Often The Why Of Something Is Irrelevant

Since the economy crashed and thousands have become unemployed, many might have questioned, "why me?!" even though they were dedicated, hard workers. The fact that job stability doesn't exist and lay offs seem inevitable or random can be very disconcerting. Most become mired in the whys and how could this have happened to me cycle.

Fortunately or unfortunately, almost every single company that I've ever worked at has either been bought out or merged. Luckily, I was unaffected most of the time, but the sense of doom and low morale in the company always prevailed. Before I even graduated college, the idea of zero job stability was already on my horizon.



With life and with employment, dissecting the why of something and often, how to revert it back to how things were before is usually futile. In many cases, you were the last person to know of whatever bad news was finally delivered - the layoff, the heartbreak, or whatever your current crisis is. Think about it - before anyone is laid off - the immediate supervisor knows, the boss knows, the dept head knows, HR knows, and so does the head of the company. In a break up, the significant other knows and at least their best friend because they discussed it at length, perhaps even parents know. The best way to move on is to not ask "why," but to ask, "what now?"

People focus on the why thinking they can do something different or go back and change people's minds or somehow argue a point they think no one thought of before. In reality, even if they didn't think of your brilliant plan B or suggestion, the chance of you getting a forum to present your idea is also probably non-existent. Everyone, but you, got together to discuss it from all angles and it was decided the best solution for everyone involved, including you, would be X. When two parties are involved, if one party wants out, regardless of the reason, the partnership no longer works and is already over. It could be for a benign or malicious reason, but the bottom line is if one party has moved on, so should the one left behind.

The goal in any crisis should be to move on and plan your next step. If you can show that you dealt with the bad news pretty well, at least you increase chances of being able to work with a company again or be on friendly terms with anyone you parted ways, once the timing becomes mutually-beneficial for everyone involved.

It's hard to go through life knowing sometimes your ideas, thoughts, and existence don't have an impact - that what you say, do, or think has no bearing on someone else. But, there will always be someone out there who needs your skills and intelligence. It's now your mission to find them and concoct a plan of action.