5 years in the past, I sat underneath a tree and cried.
It was Cinco de Mayo 2020, and I woke as much as an electronic mail: I used to be being laid off from my dream job as a world inventive lead at Airbnb, one of 25% of the company being let go that morning because the pandemic hit the journey business arduous.
I walked to the park in a daze, totally masked (keep in mind these days?), discovered a tree, and broke down. Round me, life went on. Children laughed. Canine barked. Solar filtered by means of branches like nothing had modified.
However for me, every thing had.
Layoffs surged to their highest levels since COVID-19 as of July 2025, so in case you’re studying this, there’s a very good probability you or somebody you like has felt this sting just lately, too.
First, I’m sorry that occurred to you. I understand how disorienting and painful job loss may be. The grief is actual. The uncertainty can really feel overwhelming. And the identification shake-up? That hits completely different.
Right here’s what I additionally need you to know: This can be the top of 1 story, however it’s additionally the beginning of a brand new, extra unimaginable story you could write solely by yourself phrases.
Whether or not you’re navigating a profession transition or simply listening to that quiet voice whispering “Possibly there’s one thing extra,” I wish to share two storytelling practices that helped me discover my approach post-layoff. They’ve since guided tons of of my Story Teaching purchasers by means of their very own turning factors, too.
Select what sort of story you need this to be
Within the weeks after my layoff, I ping-ponged between anxiousness (“Apply to jobs NOW!”) and grief over my misplaced identification and work group. However then I spotted I used to be in a “turn-the-page” second. I’d inform this story repeatedly. What sort of story did I need it to be?
Psychologist Dan McAdams calls this a “narrative choice.” How we body our experiences to construct private which means. And these selections have actual penalties. Individuals who carry contamination narratives (tales that begin good and finish unhealthy) expertise increased charges of hysteria and melancholy. However individuals who body their experiences as redemption narratives (tales that begin unhealthy however finish good) report extra confidence, connection to function, and higher psychological well being.
In different phrases, his analysis reveals that shifting our narrative predicts and precedes psychological well-being. Consciously selecting a redemption narrative will set you on the trail to feeling higher.
After my layoff, I advised myself: “It is a story of the time I misplaced my job. Nevertheless it’s going to be a narrative of the time I discover myself.”
Your reflection immediate: After you’ve had your second crying underneath the proverbial tree (all of us want it), you could have a selection. You may body this transition as one thing that occurred to you—that you simply’re a sufferer of circumstances who has to take no matter comes subsequent. Or you possibly can see this as an sudden plot twist that turns into the catalyst on your most intentional and aligned chapter but. The narrative you select will decide each motion you’re taking subsequent.
Title your previous profession chapters to form your future
As soon as I ended panic-applying to jobs, I took time to ask: What do I actually wish to do?
I’d spent 15 years telling different individuals’s tales—from the Obama marketing campaign and Airbnb to a wild summer season engaged on a Bravo courting present—however had by no means explored my very own.
So I cataloged my profession chapters with names like “My 12 months of Hope and Change” and “Publish-Airbnb Identification Disaster & Reset.” Patterns emerged instantly. I cherished creating areas for individuals to make use of their tales to create impression, however I severely dreaded workplace politics. I thrived most after I created and formed a task myself, however I struggled in positions with slender job descriptions or restricted obligations.
This readability gave me the arrogance to begin my Story Teaching enterprise as an alternative of returning to a extra conventional function. Now I spend my days doing precisely what lights me up, which helps people and groups navigate crossroads utilizing their private tales as a information, all with out the company paperwork that at all times drained me.
After we take a pause to map our experiences, we uncover themes and threads we will’t see after we’re transferring too quick. Your profession chapters maintain clues about what energizes you, what drains you, and what you’re uniquely constructed to do subsequent.
I name this observe Narrative Navigation: Utilizing your previous, current, and doable tales to create a compass that transforms “what now?” into “this manner ahead.”
Your reflection immediate: Take a while to stipulate your profession chapters. Give them inventive names, and mirror on what you preferred (or didn’t) in regards to the work, individuals, and compensation. What patterns emerge about what you like, what you’ve outgrown, and the place you wish to go subsequent?
If you wish to dive deeper into this train, I’ve created a worksheet that walks you thru mapping your profession chapters to uncover your distinctive knowledge and path.
Your story remains to be being written
5 years later, that second sobbing underneath the tree launched my journey as an entrepreneur. The ending I feared turned one of the best starting. The layoff pressured me to determine who I used to be past my job title. Reflecting alone tales helped me get clear on what I truly wished to work towards. Now I get to witness my Story Teaching purchasers having related breakthroughs on daily basis, work that feels infinitely extra significant than something I did in company life.
Now it’s your flip. Pause. Replicate. Select the narrative that serves you. Belief that every thing you’ve lived has ready you for what’s coming. While you’re prepared, don’t neglect to share your story. You by no means know who wants to listen to it or what doorways it would open.
Your subsequent chapter is ready across the nook . . .
