’t work out but you feel better for it.
Advance two moves.
Square 22 - You realise you don’t want to do what you were doing.
You want to do something different. Go up the ladder two levels.
Square 34 - You spend some time thinking about who you are, your strengths, what you love, what the world needs.
Advance 4 moves.
Square 38 - You have a breakthrough, you meet someone who inspires you to think differently about earning a living.
Go up a 5 rung ladder, you are buzzing.
Square 50 - You spend time developing ideas to Twist your career.
Maybe you could start something new.
Advance two moves.
Square 52 - It’s so exciting. But so overwhelming.
You don’t know where to start. You stop.
Slide down three levels of snake.
Square 33 - You apply for a job.
You get an interview. You don’t get the job, but you feel ok.
Advance one move.
Square 34 - You apply for a job.
You don’t get an interview but you didn’t notice - you are focused on your ‘ideal tomorrow’ perfect role
Advance one move.
Square 35 - You apply for a job. Your near perfect job.
You are buzzing. You nail the interview.
Advance three moves.
Square 38 - You don’t get the job.
You feel low and confused. That was a blow. It felt so right.
But you know it’s coming. Your job. You next move. It’s coming.
You have some time out. Rest. Enjoy. Laugh with friends.
Forget for a while.
Advance five moves.
Square 43 - You apply for a job. You feel very connected to it.
You get an interview. You love it. You get the job.
Buzzing
Fly up that ladder.
Square 57 - You start your job.
Its good you are earning money again. But your idea hasn’t gone away.
Advance one move.
Square 58 - You use your evenings to create a few small steps to keep your idea burning.
Each evening you do one thing to move the idea forward.
Advance one move.
Someone trolls your post. You freeze.
You slide down a small snake.
Square 42 - You do your job
You start to realise your current job is ok, but it’ not fire in your belly, it’s time to break up with your rebound job.
Advance three moves.
Square 45 - You make plans to launch your business idea.
You start to tell people about it.
Move up two levels ladder.
Square 55 - Someone wants to work with you.
You panic. You tell them you aren’t ready.
You tell yourself you aren’t good enough to do this. That you need more skills.
You slide down anther snake one level.
Square 43 - But you know that’s just yourself telling you that, its just an imposter feeling, you can work through it, and focus on your goal.
You do the work. You ask for help.
You get a major ladder uplift.
And now you are here. Near the final square on the board.
£$£$&£ YEAH YEAH YEAH &&(^(*
Yes there are wobble days. Days when you slide back down a snake, but there are also days when that uplif ladder comes along and you are in flow and you set your intention to nail this.
But you are here. You’ve made it. You are winning because you feel ok. You feel like you can take on whatever comes your way.
You are at the start of making this the best thing that happened to you.
“Bloody hell! Surely its not that hard!”
Well it’s not hard. It’s just what happens. And if you know that snakes are as much a part of moving through the space you are in right now, as ladders, then you’ll know it’s all ok.
Your role during the game, is to make every day a good day. And that includes the bad days. When you are having a low day - it’s ok. It’s part of having good days.
Your role is not to beat yourself up, it’s to manage your worry thoughts. To breathe when you need to, to take time out when it feels right. You are doing your best.
As Paul McGee would say ‘ have more worth it worry than worthless worry’.
Each day you get up and you get a new chance to live through that day. How you do it is your choice.
Switching your focus to working on being ok each day, rather than feeling like your days can only be ok with an outcome, will help you.
Your opportunity is coming.
Use energy to enjoy each day as it comes.
Embrace those snakes & ladders!
eleanor
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