This strange picture illustrates how oblivious we can be to what is happening outside our comfort zone. We tend to believe that life, as we have constructed it, will continue as a ‘given’ or even as something ‘deserved’. However, we do so at our own risk.

Our Civil Defense authority is always telling us ‘To be prepared’.  In the event of a disaster, it’s important to have a torch ready, food and water supplies available, and a family emergency plan that everyone understands. Building a good relationship with our neighbors is also crucial.

Like any potential threat, avoidance might keep us naively positive,  however, at the end of the day, how helpful is this if what we quietly fear, happens?

I’ve been reflecting on job insecurity and how we can best cope in this era of constant change and insecurity without succumbing to anxiety or leaving ourselves naively vulnerable.

Can we be prepared while also maintaining a healthy state of mind? I believe we can. After all, we buckle our children into their car seats before we drive on the road, don’t we?

We’ve been told for years now that ‘resilience’ is the answer, however when people are impacted by redundancy, or other crisis the shock and anger are unavoidable, and the damage is often costly, impacting families. In many instances ‘bouncing back’ is unreasonable and everyone responds to change differently!

We do know that taking some control is helpful. So rather than keeping our heads in the sand, let’s get practical!

To be change-ready – take some control by:

• Developing a Growth, rather than a Fixed mindset.

• Having a great, updated CV

• Have a career plan by reviewing your career and knowing what your next step could be.

• Actively keeping an eye on potential roles and industries.

• Nurturing supportive friendships/relationships

• Networking – a great LinkedIn profile helps

• Staying visible at work – make sure your manager knows how you contribute to the business

• Staying well, fit, and mentally agile by making sure you exercise, embrace change, and maintain a flexible mindset

• Working on self-belief by watching your inner messages. If they are pessimistic, get help.

• Looking for the good things in life – find joy every day!

• If you’re feeling worried, examine your fears consciously. When you do this, (fear setting) you’ll realize that your fears are mostly unfounded and then you can relax, knowing that the most important things in life will always be there and that things are unlikely to be as bad as you imagine.

Finally and most Importantly: notice if you are not in a good place (emotionally) and for help.