I have serious doubts and fears regarding my future. What should I do?

Q Although I am happy to have a job during this Covid-19 season, I sometimes experience bouts of discouragement and doubt concerning my future and whether I will continue to be valued at work. I find it difficult to speak about this even to my close friends. I am no longer as energetic as I used to be, and I should be retiring in six years if the organisation retains me for that long. What should I do?

Whether acknowledged or not, there are moments in everyone’s life when discouragement seeps in and does its damage. There are times when one’s confidence sustains injury, when one sorely limps on the inside beneath a stoic veneer.

There are seasons when all one sees ahead is dense fog, deluded that there is little to hope for in the future. There is hardly a story of notable triumph that does not have a chapter or two in which bruises are illustrated in colour, where pain stains the pages. So yes, it is not abnormal to experience moments such as you describe.

It is positive that you recognise and are grateful to have a job during a season such as the one we have at present. Many have lost part or all their livelihoods.

It is likely that your employer has retained you thus far owing to the valuable contributions you have made at work over time. It is useful to note, however, that every employment tenure comes to an end and that employers release some of their employees before they attain retirement age.

Sometimes we are called out of the pitch before the final whistle. Others then take our place.

We may not do in our years of decline what we were capable of during the vibrancy of youth but we can choose to be valuable nevertheless.

Every twist in life demands a fitting approach. Are you mentoring and investing in a few individuals to enable them take the mantle after you? Have you learnt to take delight in sharing your wisdom and experience?

Are you preparing for your retirement, whether imminent or not, both financially and psychologically? Have you considered consulting a financial advisor? Have you thought about engaging a coach to help you unravel your fears and chart a course forward?

Do not drown your present in ominous contemplation about the future. Focus on what you can change, appreciate what is working in your life and interact with those who purvey the commodity of hope. In the words of William Shakespeare, “The miserable have no other medicine, but only hope.”

Fred Gituku Human Resources Practitioner [email protected]