John Wooden said that the day of opportunity is too late for preparation. This has been even more real to me in the process after the layoff I experienced in January. Something completely out of the blue, not expected, nor welcomed, and yet, I feel like I’m able to look forward with opportunity, and not with fear. There’s a healthy fear, something that is making me wake up on the Monday afterwards and sitting down to write.

I know that I still need to show up today. My life isn’t done just because I lost my job. My job was something I did, not the source of life.

I couldn’t help but wonder, why was there this peace. There could be a myriad of reasons, and for those of you, like me, who are people of faith, we know there’s a peace that guards our hearts and minds—but there felt like something else, as well, contributed to a level-headed response during this time.

Opportunity. 

Why did this seem like an opportunity? What was it that gave me hope, even in the midst of the change forced upon me? 

It has something to do with preparation.

Let me start with the caveat, I didn’t prepare to get laid off. I’m not sure anyone prepares for that. I did discipline myself to build a savings and emergency fund so that I was “prepared” to live life, but I think that’s the difference. I didn’t prepared for bad news, I prepared to live.

I’m still living my life, even after my job ended 4 days ago. (I’m not sure how long I’ll count the days post being laid off, but right now it’s helpful.)

And no matter what opportunity arises for you, it’s a part of the greater story of life—good and bad.

I didn’t prepared for bad news, I prepared to live.

So what can we do? How can we prepare? What does preparation even look like? There are some practical disciplines you can create to help you prepare for the unexpected—budgeting, mental health, physical health, education, etc. Those are things that you can physically do.

Then there’s the heart behind the actions you do. There’s the why behind the what. 

I didn’t realize how much cultivating my why, helped prepare me for this moment. 

I like to drink coffee without a lid. When I grab coffee from the coffee bar at church, or get coffee from the barista, I really like to drink my coffee with the lid off. There’s something about seeing the steaming hot liquid approaching my lips that makes the whole experience even better. It also gives me assurance I won’t burn off my tongue and lose all taste as I take my first sip. Carrying a cup of coffee without a lid can cause some problems though. You can probably imagine. And what you’re thinking has definitely happened to me multiple times. 

Someone accidentally bumps into me, or I them, and what was once in the cup comes out of the cup. Sometimes a lot, sometimes a little, but whatever was in the cup spills out. One hundred percent of the time I get bumped when holding a cup of coffee without a lid, coffee spills out of the cup. Why is this helpful to know? Because it would be really weird if orange juice spilled out, or sprinkles. No, what was in the cup gets spilled.

I didn’t realize how much cultivating my why, helped prepare me for this moment. 

When we go through bumps along our way, our life, what we are inside spills out. You can always tell what’s going on inside by what comes out. We shouldn’t be surprised if fear and anxiety come out when we hear bad news, because we actually seeing what’s going on deep inside.

How we react is a revelation of what’s inside.

I’ve learned through this experience what’s been going on inside me by how I’ve reacted. There’s definitely been all the feels—anger, disappointment, fear, sadness, confusion. But the prevailing emotion has been hope.

I almost don’t want to say it because I don’t want to come across insensitive—but hope is overflowing, and I can’t shake it.

With all confidence, I know this is an opportunity.

I’m still trying to figure out exactly what for, or what the opportunity will turn into, but there’s a deep hope that this will all turn out for the good.

Here’s what I am thinking right now. Over the last year and a half I’ve allowed myself to be given to learning about leadership and the brain and people. I’ve built habits for my family, my personal life, my mental thoughts, my health—I’ve built a life that is beyond what I do, beyond my title.

That preparation, the work put in for the last 18 months of reading, writing, learning, and thinking is producing the fruit that the seeds planted promised. I knew I was planting seeds, but now I’m reaping the fruit.

I’m still trying to figure out exactly what for, or what the opportunity will turn into, but there’s a deep hope that this will all turn out for the good.

Let’s keep moving forward, let’s prepare. You don’t know if what you’re doing today will be what you need tomorrow. I’m discovering all that’s been put in me is now producing the fruit I am enjoying today.

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