Acceptance is the Answer to All Our Problems

Many people today have lost jobs after decades of service; many others suffer within jobs they can see no way out of. In order to survive a painful job loss - indeed, any type of painful loss - we must come to some acceptance. How does one find acceptance amidst the humiliation, shame, despair, fear, grief and uncertainty job loss can invoke?

How do we accept financial insecurity threatening our lives and our family? Rarely, can we skip over our painful feelings, wave a wand and create new employment in short order. Often, we want difficult life situations to be some other way.

Yet, if we resist accepting the situation and our mixed bag of feelings we inevitably end up fighting ourselves and the world. Acceptance is the path back to peace.

As they say in the big book of Alcoholics Anonymous, "Acceptance is the answer to all my problems today... I can find no serenity until I accept that person, place, thing, or situation as being exactly the way it is suppose to be at this moment. Nothing, absolutely nothing happens in God's world by mistake."

We cannot force ourselves into peaceful acceptance. Coming to acceptance is often a volatile emotional journey occuring over time. To begin the journey toward acceptance try letting go of analyzing or attempting to "figure out" the "why's" of the situation and seek trust.

Realizing every life experience has a purpose - even if beyond our knowing - helps pave the way to acceptance. Just holding what we cannot resolve or understand within our hearts moves us closer to acceptance.

As we aspire toward acceptance of life's challenges, grace gifts us with a measure of comfort and solace.

"My life is but a weaving between my Lord and me.
I cannot choose the colors He worketh steadily.
Oftimes He weaveth sorrow, and I in foolish pride
Forget He sees the upper and I, the underside.
Not till the loom is silent and the shuttles cease to fly
Shall God unroll the canvas and explain the reason why.
The dark threads are as needful in the Weaver's skillful hand
As the threads of gold and silver in the pattern He has planned."

Author Unknown

The Blessing of Job Loss

One day, world-renowned psychologist, Carl Jung, had a friend arrive at his door wholly distraught from losing his job that very day. Carl Jung, invited his friend into his home and said, (with my paraphrasing), "Come. I'll open a bottle of fine Champaign and we'll celebrate as surely, some great good will come about from this job loss."

Losing a job or feeling trapped within a job, is likely a blessing in disguise although in the moment the loss or the fear may seem insurmountable.

When I lost my two retail stores after ten years, my $100,000., my marriage and my self esteem I thought this was one of the worst things that could happen to me in this lifetime.

Now, with the clarity of hindsight, I see losing my stores was Divine Intervention. By losing everything I thought I valued, I discovered what was really important to me. I lost every thing but found myself.

"Three earthly losses
which bring gain to the soul:
loss of a friend,
loss of health and
loss of riches."

"A Compilation of Triads," Volume I John F. Wright

Acceptance Opens Life's Door

In their book, "Life Lessons," Elisabeth Kübler-Ross and David Kessler write, "change...usually begins with a door closing, an ending, a completion, a loss, a death. Then we enter an uncomfortable period, mourning this completion and living in the uncertainty of what is next. This period is hard.

But just when we feel we can't take it anymore, something new emerges: a reintegration, a reinvestment, a new beginning. A door opens. If you fight change, you will be fighting your whole life. That's why we need to find a way to embrace change, or at least to accept it."

Through aspiring to accept life on life's terms we begin to move from feeling like a victim and blaming the world around us. We get glimmers of a larger purpose at work in our lives.

Through accepting our lives now, we learn to be kind to ourselves even amidst life's storms. Through acceptance we can find a measure of peace in this moment. Herein, we build the foundation of a life well-lived and build bridges to a new future.

Teresa Proudlove 

Teresa Proudlove writes from real life experience. She has been inspiring, supporting, and guiding over 3000 people upon their career and life path for fourteen years - with compassion and heart. Teresa is the publisher/editor of Yourlifework.com; encouraging people to listen to their inner guidance, be gentle with themselves and practice present moment awareness. Herein, we learn to navigate through life with more acceptance and peace.

