Some people like to say that there are only two things in life that are constant: death and taxes.  I like to think that there’s a third: Change.

Over the last year a lot of people hired me as a consultant in their job searches.  The one thing that was common between all of them, was that their lives were changing.  I’d venture to say that nearly 95% of my clients saw the circumstances surrounding their need for a new job negatively before we worked together.

There were a number of things that I saw repeatedly.

Forgiving Oneself

Many times people were laid off or let go.  Sometimes their pride played tricks on them.  Their pride (or ego) convinced them that there was something they did to deserve the action.  Their ego convinced them to look back at their actions until they found something that they could take responsibility for.  Once they took responsibility for whatever arbitrary action or event they thought caused their current situation something funny happened.

Some people learned from it.  They looked at what happened, took some notes, and then turned 180 degrees in the opposite direction and moved forward.

Other people had a hard time stopping taking notes.  They stared at the entire history of their last job and spent oodles of time dissecting it and analyzing it.  They got so good at tearing down their history that they didn’t stop.  In fact, many people I’ve met, who have been through this, are still looking back at what happened and haven’t moved on yet.

What’s the difference?  Why do some people move forward from things like layoffs and job changes so easily and effortlessly while others don’t?

My Friend

I have a friend who’s had a lot of jobs.  He’s been fired from several, others he was laid off from, and still others were temporary work assignments.  Most recently he completed a 6 month contract gig with a reputable firm.

One night he and I were catching up, and he told me that he was “fired again.”

My friend is the type that is very open and honest and doesn’t discriminate against anyone in regard to what he tells them.

As I listened to his story about how he got fired, I realized that he wasn’t fired at all.  His contract ended.  He completed his contract and the company thanked him and let him move on.

I told my friend that this is exactly what is supposed to happen in a contract (not contract-to-perm).  He wasn’t fired – he successfully completed his contract!  What a difference!

A little later that same evening, I heard him tell another person that he got fired.  There’s only so much I can do, right?

How We Think About Change

I’ve been thinking about why some people think about change so differently than others.  A book I read several years ago came to mind.  If you haven’t read it, it is the definitive story about job change and change in life.  If you haven’t read it, you absolutely must order it and read it as soon as possible.  It’s called, Who Moved My Cheese.

The reads at less than 100 pages, you can get through it in an afternoon, but the story will stay with you for years!

Do you ever wonder why I end so many of these posts with the words “good things are on the way”?  Buy the book and find out!