A layoff might have a transformational power to your life. 

Hear me out: 

In employment, you can hold one of two positions.

→ Proactive – choosing roles you enjoy and that serve your career, leaving when a job stops serving you.

→ Passive – staying because you’re scared you won’t find anything else. Or other reasons. But the bottom line is fear. You’re scared to leave.

The second one is quite tragic to me. I made that mistake myself – instead of leaving, I stayed another half a year, waiting for the layoff. Strategically and money-wise, it was the right call, and I’m glad I consistently did what was best for me and not for the company. But almost a year later? What a waste of time and mental space.

That’s the first thing I ask when employees reach out to me during a layoff: what is this job for you? Is it worth keeping?

The moment I hear the word “scared” – scared to lose it, scared I won’t find something else – I know there’s much more going on than just the layoff situation.

Because getting fear out of your decision-making will enrich your life in ways that were previously unthinkable.

We treat life like a draft. Except this draft – this is it. There is no rewrite.

We treat our jobs – and our lives – like drafts. Except, there won’t be a re-write. 

For me, not living my life as a draft would mean to always choose myself. 

You’d think that getting laid off and doing my own thing would fix this. My own boss now and you’d think yay, the beautiful life aligned with my values will built itself and I will choose myself over everything else. 

Wrong! 

I have a whole system for not choosing myself, refined over time, very efficient.

→ It’s good for exposure. (Unpaid labour.)

→ But they’re so cool – I’d volunteer anyway. (Unpaid labour. Time wasted.)

→ Good for the networking! (Unpaid labour. Possibly time wasted. Definitely time wasted.)

I am very good at treating distractions as if they were impactful work. 

And underneath all of it – because there is always something underneath – is fear of success.

Apparently this is common. So what’s underneath that? 

→ Identity (I’m from a workers’ family) 

→ Deserviness (programming that you don’t deserve it)

→ Some evolutionary powerful crap: Fear of the unknown, where everything unknown can potentially be a threat (More money more problems) 

This is where more work and digging must be done to actually get yourself to do really scary things that ultimately bring success.