---

MORE RESOURCES:

RELATED ARTICLES

---

Seeking Knowledge Will Give You Power
What are you interested in? We all have a passion for something. So, what is your passion?Are you actively seeking information about your passion? Knowledge, providing it is correct knowledge, will increase your power.

---

Resume That Effectively Promotes You!
Imagine for a moment that you have created a wonderful product. You are excited at the possibilities of attaining name, fame and wealth marketing this product.

---

Find Those People
"The Emperor's New Clothes" was a favorite childhood story of mine. It made me laugh.

---

Job Hunting Tips: Accepting Judgment
Applying for work is stressful, no matter the circumstances. Even if you are already working, and merely looking to see what else is out there, you still want to be offered the position.

---

Job Hunting Tips: Taking Care of Yourself
Looking for work is generally a miserable undertaking. No matter how much education and experience you have, you are in a powerless and vulnerable position.

---

Job or Career
At this present time I have a job. It pays some of my bills, and again I have a job.

---

Job Search Tip for College Students
Today everyone is looking for that special job that will suit their exact needs. In this day and age we all have circumstances, situations, obligations, etc.

---

De-Bunking The "Follow Your Bliss" Myth
Hello Fellow Seekers!I don't know about you? but I'm pretty tired of hearing about how you can "follow your dream" in three or four easy steps. I've seen plenty of people leap before they sufficiently looked --and end up dissatisfied or broke, or both.

---

Resume 101
Whether you've been downsized, are looking for a career change or are just starting out, your resume speaks volumes about you. If your resume doesn't make it past the first cut, you're doomed; no matter how qualified you are.

---

Interview Presentation Skills: Dealing With Your Nerves
Sooner or later, the interview invitation is going to say you are required to give a presentation as part of the selection process. And like most people you may dread having to do it.

---

Learn How To Network for HIDDEN Jobs
I'll quickly cover the following:A) Why Network With People? B) Five Networking Tips To Get Started. C) Quick Networking Hints.

---

The Not-So-Effective Cover Letter
Here's a newsflash: Cover letters work, plain and simple. This is why I'm intrigued by the fact that a) jobseekers rarely submit them and b) hiring managers seldom read them.

---

How To Take The Pain Out Of Performance Reviews
The Painful ApproachFor many years, "performance management" was of an annual event dreaded by both the management and the workforce. For a week or two every year the manager would virtually isolate himself and ponder the stack of review forms staring him in the face.

---

Ten Courses Of Study If You Want To Be Your Own Boss
For many Americans, an important component of the American Dream is the possibility of hard work turning into financial fortune. The career exploits of such self made magnates like Andrew Carnegie, Lee Iaccoca and Donald Trump are examples for many.

---

The Interviewable Resume
It is rumored that the only word William Shakespeare wrote on his resume was "Available." We'll probably never know if that is true.

---

Overcoming the 7 Roadblocks Women with Families Face Making Career Changes
Family is the driving force of our lives. You need family to support you and in most homes you need money to support your family.

---

Online Resume Tips and Secrets
I manage a website for corporate flight attendants that features resumes prominently listed on the first page of the site. Unlike some careers, corporate flight attendants must promote themselves overtly in order to find work especially if they are contractors.

---

No Experience? No Problem!
Are you a new graduate with little or no work experience?  Sometimes it can be tough to get a job without experience, and how do you get more experience if you can't get a job? Well, your chances are better than you think. Even if your work experience is a little weak, you've probably got life experience that will help you.

---

Thank-You Notes: Your Thoughtfulness will be Rewarded
I get asked these questions over and over: "Should I send separate thank-you notes to everyone who interviewed me? Can I just send one thank-you note to the hiring manager and ask him/her to thank others involved in the process?"The answers are yes and no, respectively.Send a separate thank-you note to everyone who interviewed you, whether it was an informal pre-interview phone call, an interview lunch meeting, or the final formal interview after a lengthy process.

---

Does Your Resume Lack Vision?
You're just getting over the shock of having become unemployed. You know you need to begin a job search, but you may not know the best way to proceed, or where to start.

---