Tag Archives: Faith

9 Ways to Dispel Thoughts of Suicide During a Job Search

Hope & Encouragement, In Transition, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Photo courtesy of Flikr Creative Commons
Photo courtesy of Flikr Creative Commons

The holiday season can be so lonely for many or amplify stresses for others—especially those in career transition. Although a sensitive subject, I felt it important to share this section of my book to encourage anyone who’s ever had the thought of suicide skitter across their mind.

As private and ugly a thought as suicide is, I think everyone entertains the option—especially during an extended job search or times when they are not experiencing positive results from their efforts or are receiving a lot of rejections. Here are some ways that have helped me fend off these negative thoughts.

1) Make a list of what you’re thankful for—what you do have and the things that are going right for you currently. Think about what you’ve accomplished today, who you helped or plan to help, what made you happy today, and anything you’re looking forward to next (e.g., dinner with friends, that vacation or holiday party, buying something from your wish list). This should help get you into a more positive frame of mind.

2) Hang in there. Sometimes getting that right job takes longer than we’d all like because it’s a matter of timing. Perhaps the job is not quite open yet because, for example, the person in it now hasn’t been promoted or left to be a full-time mom.

3) Take comfort in the fact that God may need you somewhere new now, to encourage or help others or to bless your new employer with your skills, knowledge, and experience. Maybe you’re a high-level (C-suite) manager who’ll be brought in to completely change a location’s culture for the better.

4) Remember, regardless of your work situation or anything else that’s a burden on your mind during this time, your friends and your family still need you. Say it out loud: “People… need… me.”

5) Fact, faith, and feelings—I remember years ago as a youth seeing The Four Spiritual Laws tract. Simple as it may seem, the analogy is a train. Fact is the engine, so regardless of your feelings, remember the facts and what your actual situation is without a lens of drama or worry. Your feelings are a section of the train, the caboose. But a train can run without a caboose. So although your feelings are a part of the equation, remember Fact is out front, Faith knits it together, and Feelings are last. Put your faith in what God has promised in Scripture and in His trustworthiness.

6) Journal—whether it’s a paper journal or just making a new document for each day you write, journaling is a healthy and effective way to pour out your sadness, frustration, thoughts, disappointments, joys, etc. This is not only cathartic, but it can be a means of sorting out your feelings and thoughts. Further, most times you can figure out a solution to what’s bothering you. As much as I can, I try to end the journal entry with what is going right or well, stating the key thoughts I’ve distilled out of that journal entry, and/or the things I’m thankful for.

7) List the good things about yourself. As stated earlier, most people derive self-worth and identity from their job. And that’s to be expected. Heck, it’s one of the first things someone you’ve just met asks you about, not to mention where you spend a majority of your time! So in seasons when you’re not working, it’s easy to forget your value outside of a job. Shoot for 5 good things about yourself…I bet you can come up with 10! These can be personal traits and/or about yourself as an employee. Consider your strengths, things for which others have complimented you, etc. You can even ask a close friend or 2 for their take on what your strengths are.

8) You never know what awesome thing is to come, personally or in your work situation! For example, I never thought I’d be able to travel internationally until one of the music dot-coms I worked for closed down. We got 3 full months of pay and some other great things in our severance packages. Then, in just a few weeks, I got a new job under my former supervisor at the next company he moved to, so I didn’t really spend much of the severance package and was later able to use those funds for a trip to London, Paris, and Amsterdam. I’ve gotten to do several other amazing international trips, songwrite with some of my favorite artists, buy a house without debt or a mortgage, write this book, and on and on. Think back over your life to some things you’d have never believed would happen if someone told you 20 years ago.

9) Seeing your pastor or a Stephen Minister can definitely be a no-cost way of having a shoulder to lean on and discuss thoughts, etc. that are too weighty to express to a friend. Search the web, or call a large local church to see if they can help connect you. Again, hang in there. This is a season, and better days are soon to come.

More on this topic. Betterhelp.com/nyt for affordable access to licensed therapists via phone, video, chat, or text.

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Looking for a new job? Want to get the one you want faster? Check out my book, Here Today, Hired Tomorrow.

Smarter than the Disciples

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Are we smarter than the Disciples from the Bible? Faith and career transition go hand in hand. Realize that God cares about this season of your life. Faith, hope, provision, care, encouragement, job search, transition, Jesus, doubt, disciples
Photo by Caulton Morris

I don’t think I’ve yet mentioned why this blog sways spiritual. Losing your job is one of the most significant negative events you can experience. To say the time between then and landing your next job is a challenge, is an understatement. Since most of us draw the majority of our identity from our work, a season of job searching can break you down to the core of who you are since you don’t have a traditional job. (I can’t say you don’t have a job since looking for your next position is quite a job!)

This time will cause you to question yourself. You will have your fair share of pity parties and may experience depression. Career transition–even if you DO have a job now and are seeking another–is rarely easy. I always say it’s a season that can turn you to God. Not to bash anyone, but I don’t know how those who don’t have a personal relationship with God (and have him to turn to) make it through the process. Scripture, my friends, the literature I read, and being able to be real, raw, honest with, and dependant on God give me strength during these periods of career transition.

Recently I visited Crosspoint Church here in Nashville. The pastor’s sermon that day made me think of one of those “Ah ha!” moments I had during grad school. My Sunday School teacher, Brent Funderburke, was amazing. I even had him as a professor for a watercolor class one semester.

One Sunday our topic was how Jesus fed five thousand people who came to hear him speak. Mark 6:30-44 talks about how the disciples were incredulous as to how they were to accomplish Jesus’ directive to “give them something to eat.”

I thought, “Pfff, these guys! Just a few chapters back, they watched Jesus calm a massive storm on the sea, heal a demon-possessed man, and raise a girl from the dead! Here they are worried about some food, and they can’t even think outside the box to ask Jesus to use his power to help them.

Then it dawned on me…don’t we do the same thing?! We can look back now at the times He provided (sometimes not like we expected or wanted), pulled us through, healed, encouraged, etc. but still allow exactly the same kind fear or myopia to settle in.

The morning I visited Crosspoint, Pete, the pastor there, told the story of how God brought he and his pastor friend to listen to and encourage a woman on the beach in the Dominican Republic. (You can read his story at this page of his blog.)

Tears welled up in my eyes when Pete drew it all together and made his point. Even though there are, have been, and will be millions of human beings on this earth and even though sometimes we feel like He has turned a deaf ear to our plight, the God of the universe notices, hears, cares, and acts. Yes, even all the way down to you and your situation.

So, be encouraged. Don’t forget. Stay connected—if you have a church home, don’t neglect attending during this time so He can encourage you. Read the book He gave us.

A great book I’m reading, broken out into daily sections, is Rick Pritikin’s Why Did I Lose My Job If God Loves Me? His writing is transparent and uplifting, drawn from his own experience. I appreciate the stories he includes from his difficult season of career transition. You can click on the image below to check it out at Amazon.

Blessings to you in your search. Keep up the hard but good work. Use your time wisely. Keep a positive attitude—it will show! Be thankful about the good things and what you have, and press on.

A friend sent me this prayer he ran across, author unknown, so I wanted to share it in closing…

God, our Father, I turn to you seeking your divine help and guidance as I look for suitable employment. I need your wisdom to guide my footsteps along the right path, and to lead me to find the proper things to say and do in this quest. I wish to use the gifts and talents you have given me, but I need the opportunity to do so with gainful employment. Do not abandon me, dear Father, in this search, but rather grant me this favor I seek so that I may return to you with praise and thanksgiving for your gracious assistance. Grant this through Christ, our Lord. Amen.