Vacation Time is Great for Self Reflection

The headlines are impossible to miss: so and so company is laying off 25,000 or this and that company is downsizing by 10,000 employees. It makes everyone anxious about the status of their job. Most of the time it isn’t the work part that people are anxious about, but rather the steady check. Many companies, either by choice or for survival, do this to streamline their delivery of products or services. To get in line with the demand for their offering.

But timing is funny right now. The holiday season, particularly the days between Christmas Eve and New Years are a bust when in comes to productivity. Everyone is either on vacation or the people they need to do a deal is on vacation. Several companies, tech companies for example, shut down for the last week of the year. They do this to save on costs (don’t turn on the lights). Often times the employees are given the choice of having the time off non paid or taking vacation.

In other years, this time of year is a celebration of family and religion. This year it still is, but with a serving of concern. Concern for your job, concern for your debts, and concern for a future that is not close to the one you planned for.

But thankfully, the US system of democracy and capitalism offers so many options and alternatives that even the worst situations usually reveal opportunities. It is just a matter of getting out of your comfort zone to take advantage of them. Write your own headline.