Mastering Meandering and The Loss of A Job

Research says that the three most impactful and hurtful events in a person’s life are death, separation and job loss. This blog is for those, who like me have felt the traumatic effects of a job loss.

This blog is also for those, like me, who have been through it and have seen the sparkling light of a new day.

My own journey with job loss started in 2017, after having spent 29 years and 11 months in a series of companies which emerged from one another, my role was made redundant and I left the company. While I had anticipated it about half a year before it actually happened and was well prepared, I did not anticipate how tough this would be emotionally.

It took me almost a full year, to make sense of things. And as much as I had previously read about and theorized about the Kubler-Ross-Grief-Cycle, it is a totally different pair of shoes to be in it yourself.

Even if you understand what is happening, there is now way to accelerate it, or to provoke the different phases - it just happens to you at your very own uncontrollable speed. You know what is happening, that is a bit soothing, but you still go through denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. And you can’t skip any of them. The only comparable event in my life to that point in time was the divorce from the biological father of my children.

So, what did I do? I allowed myself to meander, not to know what to do. Took some courses, did some learning. And finally came out of it to a completely new journey. Much more aligned to my values and aligned to my talents.

For all of you going through this experience, my best advice is to keep learning and keep investing in personal growth. It’s the most effective way to discover your own value and become an asset to the next company you join.