One of the best things about having more than one source of income is that it provides security when something goes wrong. You’re not dependent on your employer—so that even if a job loss would be a major problem, at least it wouldn’t be an all-out disaster.

But what if you don’t have that security set up, and you lose your job… what do you do?

Here’s how a reader is experiencing this situation:

“I am currently in a dilemma and in the absence of a mentor who can give me advice. I do not want to waste your time with my life story; the situation is that I left my full time job to pursue a passion project, which failed.

I’ve almost run out of my savings and my old job is no longer available. While I’m thinking of continuing my job hunt to pay the bills, I also keep thinking if I should give my passion project a few more tries before calling it quits altogether. Your advice on having a side hustle is of course, on the back of my mind, but in my situation, would you recommend having a regular job and a side hustle or is it better to pursue my passion full time?“

And here’s what I think:

I don’t think there’s anything wrong with continuing the job hunt. Do whatever you can do to pay the bills, and build for the future. In a situation like this, the risk is that you’ll make decisions out of desperation—which isn’t good.

When you’re scared, you tend to make poor decisions. Or at least you make decisions that are focused on short-term results. It’s more important to resolve your current situation so that you’re not desperate. Then, and perhaps only then, you’ll be able to think more clearly about those passion projects.

There’s no need to solve everything at once, in other words. And hang in there—don’t be too hard on yourself.

Chris Guillebeau is the New York Times bestselling author of The Happiness of Pursuit, The $100 Startup, and other books. During a lifetime of self-employment, he visited every country in the world (193 in total) before his 35th birthday. Every summer in Portland, Oregon he hosts the World Domination Summit, a gathering of creative, remarkable people. His new book, Born for This, will help you find the work you were meant to do. Connect with Chris on Twitter, on his blog, or at your choice of worldwide airline lounge.

Image courtesy of Doğukan Şahin.