On April 18th, 2020 I entered a period of uncertainty after being placed on furlough from my role at The Walt Disney Company. At the time I was optimistic about the future thinking that this would be a short-term break and I decided that this would be a great opportunity to grow myself.

As the months went by with no communication from the company or my leader I started to become more frustrated. Disney is known as a relationship company so why the lack of care?

The Walt Disney quote: “You can design and create, and build the most wonderful place in the world. But it takes people to make the dream a reality” is one of my favorites and I know it to be true so why were we being left out in the cold?

Was it just me that had these feelings or did others have the same?

I know that Disney is not the only company who had furloughed their employees and I also see that many people within the hospitality industry have been let go so we are fortunate in that respect as it could be worse.

So, what are furloughed cast feeling?

“Wishing that it was over and things could go back to normal”

“Anxious, frustrated and disconnected. First time I’ve been out of work since I was 15”

“I feel frustrated and hopeless”

“I am feeling frustrated and stressed out”

“I’m so thankful that I’m furloughed, not laid off. Feelings of frustration and discontent are always at the forefront, I tend to keep myself occupied with small projects so I feel a sense of worthiness”

“I know life throws things at us that we don’t expect. I am just choosing to enjoy my baby instead of fear and frustration.”

“Being furloughed is definitely getting old. The alternative is worse, so I am trying to keep perspective. It just feels like limbo and I'm learning that it's not a comfortable space for me. I'm keeping busy and making the best of it, but I struggle with feeling so vulnerable.”

“Trying to stay positive and move forward is my new full-time job!”

“I'm feeling depressed”

“It’s been depressing to see how many of my former and current fellow cast are positing on LinkedIn right now looking for work”

“I look for as many positives as I can but sometimes the uncertainty can feel like too much”

“The lack of communication is disheartening”

“It’s making me question a lot of things for sure. It’s especially hard when your leader hasn’t reached out for months and you feel like too much of a bother if you try to reach out.”

“My boss who was furloughed reaches out to us every week just to check in. But the ones that never got furloughed hasn’t called or text to see how things were going. It hurts because before all of this we felt like we were a family and busted our butt to make sure everything was buttoned up before the furlough began”

I could go on but I think you get the picture so what can we do to help these great people who find themselves in this situation through no fault of their own?

We can help them to know that they are not alone.

We can show them care so that they know they are valued.

We can help them to grow themselves personally so that they can position themselves for a brighter future.

Yes, this is a horrible situation that we find ourselves in but I honestly believe that we can come out of this stronger by learning to identify our purpose, passion and strengths. We all have unlimited potential and while we cannot always control what happens to us we can control how we respond. We are the captains of our soul, the masters of our fate and there are ways in which we can move forward with intentional action.

We should not put ourselves in a position where we rely on other people because when we do so we are at the mercy of their agenda, not our own.

I know that this is tough and many of us feel abandoned so I encourage you to do what I have done and shift your thinking from the natural scarcity mindset to one of abundance where you are moving towards something rather than being stuck in a situation that you want to get out of.

I have been in that dark place with negative thoughts at times during this furloughed life and here is what I know: We all have a choice. We can stay where we are and feel that the world is against us or we can seek out people who genuinely want to help us to become the best version of ourselves so that we can take control of our lives.

I am blessed to have an inner circle of people who pull me up. I choose to rise up to the greater expectations of my inner self and I refuse to let anyone else limit my potential. You can do this too. I believe in you and if you want help I invite you to reach out to me personally so that I can help you to find the power to take control.

Your current circumstance does not define who you are. You are special, you are loved, you are a unique being with unlimited potential so now is the time to rise up and maximize your potential every day.

You can connect with me at:

Website: www.Chris-J-Baker.com

Email: Chris@Chris-J-Baker.com

Facebook Group: Youth Leadership Development

LinkedIn: Chris Baker

Instagram: Chris J Baker

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