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The following article was written by Kitty Wiemelt of Winds of Change Consulting.

Another year has come and gone and as I look back, I decide that the sage who said, "We grow the most during the tough times," was right. 

On a beautiful November day, sun shining, spirit soaring, the phone rang in my office. Answering, on the other end of the line was my boss asking me to come to administration for my 2 p.m. meeting. Didn't know I had one, but I thought, "sure, why not?" I raced over thinking we'd probably be talking about the surgeon I was encouraging to come join the Cancer Center the day before. My mind was racing with ideas. I was let into the CEO's office and my heart seemed to stop. This was a scene I'd been in before: the CEO, the HR director, and my boss. "In light of the belt tightening. . . your job has been eliminated. Don't take this personally; you've done a terrific job for us. Today's your last day." That was quite a show stopper!

I got booted from the dream job that I loved and was doing well in. Fifteen of us were let go when Chandler Hospital downsized. We were luckier then some, though. We were afforded professional counseling, guidance and direction as an outplacement package. It was helpful that they were there to encourage, assess, fine tune and prop me up during those down days. The year following that downsizing allowed me to make some observations about people placed in unexpected transitions.

Recently, my husband and I were fly fishing in Rocky Point. As I was serenely riding my float tube into shore in a very confident manner, the power of the almighty ocean decided it was going to upend me. The surf tipped me upside down and placed me on my knees, hanging on to my fly rod and boat for dear life, sputtering and just trying to get control of the situation. With fins on, it is pretty hard to get your footing while being slammed continuously with vicious surf. I finally looked up to see two women running down to me to help. Later, I thought about that incident and it was almost like a metaphor of my life before, during and after becoming unemployed. I was so comfortable and confident. I was lost and devastated. I survived because I looked up and saw help out there and it changed my perspective. I can survive.

Change is always challenging. Unexpected situations are stressful. When economic situations cause upheaval, people connect and care about other people; people take a hard look at what matters to them. I really believe we were not meant to go it alone. We are community. We are people helping people. See if you agree with my observations about people and organizations in transition:

Individuals:

• Networking abounds. We ask, "How can I help you? How can my networking contacts help you?"
• We listen to each other; focus more on connecting and caring.
• We open up and share our hopes and dreams. Others respond by opening up.

Families:

• Realize who and what is really important.
• Refocus on what is really needed versus what is just wanted.
• Make do with less, encouraging creativity.

Communities:

• Pull together, take on more volunteer responsibilities.
• Unite behind the community vision, "What are we all about."
• Let new leaders and talent surface.

Businesses:

• Cut out the pork and return to less waste.
• Refocus on the true vision of the company.
• Think creatively to help charitable causes.

My year following being laid off turned out exactly how I would have hoped. Years ago I had committed to a goal by writing it down: I wanted to be a trainer and speaker and motivate others to recognize their potential. That dream is coming true in the form of my own business, "Winds of Change Consulting." My education and experience are coming together with opportunity and I'm well on my way to fulfilling that dream. There are all sorts of possibilities out there when we start looking up and out. When hit with those unexpected events, just answer the question, "What would I do, if I knew I could not fail?" 

What seemed devastating in the beginning was really a blessing. It all depends on how you use the information that you are given.

Kitty Wiemelt, the Levity Lady, owns Winds of Change Consulting, a Speaking and Training business. Kitty has experienced the joys of two separate downsizings in the medical market and now teaches "Mental Stress Reduction - Adding Smiles to Your Miles." Her passion is to help people manage their stress and balance the "Total Job Commitment" with "Levity and Perspective." Contact her at (480) 329-6996 or kittywiemelt@hotmail.com.