The Layoff Didn't Just Change My Career. It Reminded Me Who I Am.
You've heard it before: "Getting laid off was the best thing that ever happened to me." People say it because it can be true. A layoff can be the shove you needed to finally do the thing you'd have never done from inside the safety of your old role. That's the whole premise of The Reset Framework — Recovery, Reflection, then Redesign.
But here's the part nobody puts on a LinkedIn carousel: a layoff isn't just a career pivot. It's part of your story. And it hands you something most of us never make time to look at on our own — every other piece of your life that isn't your job title.
It's easy to lose track of those pieces. You don't notice it happening. You just start checking email at your kid's soccer game. Taking "just one quick call" from a beach chair on vacation. Answering Slack/Teams messages during the two hours a week you'd set aside to just “relax”. None of it feels like a big deal in the moment, but it adds up.
A layoff can remind you what actually matters. Not in a greeting-card way — in a very literal one. The people who show up for you the week you lose your job are the same people who were there before it and will be there after.
When I got laid off after 15 years in HR, I did start a business. I built something I'm genuinely proud of. But the bigger shift happened somewhere quieter. I got time back — and I used some of it to figure out who I actually am outside of a job description. Wife. Mother. Competitive puzzler. Beekeeper. Unapologetic true-crime binger. I'm planning to retire from a career one day. I have no plans to retire from any of that.
I don't know that I'd have found my way back to those pieces of myself — at least not this fast — without the layoff forcing the question.
So here's what I'd ask you to sit with, whether you're between jobs right now or sitting at your desk today: think back to something that made you genuinely happy when you were eight years old. Not something you were good at. Something you loved. Maybe it was putting together a thousand-piece puzzle on the living room floor. Maybe it was drawing. Maybe it was kicking a soccer ball around your backyard until it was too dark to see it. Whatever it was — you don't need a layoff to give yourself permission to pick it back up. But if you've got the time, don't waste it.
Recovery. Protect your routine, your energy, your sense of control. Reflection. Get honest about what you actually want next — not just what's available. Redesign. Apply that clarity on your own terms.
That third stage isn't only about your next title. It's about the whole shape of your life. You might be surprised what your next hobby turns out to be.
If you're navigating your own reset right now — or you have a feeling one might be coming — I offer a free Initial Consultation. Let's talk about how The Reset Framework could look like for you.
