How Jobseekers Can Prolong that Calm, Appreciative Feeling After Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was a refreshing “time out” for me.  When you’re in the middle of a long-term job search, the hunt becomes the dominant theme of your life, the primary thought in your head every day, week after week, month after month and for me, year after year.

So it felt good not to think about it at all on Thanksgiving.  The holiday was a sweet, simple, old-fashioned celebration of the blessings of food and family.  None of us, including me, felt that we had to explain or update each of our particular circumstances, the ups and downs of our lives in the past year (unless we wanted to, of course).  We were all just able to “be,” to be accepted without question for whom and where we are right now.  It was relaxing and peaceful.

I’m trying to extend that feeling beyond Thanksgiving, to take a step back from the intensity of the search and recharge my mental and emotional batteries.  Maybe a mini-break will bring clarity, new insights or approaches that will help me find my next job soon.

I just found a very on-point but undated blog post, “Nurture Mental, Physical and Emotional Health During Job Search,” at an interesting site called WomensJobList.com (http://www.womensjoblist.com/blog/414-Nurture-Mental,-Emotional,-and-Physical-Health-During-Job-Search.html).  While I recommend reading the whole post, it boils down to 11 common-sense recommendations for mental, emotional and physical well-being that can help sustain jobseekers for the long haul that is today’s search for work.

How to Nurture Mental, Emotional and Physical Health During a Job Search

Mental

• Limit your daily intake of bad news.
• Focus on what you can control.
• Continue learning.

Emotional

• Have realistic expectations.
• Spend time with family and friends.
• Pursue a hobby.
• Improve the lives of others through volunteering.
• Connect with other job hunters.

Physical

• Get plenty of rest.
• Eat healthy.
• Get plenty of exercise.

I like these because they're so uncomplicated.  The bullet points are just a basic prescription for maintaining balance in life that anyone can follow.  I think I’m going to cut them out and tape them to my computer so I'll see them every day.  It'll help me remember to give thanks and to keep things in perspective long after the holidays are over.