When I quit my job in December of 2019, several people told me I was brave.
"Brave, or stupid. Could go either way," I always replied.
It seemed like a pretty low-risk endeavor at the time. Take a month off from working, figure out what I wanted, work on a personal book project, and then start looking in earnest in February. That plan was going swimmingly. I have learned so much about what I want in a career, I've realized I do love marketing, just not how I was doing it in that last position.
And now, we have the COVID-19 pandemic, and companies are more worried about how to stay afloat than whether or not I'm the perfect Director or VP of Marketing for their team. It is hard to keep the anxiety at bay.
I try to think about those who are not as fortunate as I am. I have a financial cushion, although it's not something that will sustain me for an exorbitant amount of time, I think it will ride out the current crisis. I have a place to live. I have one more week to secure health insurance. I am not without resources, like so many displaced workers in entertainment and the arts, so many waiters and bartenders, and so many small business owners who might be ruined if the economy doesn't turn around soon and we all get to go out shopping again.
Still, what started as a 50/50 shot at being a stupid move, started to look like more of a 70/30 shot leaning toward stupid...
...until I had a brief conversation with a former colleague that reminded me of one of the many reasons I left my last position, and the odds righted themselves back to 50/50.
Hang in there, fellow unemployed people. This too shall pass.