Failing Forward: Looking at the Bright Side to Getting Fired

"With every adversity comes with it the seed of an equal or greater benefit."
Nobody likes getting fired. It always seems better to leave a situation with the upper hand, knowing that your services were appreciated and valued and that you left a positive impression. Never mind the fact that if someone doesn't communicate exactly what they want, it makes it rather difficult to deliver or meet their expectations. Still, it doesn't take the sting away. Why now? Was it really so bad that it couldn't wait another two weeks when you were planning on leaving anyway?
It made me think back to the first time I was "let go." I was just getting ready to graduate college, and having been with the company for nearly five years I thought I was building a bright future for myself. The department I was in decided to do some restructuring, and before I knew it my position had been eliminated. Of course they allowed me to apply for other departments within the company, but the damage had been done. All of my hard work and loyalty to the company had been overlooked, and I found myself knocked back to the bottom rung with the positio
I had originally started out with.
Now how do you not take THAT personally? With the added stress of my wavering job security, my personal life also found itself on unsteady ground. Shortly after I took the blow from work, my fiance came home and called off our upcoming wedding. To say I was having a bad week would be an understatement. At that moment I didn't know how things could get worse (besides having to call the family to tell them the news, dealing with our wedding vendors to salvage what I could of my deposits, and then finding a new place to live.)
Eventually I pulled myself out of the black hole life had thrown me into. Time moved on, and so did I. In fact, the changes that occurred in my life and the changes since then, are probably the very reason why I am doing what I'm doing today. I would have never had the courage to break away from my comfort zone and try something new, and I know for certain I wouldn't be seeing the world as I am today. I'm not even going to mention the hundreds of friends I have gained as the result of losing the man I thought I loved. I know it sounds cliché, but I believe more and more that things happen for a reason. Whether you realize it in that moment or it takes years to gain perspective, the path you end up on I believe is exactly the path you need to be on.
As tempting as it is, try your best not to take it personal. If you gave it your best under the circumstances, even if it wasn't good enough for someone else, the only thing you can do is learn from the experience and move on. I wanted to leave you with a thought from our dear friend Oprah.
"Everywhere I turn, new beginnings and big changes abound for me. The inevitable truth is that everything changes. We're not meant to look the same or act the same year in and year out. Growth brings new potential. And I know for sure, that when you're open to receiving them, the possibilities just keep coming."
So where ever you are in your life and whatever situation you may be going through, remember that although you may not understand it today or even tomorrow, one day you will wake up and you will be grateful for this very experience. Life is about lessons, and having new experiences and relationships to teach us those lessons. When one door closes, another is nearby waiting to open.

Elizabeth (also know as Liz) has been living out of her suitcase for the past 2 years, making her way around the world in hopes of discovering more about herself and life. You can follow her adventures on her website and blog http://www.lizwrightnow.com, where she offers travel tips for the budget minded traveler and shares inspiring and sometimes off the wall stories from her adventures.