Layoffs and choice

They sound like seemingly opposing concepts, but they are not.
Being laid off can feel like a punch in the stomach. An unwelcome and defining event that changes the course of your life. And that dreaded feeling that comes with it: loosing control.

Suddenly, all your plans change. That workshop you were planning on taking, the dream for an upcoming vacation, being able to afford your monthly expenses, going to the market and grabbing a carton of eggs without thinking twice. The pressure mounts.

Our organisms adjust accordingly to this new threat. Our bodies, which were likely already operating in a state of emergency, working around the clock to meet deadlines, shouldering a workload meant for 2 or maybe 3 people… suddenly receive an influx of cortisol. Sirens go off in our brain. Our pre-frontal cortex literally shuts down, and just like that, we stop thinking and start reacting.

Because the threat is so big, in a culture where so much of our identity and self-worth is derived from what we do, our careers. Where having a gap is seen as a blotch of black ink on our resume…

So if you are reading this, take a pause. If any of this resonates with you, stop what you are doing. Sense your feet, and scan what it feels like in your body right now. Ground yourself and consider the possibility this is not really an emergency. Tell that to your body. Tell your body that if you are one of the lucky few that was hired by these grand tech companies in the first place, you probably have the education, work experience, creativity, drive and talent to lead your life in any direction you see fit.

Jazz musician Miles Davis said there are no wrong notes, it is the note you play next that defines that. Life will often throw wrenches our way, and that is unavoidable… but how we react to them, that is up to each of us. And if you really are to give this your best shot, you need to be able to access your thinking brain…so you can choose your next step. Instead of having the step choose in your stead. #layoffs#tech

(As posted on Linkedin on Jan 2023.)