This article first appeared here in Oct 09.

I have read widely that the economic crisis may be already over and many have cheered such positive news. It is like dawn breaking out on a very prolonged period of darkness. We can finally see some light at the end of a very dark long tunnel. For many, they will want to erase such a depressing period from their memory if they could.  The past twenty  months have knocked many of us flat  and some even suffered tremendous financial distress from failed investment, home foreclosures and bankruptcies. Many have lost their  fortune in a very short period and may never get to see their money again at all.

Some families I heard broke up as a result of unemployment-related problems – mostly financial.  Lives have changed  and how we approached our affliction will largely determine whether we can meaning in our suffering. Yet, there are many others who have learn something useful out of the crisis. Some have told me that they became stronger mentally and emotionally. They have learn to thrive in adversity and found that their adversity quotient has strengthened. It is in the valleys that many will learn life’s lessons and this is so true for many in this recession. Unless we try to embrace and accept such down times readily, we will never learn from crisis that can suddenly  hit us at certain points of our life. Without experiencing sadness, we can never really know what is true happiness. Without the feeling of being poor before, we can never truly understand what poverty can bring to a person and appreciate any richness that we have. Adversity has softened many people  and they have all grown to become a better person. We all can learn a lesson or two from the 2008/9 recession. Here are seven lessons I learned from my own unemployment blues:

1. Never put all your eggs in one basket

Those who think that by investing our money we will reap tangible returns from  risk-averse investment vehicles will be disappointed. The past recession proved to be very devastating for anyone who invested their money  even in capital-guaranteed instruments. One big lesson we can learn from the recession is that greed may  equal loss. Invest abit but left some in the low-interest savings account seem a wise choice in this volatile environment. Though the return may seem low for money placed in the savings account, at least the capital sum is guaranteed – 100%.

Personally, I have lost 6 figure sum   in the stock market many years ago and have since stayed away from the stock market. I have learned my lesson and hope not to repeat my mistake again. Readers who have lost money in the minibonds and other investments will identify with what I have shared here.

2. Reduce debts and save more

Hopefully, the recession has taught us to constantly look for ways to reduce our debts and save more. Many I know have cut back on spendthrift habits and spend what they have rather than using their credit facilities. If you have a mortgage loan, try to pay it off in the shortest possible time. Staying debt free should be the motto of our people in this tough time. If possible, when buying a house, use the income of one person rather than both working couple to seek for a loan from the banks as the recession cycle seems to be getter shorter these days. Many people were caught out when they have difficulty paying their mortgage loan when their partner lost their job in the recession.

We ought to try to stay debt free in the shortest time possible. I know that this is easier say than done especially when we borrow to wed, buy a house, car, furniture and some even use their credit card to go on their dream holiday. Cutting down on debt or even staying debt free should be the goal of anyone affected by the recession.

3. Always be in an upgrading mode even when you are gainfully employed

Seek out a new skill even when you are still gainfully employed. Many people work thinking that they will be in their job forever.  People  always look lost when they are suddenly  retrenched and never know what they want to do after that. While still employed, plan ahead what you want to do for the next five or ten years. Those who plan ahead tend to be more confident of their future when they lose their job in a recession. Having additional skills also allow you to immediately change career when you lose your job. You are already one step ahead of those who are still floundering and looking lost after retrenchment. So,  learn a new skill preferably something that you like to do all along but never get the chance. It is time to explore those dreams that seems almost impossible to achieve when we are in our comfort zone. Be adventurous and take some calculated risk in your life.

4. Treasure your family

One nice thing that I heard from many people who lost their jobs is that they have  treasured their family more. Perhaps, we have substitute  relationships for tangible stuff in our materialistic society all along. We buy things for our children thinking that this will please them when deep down they prefer having us around  at home. They want our time and not our toys. Many who spent most of their waking hours in the office sudddenly felt lost when  enforced to spend the day time with their family members at home when they lost their job. They felt uncomfortable as they don’t know how to engage their children while transitioning at home.

They realised how much they have missed out on seeing their children grow up until they spend the time  at home interacting with them. It is a good wake up call for many I felt. Our children all grow up too fast and when we realise that we have miss those time, it will be too late as   time lost can never come back to us again. Time lost is forever gone.

5. Reconsider that loyalty issue with the employer

One significant lesson many people learned during the recession is that you can never expect loyalty from your employer though you have being foolishly loyal to the company. Many people put in extra hours of over time when requested to help their employers rush out some urgent tasks but were shocked to receive the pink slip still. Worse of all,  you still see many of your colleagues working  on when you are being laid off – that’s the deepest cut of all.

“Why me?” many have asked when they were been laid off. It was a blatant thrust of the sword into the loyal heart. So, reconsider that  loyalty issue with your employer. Are you putting in too many hours trying to fulfill your boss over bearing demands at work? Every extra hour you spent at the office  takes you away from the precious time that you can spend with your family members. Is it worth it?

I am not saying that we should all slack at work but the loyalty issue may need a re-check after how employers lay off their workers indiscriminately during the last  recession. One ought to know that we work to live and not live to work. Life is too short to put all our waking time working for our bosses so that they can make more profit for the company.

6. Spend more time networking

Many people who find jobs easily after been  laid off usually have a larget network of friends and contacts that they can tap on. They have benefit from spending time interacting with people from all walks of life. We need to change the way we job search from now on especially when the economy is so turbulent these days.  Learn to move out of the comfort zone of simply going to work and returning home. Learn to socialise more and be a friend to others. It is when we sow then  we can  reap from the time and efforts that we have put in cultivating relationships.

Networking can be uncomfortable for many of us who are naturally shy and inhibited. However, hopefully the positive efforts to network  will put us out of our comfort zone. So, move out to interact more with others – it can also  bring more colour into our mundane life.

7. Simplify our lifestyle and be contented with what we have

We all need to simplify our lifestyle more here. In Singapore whereby shopping is the popular past time of most people, learning to simplify one’s lifestyle seems relevant. We buy things on impulse and stock them up without really using them in the process. We buy the latest gadget when we found our colleagues having them. Hopefully, during the recession, we have learn not to compare ourselves with the Joneses and be contented with what we have. If our car is still working well though it is a old model, try not to change for another newer model incurring a new 10-year loan in the process. The key question to ask ourselves when we want to buy anything new is: “Do we need it? Is the old one not serving us well enough?” It is best to be happy with what we have. Stay lean and contented.

Lessons learnt from difficult times tend to stay on within us for a long time. People also emerge stronger after each economic crisis. So don’t waste your time brooding over lost opportunitites but try to see something useful coming out of the hard times. Life is too short to spend them always wishing for what we don’t have. Learn to see that there will always be a rainbow coming out of the heavy storm.

As one great man has taught us :- All this shall pass. It had already happened for me and the same will happen to you as well …

Written by: Gilbert Goh

PS: If you have similar stories to share about lessons learned during the period that you were jobless, email me at gilbert@transitioning.org or goh_gilbert@yahoo.com. All stories will be treated with the strictest confidence.

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