800,000

This bothered my thoughts after reading the front page of PDI in a restaurant in GreenBelt 2. 800,000 is the number of employees that will lose their jobs in the Philippines within the year 2009.

Right now, you might be asking already, “Will I be part of this 800,000?” If you are employed, chances are you COULD be one of the 800,000. This is truly an era which only shows that job security is no longer in effect. In fact, unemployment increases every month, its not just happening in our country but also all over the world. Everyday we will hear from the news either companies downsizing or closing down here in Manila or in the province. Recently, our Social Security System already announced that it would no longer grant loans to those who lost their jobs.

Most of us would bet our fortune on finding a job abroad. We are willing to leave our family and loved ones. However, due to the global economic depression, jobs available abroad have become limited for the MILLIONS of Filipinos looking for jobs outside the country. To make things even worse, the only region right now that can accommodate a lot of overseas workers is in the Middle East, in fact, the government announced that Iraq will soon be open for Filipino OFWs.

So what can we do now amidst this global crisis? Our formula for success, go to school, get good grades and find a secure job has failed on its promise of a brighter future for us. We can no longer control what is happening around us, we can only control what we have right now and that is ourselves. As Gandhi said, “be the change you want to see in the world”, then it’s just about time that we start to open our eyes with other possibilities. Its just about time that we start allowing ourselves to start learning something new and not continue to hold on to something that is no longer working for us. We must give up our “should” and “should not’s” and accept that life happens the way it DOES. The key now is, what can be done despite of the global “chaos” that’s happening? When we ponder on this, it is best that we go back to what we value most in our life and based from that FOCUS on what could benefit us for the long-term and would allow us to achieve our fullest potential.

Right now, while a lot of us are still on a job, we must take this opportunity to start educating ourselves on what options to take. We must start preparing ourselves for the best and the worst that could happen. The best action we could do is first, start educating ourselves FINANCIALLY. We must accept the fact that our school missed the part of teaching us how to make our money grow and make it last for the long-term. It has missed the part of teaching us to continually look for options despite having a specialization. However, it has taught us one valuable thing and that is DISCIPLINE. Let us use the discipline we have embodied from our schools and start educating ourselves financially. We don’t want to be caught unprepared for the worst that could happen in our jobs. As Oprah Winfrey said, “luck happens to those who are prepared”.

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