Two years can feel like an eternity. A president can go from savior to pariah. Cancer can form and remiss and return again. Careers can take enough twists and turns to leave you wondering if there’s any point in wondering. 
Yet, two years is a blip.
We get so caught up in singular events that it’s easy to forget how time erases the gravity of most everything. Yes, we will always remember where we were the day the planes struck. And the death of a loved one can have permanent, often scarring effects on those by whom they are survived. But the truth is, most seemingly monumental occasions are mere specs on the timeline. What feels devastating in the moment can, with hindsight, be traced back as the genesis of a positive, life-changing shift.
Getting laid off falls into this category. It’s crushing. It feels like the end of days. And for a period of no more than 48 hours, it’s acceptable be in that space.
But the best advice I can give the suddenly unemployed is to put yourself in the two-years-from-now mindset. Find a way to really, truly grasp that you won’t be homeless. You won’t be dead. Your family and friends will still be your family and friends. If you have to move in with your in laws? It would suck. But you know what? It’s a roof over your head. And it’s temporary.
In the universe of big events, a layoff is really quite tiny. As much as you can, trivialize it. Make a molehill out of a mountain. Free your mind from the anxiety of demise. Because once you do, it’s supremely liberating.
Today marks the two-year anniversary of my own most-recent layoff. I cringe when I hear people say, “take it from me.” But take it from me: The worst that can happen is rarely the worst that can happen. In the past 730 days, I’ve blogged, freelanced, made movies, started writing a book, and directed commercials. And none of that would have been possible if I hadn’t lost my job.
October 15, 2008 seems like yesterday. Yet it feels so long ago.
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About the author: Erik Proulx is the writer and director behind the film “Lemonade” and is currently in production of his next film “Lemonade: Detroit.” You can find him on Twitter at @eproulx.
