In case you haven’t picked up on it yet, I’m a BIG fan of networking and even BIGGER fan of support groups. I’m an active participant in one support group and facilitate another. If you’ve never considered joining a support group while being “in transition,” let me take you through the journey so you know how to get the most out of the experience.
Leave Your Ego at the Door
Listening is the first skill you’ll need if you want to get anything out of a support group. We are all suffering from being let go but coming into a support group thinking either your suffering is deeper than everyone else’s or that your experience is uniquely different than everyone else’s is a sure-fire way to come out of your first meeting with the attitude of “this whole support group thing is BS!” I thought what happened to me, after almost 20 years at my first full-time job, was the worst thing that could happen to any long-term employee. And I wore that “pride of shame” like a badge of honour. It wasn’t until the full loneliness of being stuck on my own “woe is me” pedestal made me completely miserable that I was ready for change. It’s impossible to listen to 2 things at once so I stopped listening to my ego and started listening to others.
I’m Not the Only One!
And, once I stopped trying to be the best of the worst, I started to resonate with the stories of others who were restructured. The particular circumstances may have been different but how we felt about what had happened to us was almost exactly the same. I found my tribe! And I realized where the “support” actually came from support groups.
The Learning’s in The Sharing
By sharing, not only our experiences but how we felt about what was happening to us and around us, we learned. I would revel in the emotions and thrive in the helping atmosphere. I didn’t even know I was learning about how to be “in transition” until a few more meetings. That’s when I realized that the power of sharing was 2-fold… what I was learning by listening and what my sharing was teaching others.
It’s a Group Thing
Getting help through webinars, online courses and one-on-one trainings has value. But, in my experience, until you address how you’re feeling being “in transition,” from a collective of supportive individuals, you won’t be in the proper mindset to learn or even apply any of the other skills you’re setting out to learn.
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