From Short-term Panic to Long-Term Game
A.k.a. why nurturing your interests is the best guarantee for the rainy days
When I wanted to leave my job(s), the following pattern would usually take place:
Stage 1: “I think I’m good,” “this is not SO bad, it could be worse,” “I think I can resist a bit longer,” ⮧
Stage 2: “I really don’t like this job anymore,” “My manager is driving me crazy”⮧
Stage 3: “I need to get out of here ASAP!”
These kinds of escalations sometimes happened in a matter of a month or two.
One day, I thought I could stay longer. The next day, my Sunday scaries were so bad I had trouble falling asleep, and at 3 am, I was in bed thinking that I needed a change.
In different periods of my life, I counted the minutes until I could shut down my laptop. At night, I took melatonin to help me fall asleep.
When you dislike your job, you need a solution, fast.
Similarly, you need a quick solution when you are hit by a lay-off or have endured micromanaging bosses and decided it’s time to say “enough.”
What I learned from these situations (either first-hand or from colleagues surrounding me) is that when it rains, you need a quick back-up plan.
Now, most of us live life without planning so much in advance.
We often assume that our current job will be our 'forever job' and that we won't be the unlucky ones impacted by events in the job market.
Mind you—I used to be one of these people.
The “optimism bias” is a cognitive bias that causes people to believe that they themselves are less likely to experience a negative event.
Then, one day, I opened my laptop as usual.
The entire workforce at my company was called into a company-wide meeting, and 20% of it was laid-off on the spot. Accounts deactivated. Ciao ciao.
On that occasion, I was one of the few in my halved team to be spared. But in that moment, I clearly thought, “It could have been me.”
(Job) safety is an illusion.
We don’t like planning because it confronts us with existential dread.
Planning reveals the randomness in how we live our lives, manage our finances, or prepare for times of adversity.
It also confronts us with the reality that we may not be living our lives as we once envisioned.
In a nutshell: it shows us the discrepancy between our ideal self… and our real one.
How do you narrow that discrepancy? By setting goals and planning actions to achieve them.
Planning is the key to a more relaxed life.
I often think my past experiences living in Portugal seven years ago, Brazil five years ago, the UK afterward, Poland, and so on. If I had started documenting my expat experiences earlier, my Medium blog would have already amassed 100s of articles. Instead, I "only" began a year ago, which feels like a mere minute in the vast time dimension of content creation.
Not only, had I started earlier, I could have already generated a substantial side income from it, making my transitions between jobs much more enjoyable and stress-free than they were initially.
As the old adage goes:
“The best time to start was yesterday. The next best time is now.”
Hold-on, I’m not suggesting you work two boring jobs at the same time.
Quite the opposite—I believe that if you are contemplating exit strategies from your current work or aspiring to start implementing a better lifestyle while keeping your job, it's worthwhile to consider your true passions or interests.
I would call it a more ethical approach to side-hustling.
Start by nurturing the aspects of yourself that have already been trying to emerge, and over time, you might be able to monetize them.
If you are currently working a boring job right now: great! This is the right time to explore your talents and curiosities and take the first steps to monetize a passion.
If you are currently working an exciting job: even better! This is the perfect time to take advantage of your vitality, start a side project, and build for tougher times.
“OK, got it. But where to start in practice?”
The very first step is asking yourself empowering questions. These can be like:
How am I different?
What is trying to emerge in my life?
What is my gift to share?
What is my purpose?
It's crucial to do this before the panic-filled, last-minute requests for a quick fix arrive, such as 'I need a remote job ASAP!' or 'I was laid-off and finished my savings, can you find me a job???'.
I see these questions day in and day out on digital nomad groups.
Now it's your turn...
The end of the year is traditionally a great moment to dig into this type of work, so why not to spare 30 minutes/1 hour to write down what comes out of those questions?
Let me know how it goes.
Yours,
Caterina