My journey from layoff to finding purpose

My first post is a personal one, and it’s a genuine example of me practicing what I preach; truly eating my own dog food. Up until now, I’m applying the same values and principles I will be sharing with you on this newsletter, learning and improving as I go, so expect plenty of real-life lessons (and a lot of honest mistakes) along the way.

Have you ever had the ground suddenly shift beneath your feet? That’s how I felt on a grey morning in March 2016 when the news finally dropped: my manager, my colleagues and I were being let go. The company was restructuring, and our roles were mere casualties of the change. My stomach churned as I packed up my desk, the familiar hum of the office suddenly felt foreign and very cold. I wondered, “What now?” a question that echoed louder than the silence and the stares of colleagues around me.

Truthfully, none of us were shocked. Ever since the CIO walked out the door, we’d sense a storm was brewing. Still, when the tree fell, it was swift and beyond jarring, like a sudden typhoon gust that knocks you off your feet before you even realize the wind has changed.

For many, unemployment is a dark cloud, a reason to spiral into fear or self-doubt. But for me, it was something else entirely: a wake-up call I kind of knew I needed. I’d grown comfortable, maybe way too comfortable, in my old roles as Software Engineer. The routine had dulled my senses, and somewhere along the way, I’d stopped asking myself the hard questions: Was I really fulfilled? Was I growing? Or was I simply coasting through life?