It's not even life without parole.

In fact, the only prison is the one you may have created for yourself,

which is easy to do and totally understandable.

Anyone who has ever been jobless for a period of time can relate to the hopelessness. It's been going on for so long that it does seem like it will never end. I used to feel like I wouldn't be able to work again even if I did manage to get a job, as if I had grown incapable of getting up in the morning, showering, shaving, pressing my work clothes and arriving at the office on time, cheerful and ready to rock. That life seems like it existed in another universe, like you jumped to another dimension where everything is just weird and sucky.

It's not as bad as all that. Life changes. I guarantee you that ten years from right now, your life will be different. It might even be drastically different. The only constant is change. We don't notice it because we're watching it roll by like a river, but that river contains different water in every moment. Over the long haul, the river itself will change course. It will eventually dry up completely.

The point, of course, is that your current situation is not permanent. It is very important to keep this in mind. It was critical for me.

You see, once you realize that things will change, it becomes easier to focus and effect that change. You can build a raft, move to a different spot, even dam the river if you're really ambitious. You don't need to sit passively by, but even if you do that, things will change. This is not the end of the line. It's not permanent.

So far I've committed a big writing sin: The content of this little article does not deliver on the promise of its title. What have I said related to death sentences or prison or whatever?

Well, come on, you can figure this one out. A death sentence or a life sentence is a pretty permanent sucky situation like you might imagine your unemployment to be. As I have just tried to remind you, unemployment is not permanent.

You know you're getting out of "jail" at some point. Why not make a break for it right now?