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As the political battle unfolds with the public service over savings, it is worth remembering a couple of things.\xa0

As much heat as the Government\xa0is taking over the so-called cuts, and to be honest I am not sure that there is in fact a great deal of heat outside of Wellington, it might be worth remembering that the previous Government was the one who handed out the jobs like there was no tomorrow.\xa0

When you artificially stack the deck the way they did, you must in your heart of hearts know that it can never last.\xa0

So, what the current government is doing is not heartless but realistic. It was always going to happen, and if we were a bit more honest about these things, we all knew it.\xa0

Secondly, it has never ceased to amaze me how much work people take on without ever really asking the question about its long-term viability.\xa0

The media and its various trials and tribulations at the moment is full of people who have been seemingly genuinely shocked that the department or programme they are working for is closing, yet those of us from the outside looking in saw the writing on the wall months, or in some cases, years ago.\xa0

And that\u2019s before you get to the debate, that I thought had been going now for years, and that is a\xa0job is not for life and hasn\u2019t been for ages.\xa0

You will have many jobs. Jobs come and go, along with boards, and management, and mergers, and sales, and floats, and divestments, and changes of direction.\xa0

And then the bit that really hasn\u2019t been covered at all, have a look at how many of the jobs being cut are a combination of jobs that simply haven't been filled, and jobs that will give you a cheque on the way out.\xa0

Voluntary redundancy has been, and in this case, is being widely used.\xa0

In other words, many of the people who are losing their jobs have stuck their hands up and said yes please, I\u2019ll take that deal.\xa0

And I can tell you for nothing, getting paid to get out can be a revelationary and uplifting experience.\xa0

Doors open, opportunities arise, fresh perspectives become present, it might well be one of the best things that ever happened to you.\xa0

As in most things in life, the commentary we are currently seeing and hearing is very one sided and needlessly emotive.\xa0

Life is what you make it. The growth comes from the tough times, and not all tough times are as arduous as you might have thought.\xa0\xa0

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