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07 Jul A Push Out The Door to Happiness

In the spring of 2020 I lost my job. My job was complicated by an overly toxic environment. An elicit substance addicted owner who based decisions on imaginary conversations that he thought he had while blasting his brain to the stratosphere. Add in a couple christian hypocrites to round out the “executive team” and you can understand the toxicity. This was all topped by the owner’s rabid belief in Q. It boggles my mind how an educated person can fall for that crap but that’s another post someday.

Although it wasn’t a surprise, getting fired still sucks. Immediately my anxiety started to spike. The thought of going through the whole job search and interview process literally made me sick to my stomach. In the week prior I had read two articles on the “coming purge of workers over 50”. Companies were using the pandemic to trim their work forces by eliminating older, more expensive workers and replacing them with much younger, less experienced, cheaper employees. It was fired on a friday. We typically worked half day on friday and I had an invitation to join a friend at the beach when I got off. With stomach churning I drove home feeling a major freak-out on the horizon.

Instead of freaking out I had an epiphany. A voice in my head said to use this opportunity to be your authentic self and create the life you’ve always imagined. Immediately I felt the anxiety lift and freak-out aborted. All of this happened on my short drive home. I changed clothes, gathered my beach things and headed out the door with peace in my mind and excitement in my heart. The day I was let go was one of the best days of my life. I was free!

I got to the beach, found my friend and settled in to relax. I told her what happened and said that I was surprisingly not freaked out, but actually quite calm. Now, this day is pivotal in my life. This was the day I endeavoured to be true to myself. To quote Jack Kerouac from The Dharma Bums; “I saw that my life was a vast glowing empty page and I could do anything I wanted.” I decided I was going to be completely self employed and to focus on becoming a freelancer. I have always considered myself an artist, but a lack of confidence has kept me from truly allowing and pursuing living a creative life. Not anymore! Hi, my name is Chris McCormick and I am a freelancer offering graphic and web design as well as marketing services. It has been a little more than a year since that day and I couldn’t be happier.

I didn’t realize it at the time but I became part of a statistic. People over 50 who were working from home because of the pandemic that came to a realization that they could have more. And indeed wanted more. Seeking a better work/life balance, people over 50 are embracing the “freelance culture” and finding happiness.

In many cases just like mine, a push out the door can lead to great opportunities and happiness.