Layoffs. Downsizing. Restructuring. These words loom from TV screens and newspapers like a contagious disease we don't want to catch. We perform our due diligence by working overtime, updating our resumes and tightening our budgets—just in case. For those of us who still have jobs, we are fortunate, but we sometimes carry the burden of a skeleton crew when the work is still there and the people aren't. On top of that, we are left wondering, "Are the layoffs really over, or am I next?'"

This scenario is a blessing and a curse, especially if you are in a job situation you are not happy with: you feel trapped but also guilty because you know you should be thankful for the money coming in. Such feelings are normal, says Charlotte Shelton, CEO of Unity Publications. "Human feelings are not caused by external events but by our internal self-talk," she writes in Good Business. Consequently, if our self-talk is positive, we will feel positive and express that throughout the day in our work and to others.