Take control of what you can.

The other day, a good friend of mine was thoughtful enough to tell me how proud she was of me for the way I am handling my unemployment. If you saw my facebook page, you'd see that I haven't been standing very still lately and have maintained a positive attitude throughout. My friend noticed this, and commented how she doesn't know if she would be able to do the same, if she were in my shoes.

I'll be honest, it’s all real, but it’s not natural. It takes A LOT of work to keep my head up. But I knew from the beginning that the road back to the workforce is going to be a long one.  This economy is a mess and will probably get worse before it gets better.  There's not much I can do about that.  So, I decided early on that instead of focusing on things I can't control, to take control of the things I can.

I can't control when I get my next job, but I can control my efforts to get there. I do the best I can, networking, following leads and getting my resume out there. That's the best I can do (as far as I know), and as long as I am doing my best, I have nothing to be ashamed of.

I can't control the fact that I don't have a job to fill my day, but I can control what I do with the day I have. When I am done with my job hunting, I can use my day in "productive" ways, visiting museums, building my skill set, helping friends, volunteering and going to the gym. If I am productive, I haven't wasted my time and that makes me feel good about my days.

I can't control that I don't have a daily paycheck, but I can control what makes me feel valuable to myself and others. I can celebrate my successes (big or small) and be there for my friends and family when they need me. While a paycheck is important (we all need money), there are other things that can result in a rich life.

So that's how I do it. You can do it too. Just don't let the things you can't control get you down. And thanks, good friend (you know who you are), for noticing. It made my day.  :)