Live each day as if it’s your last — even if you’ve lost your job

You’ve probably heard of the statement, “Live each day as if it’s your last”. Steve Jobs said he lived by it for 33 years, as he was deeply impacted. He is not the only one who has cited this quote.

But when you’re losing your job or struggling to keep business afloat, it is probably super hard to talk about living each day like it’s your last. You’re literally getting by, moving any dreams and aspirations to the backburner. Your preoccupation is about bread and butter — scrounging for the jobs that can pay your basic expenses and worrying about how to cut costs.

I started my youth and career with lots of passion. “Live life with passion!” was my motto, and somehow things couldn’t get me down. For every job and task assigned to me, I’d undertake it with huge enthusiasm and gusto, and when people asked me what I was up to, I’d always reply with a big grin — my eyes smiling, as I said everything was awesome.

Of course, the positivity fuelling me meant that I gave 200% to everything I did. I read voraciously and networked widely, to get the work assigned done to levels that exceeded expectations. I was proud of everything I did and of the roles I played. Colleagues remarked that I was a workaholic, while supervisors rewarded me with more important assignments as well as positive appraisals.

I thought I was undefeatable, being frequently headhunted and skilled. My pride and passion continued to surge.

Then one day, I lost my job due to the global recession. While layoffs are common in bad times, that was of little comfort for me. For the first time in my life, I felt depressed and thrown off momentum. The feeling was as if I had been put on a long holiday from the time I opened my eyes till the time I went to bed, every day and every week, and that there would be no end to this. I felt embarrassed and shrank away from my social circle — hiding at home while I recuperated from the shock.

Perhaps reading the newspapers daily in bad times numbs us. We see reports of people losing their jobs, and our reaction is surprise and shock that a particular brand had to layoff numbers. But we sometimes forget that behind every digit is a human being. Every person laid off has had a career before this, their daily lifestyles, as well as families to feed.

In my case, I went from being courted by headhunters, to feeling like I had zero bargaining power in an economic downturn. Initially, I resisted the thought that I had to compromise, but reality told me otherwise. Jobs were scarce for experienced hires. I resorted to applying for entry-level roles and part-time gigs just to get by. I even worked as a driver for a month, before giving that up because I was barely covering vehicle rental daily.

When I finally secured some form of employment, I was a humbler me. I got to work dutifully as how I usually did. But that spark in me had fizzled out due to harsh reality. I asked myself if it was time to trade in idealism for pragmatism, and just stay grounded daily — focusing on bread and butter.

One day, I encountered that quote again while reading an article — “Live each day as if it was your last”. It triggered memories of how alive I felt every day when I chose to live life as an adventure. Despite facing days where I was overworked and tired, I always had energy and zest because there was a purpose in my life.

It was never about pursuing a cause or climbing the career ladder. I had an inherent belief that life is exciting and there are tons of adventures to check off my list. Each time I embarked on a new job, or a fresh volunteer stint, I always dived into it with gusto — looking around eagerly to see what new things I could find out, and who were the new faces I could befriend and learn from. It struck me that once I became lost in worrying about how to get by daily, I forgot that part of me — falling victim to stress and depression instead.

I decided that I needed to get back to living life properly again, so I made a conscious pact with myself to live every day as if it was my last — or at least take each day in stride positively. Whether I had a permanent job or not, I kept myself laughing and smiling daily, by learning new things on my own, hanging out with family and friends, or simply seeing the humor in life.

I also reminded myself of the adventures I had yet to embark on and made a weekly schedule of personal milestones I wanted to cross — from writing to socializing. Life soon regained its meaning.

The circumstances remained the same. I couldn’t change the recession, neither could I improve the job market. But I most certainly could live life as a confident and self-assured individual — exploring new things daily and carrying great enthusiasm for every day I lived and everything I experienced in life.

I write this article to remind everyone not to forget the spark in yourselves. Regardless of ups and downs, just always remember: your life is yours. No one can make it better but you.

Live each day as if it is your last. You owe it to yourself.