If you had the chance to do it all over again, would you choose the same career? If not, what would you do instead?

I find myself at one of those times in life when I am faced with either the opportunity or the necessity to re-invent myself. Which of those positions I am in is contingent on whether I am in glass-half-empty or half-full mode at any given moment.

Losing a job is certainly life-altering. Since I just lost mine, I have had a lot of people tell me about their own experiences with this great curveball of life. What I am learning is that whether you see it coming, are laid-off, “not renewed” or just plain fired, it does not feel good. It is really an assault on every aspect of your life. Your finances take a hit, as do your sense of security and your ego. Oh, much of the time, the ego stings the most.

With all of that said, I am learning that if I can choose to see it as a blessing or an opportunity, I am not only going to survive, I will thrive. The trick is keeping myself in that enlightened state. So, here I am, returning to my safest form of release- my keyboard.

I have been fired before. Burger King and I parted ways at the end of a rather stressful shift at the drive thru window. It was hardly my dream job, but it paid for cute tops and nights out with my high school girlfriends, so I wanted to keep the gig. Alas, the drive thru is not a job for the faint of heart. If you crack under pressure, especially on short-turn around shifts, the drive-thru at any fast food restaurant, and its built-in requirement of a customer-friendly disposition, are not for you. Let’s just say I was not customer friendly, and leave it at that for now.

I was 16 when I lost my drive thru crown. I am 46 now. Sure, a small percentage of my current pay check went to buying cute tops, but that is not the really hard part here. The hard part is that it is kind of scary to be middle-aged, and let go from a job in a career you have had for 24 years. Sure, I can look for another job in my field, but what if I want to change gears? Isn’t this the perfect time? There is one key thing standing between me and this “when one door closes, another opens” mentality: fear.

So, as fear attempts to slither its way into this situation, faith is whispering in my ear that this is all going to work out. As much as I want to tell myself that I can not help being fearful or emotional, I have to remember that I do get to choose how I respond here. I can lean into my faith or be overcome by fear. Faith is actually easier, once you get past the whole “trusting the universe will see you through” thing.

Just as I was about to let fear take me down, something pretty amazing happened. While reading many posts on my facebook newsfeed about the passing of the great Maya Angelou, I came across a quote of hers, “we may encounter many defeats, but we must not be defeated.” I can be overcome or overcome. It is a choice we all get to make every minute of every day.