There’s almost nothing more devastating than being let go from a position that you had invested so much time and energy into. If it was getting fired, typically you know why you’re being let go, and if you quit, then you put some premeditated thought into quitting. For most, getting laid-off is a situation where they didn’t have a clue that it was going to occur. For me, I understood the industry trends, and honestly had a little foresight to being let go. That doesn’t necessarily make it easier, but for me, it was.
So now you don’t have a job, what do you do? The previous me that knew where I needed to go in my career immediately updated my resume, went to unemployment offices, subscribed to all the job seeking sites, updated my LinkedIn profile with all of my accomplishments, etc. And once that was done, I made it my job for the next (insert however long it takes to find a job that I could live with), and practice my interview questions so that I was never surprised, while suppressing all my insecurities that culminated from the act of getting let go.
I am no longer that person, and I’ve learned to take some time working through the insecurities first, before moving onto the “finding a job as quickly as possible” stage. You see, it’s not the first time I’ve been laid off, and in fact, it’s a pretty recurring theme in the industry I was working in for the last 10 years. Of course it depends entirely on your financial situation, but getting laid off typically gives you a little severance to lean on during the “search” phase, and if you’ve been smart enough with your savings, you probably have some income set aside for rainy days.
This is the perfect opportunity to re-evaluate your life, career path, etc. I urge you to take this time to do so, instead of jumping right back in with both feet. You see, I’ve become disenfranchised with the corporate world. I didn’t even like myself when I was in that world. All that hustle, bustle, working like a boss, was quite honestly straining to my mentality, and horrible for my health. With this recent let-go, I kept having abdominal issues. I developed appendicitis, needed to get my gall bladder removed, and consequently started getting symptoms of IBS and horrible acid reflux that kept me up some nights. I ate healthy, I did yoga (and in fact became a certified yoga instructor during my tenure with this company), meditated, but nothing helped. The toxicity just kept on seeping in.
So I promised myself a little time to:
- Reflect on who I am. Do I even like this person? Do I feel like this person will be the best person to be to move forward with my life?
- Study alternative lifestyle changes that I could incorporate into my daily habits. Hygga, anyone?
- Project my perfect life. What did the day to day look like? What can I do that I have a passion for? What do I need to cultivate in order to become happy again?
- Visualize myself as the best version of me. What am I doing? How can I benefit the world? What can I contribute? How do I want the public to perceive me?
- Read, Read, Read. Self-help, motivation, the Power of Intention, etc.
It’s not that I didn’t like myself at all. I loved the money I was making, but the expense to my health was too much. I liked the notoriety I received from working at this company, but whenever people would ask me what it was like working there I would grimace and flinch. Something had to change, you see. And giving myself that time to really reflect, actually started a whole new course of action, and even action plans. If after these exercises you find that you really do love doing what you do, then great! That means that you have the conviction to succeed in your given field. If you find that you are ready to make that change, do yourself a favor, explore those things. JUST GIVE YOUR SELF TIME TO DECIDE. YOU OWE YOURSELF AT LEAST THAT MUCH!
