My wife and I had a chance to see the new movie Up from Disney Pixar. It’s a wonderful story, and highly recommended for people of all ages. But there’s also some important lessons to learn about your life and career in the movie.
The one I wanted to talk about today is this: Sometimes, in order to move forward, you have to let go of the past.
That’s particularly meaningful for me this week, because on Friday I have final termination from HP. I know of other ex-employees whose career plan seems to be primarily to count the days until they can again work for the company. And, of course, there’s others who are treating their job loss as a reason to try to direct their entire life AGAINST the company.
I find both to be too extreme.
But I need to now let go of my focus on this company, so that I can move forward and create my new career. Not the relationships with all the wonderful people, of course, because I still care very much about many of them – and may indeed have a chance to work with them in the future. But the likelihood of ever again working for HP in my lifetime is extremely small, and I have to become comfortable with that idea.
Because I have to focus on creating my future. I’m not waiting for my career to find me, and I’m not sure that the future is just a job out there waiting to be found. I need to be active in building, creating, and designing that future. I can’t do that if I am carrying a lot of baggage.
Go see the movie if you haven’t already.
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This movie resounded with a message to the seniors who visit me about assisted living as a lifestyle choice: they know they need it before they hurt themselves and end up in a nursing facility but they resist because they want to “stay in their house”. Well, they are many times lonely in that house, dangerous because they have no help with daily needs that have become difficult, nutrition is substandard, house cleaning and yard care has become increasingly diminished, but more than all that, clinging to a house prevents them from the precious interaction they could be having with people their own age and for the veterans, they could be adding $1,050 to $1950 a month when they live in a facility like ours and having had either served in a war for even one day or are the widow of someone who served during war time with the VA program called Aid and Attendance. “It’s only a house.” ttyl
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Hmm… Maybe you could put together a group outing for everyone to go see the movie, and/or order the DVD when it comes out! It might help people to think through their tough issues of separation –?