What to do When the World is Ripped Out from Under Your Feet
A reminder that you still have value and that silver linings are real.
Yesterday I wrote about the value of building your resiliency as a way to help you adapt to the big and small rocks that life can throw at you. Little did I know that less than 24 hours later would be put to use. Today I was let go from my dream job today.
Yep, you read that correctly. Less than 24 hours ago I was dreaming up all the amazing ways that I was going to be doing to elevate my team and our work to the next level. Instead I am sitting here with you trying to process one of the biggest events of my life. I’ve never been laid off, fired, let go.
Pick your phrasing — it all feels the same when you’re neck deep in it.
In over nineteen years, I have always been the one to dodge the bullet and live to see another day. I’ve learned how to do amazing things, solved big problems, and exceeded targets. Unfortunately it wasn’t enough to survive this time.
“Sometimes the most important lessons are the ones we learn the hard way.” — Unknown
Instead of thinking about the amazing things I plan to do in my role, I am thinking about the fact that I am sitting smack dab in the middle of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. Since February, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the number of individuals experiencing job loss rose to 3.4 million. CNN is reporting that “jobs recovering is expected to slow further” and that we are “still down 11.5 million jobs.”
I also know that I am in denial. It feels surreal. It feels like something that happens to others, but could never happen to me. That is a sure sign that denial is in full force.
But I can’t help but ask: Did it really just happen to me? Did I really just get let go from the most amazing job? One that I have worked tremendously hard for and reaped the benefits from?
So much of my identity is tied up in who I am as a professional and what I am able to do. I’ve been consumed by the really big and challenging great questions, conducted research and designed experiments for. It feels like my very identity is disappearing.
Yet, I have to remind myself and you that this is why resiliency is so important. You don’t know when life is going to throw a punch and leave you gasping for air, reeling from situations and emotions that you didn’t even think you’d experience.
I’ve got to remind myself that there are silver linings in what I am going through right now, even if I can’t see them yet. There are millions of us who have been let go, furloughed, etc. that all have valuable insights to share. That same Bureau of Labor Statistics report also cited that the unemployment rate has dropped to 8.4 percent.
“When you lose something, don’t think of it as a loss; accept it as the gift that gets you on the path you were meant to travel on.” — Unknown
Every time I get in my own head too much, I need to remember what I’ve shared with you. By building a strong foundation build on positive behaviors, mindsets and habits these moments — as excruciating as they may be — will pass. We will learn lessons and gain insights that can help us tackle the other big challenges that will come our way.
This is why I am so passionate about the mindset of Becoming the CEO of You. All these routines, habits, and skills aren’t just for the every day, they are for these moments to. They are the foundations on which we become the best version of ourselves.
