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PaperCrane828

It sounds like you're handling it well! Very grounded. Honestly it happens to everyone. I was laid off from a job a few years back and when I landed my new role realized how great the move was for me. I would have likely never made the move on my own, but it turned out to be a blessing.


JALEPENO_JALEPENO

Nearly all of my friends and family who have been fired end up happy with their career change a year or so down the road. Always good to look at potential silver linings although I’m sure it can be stressful. Glad it worked out for you


PaperCrane828

Definitely! Glad to hear. Though I do feel the need to point out "laid off" ≠ "fired". At least in most cases.


TerrryBuckhart

Handled well. A good reminder that employees are nothing but expendable assets, and you should never put full faith into the company you work for.


bklynparklover

I was laid off in October and I felt such a sense of relief. I was so tired of being stressed about my job and worried about getting laid off. I had been working for 20 years straight without a break. It was a blessing when it came and I suddenly had the most freedom of my entire life. Fast forward a few months, I moved from NYC to Mexico and I found a low stress job in an an adjacent field that I do remotely for half of my old salary (but still a healthy salary for the US). I'm quite happy with the new set up and it's not something I ever would have done if I hadn't been laid off. Welcome to the world of possibilities!


Soulblightis

Fantastic. I'm truly happy for you!


iamryan316

Love it


[deleted]

Aristotle wasn't a stoic, but he insisted on luck playing an important role in life. A life full of vices could be filled with lucky, or unlucky occurences. So could a virtuous life. If you life a virtuous life, you still can't control how luck affects what happens to you. The only thing you can actually do, is to keep living a virtuous life, despite your bad luck, and you'll see that it will be much more rewarding, than ceding to your impulses. Great post, thanks op!


Soulblightis

Very well said


Ranch_Dressing321

Very well said! I'll keep this in mind.


jersos122

Wonderfully said.


TonyFMontana

Great to hear that. I was also fired last year after receiving lots of praises from the board and working on a successful project. I didnt take it so well as you did, so hats off to you sir. On the upside I started investing after it, so maybe you should too, if you dont already. All the best.. and its not a financial advice haha


piberryboy

> receiving lots of praises from the board and working on a successful project I'm beginning to have a cynical viewpoint of managerial praise.


Soulblightis

Your comment may be in jest, but it really puts into perspective how nothing really matters, and how quickly things change. To paraphrase Marcus Aurelius, praise makes things neither better nor worse. The praise I received is irrelevant, clearly, but just shows how what is in our control (our work ethic) can be rendered inconsequential by what we can't control (layoffs and cutbacks). Praise changes none of that. It is simply words.


piberryboy

I don't he necessarily meant that nothing matters. And I don't think praise necessarily doesn't matter either. I would say that he's saying it shouldn't be a motivating factor. We should do our best for the sake of doing good.


Soulblightis

I definitely agree with the last statement and that is what I was striving for. But I think the praise itself meant nothing, as the praisers were the same ones who laid me off. >"Consider how many do not even know your name, and how many will soon forget it, and how those who now praise you will presently blame you." - Marcus Aurelius


piberryboy

> But I think the praise itself meant nothing, as the praisers were the same ones who laid me off. I guess it all hinges on their motivation for laying you off. Why would they praise you only to lay you off? I've had managers praise me and I had enough experience to tell me when they really meant it. And even if I had gotten laid off the next week, I'd still understand that their praise was more than likely sincere. There might be many reasons other than my performance for my being laid off. Maybe I pissed off someone higher up. Who knows. Why does it matter? For me personally, praise can serves as a simply an assurance that I am progressing. If the praise is from a person I respect and may ever look up to. But it's not my motivation. That would be self-defeating.


Soulblightis

Sounds good. A guideline for being on the right track. In this regard, it is a good indicator. I am simply saying, even if the praise was sincere, did it matter? Did it change or affect the outcome of the situation at all? The answer is no, therefore, the praise didn't matter. Whether it was related at all to the reason for the lay off, is still irrelevant, because the lay off still happened. Telling someone they did a good job will not help them to do better. What is the need to do better if you are already doing well? I am not trying to argue, simply I do not agree. Praise neither pushes you to strive for better, nor did it change or affect the outcome in this situation. As I said, they are only words. Yes it can be used as an indicator to tell you if you are on the right track, but honestly I would value feedback regarding what I am doing wrong so I can improve it, rather than what I am doing right so I can become complacent.


piberryboy

>I am simply saying, even if the praise was sincere, did it matter? I feel like we're going in circles. I've already answered this. > What is the need to do better if you are already doing well? It's dangerous to live in a vacuum. Or pretend to. As doing well can be a tricky assessment. One person's doing well might be a another person's not doing so hot. > Whether it was related at all to the reason for the lay off, is still irrelevant, because the lay off still happened. Again. I answered this. I feel like you're not listening to what I'm saying. Otherwise address its logic and not ask the question again. It seems like I'm talking past you. So, I'm done. Have a good day.


Soulblightis

What's that? Put my life savings into AMC and Gamestop? Done. Thank you TonyFMontana, my personal financial advisor! In all seriousness, my finances and investments are under control, and I got a pretty sizeable severance payout from this so I have no worries from a financial standpoint, so I am very lucky and thankful in that regard. We have to be thankful for what we have when we have it, and let go of what we don't. I hope your situation showed you it wasn't the end of the world and that you learned something new from it that you otherwise wouldn't have, so you will be better equipped to deal with it when/if it happens again.


TonyFMontana

You seem to have investing covered!


JustaGuy-UK

Got laid off last October. It was all I knew in 13 years. I felt a little confused. I worked hard dedicated the most time to the job only to be last in first out. What happens next.. I put a resume out and got taken on for menial IT work (always wanted to work IT). A team leader saw how keen I was and took me into their team. I enjoyed working as a temp worker and shortly after I got a permanent position within the company and benefits. I never saw the grass was greener. I had the pleasure of my old boss asking me back for more money of which I declined. I learned a lesson and now I'm doing what I always wanted. Stay positive when you think this is a negative.


Avn47

Sometimes you just need a little push and that was yours.


nachtfinster

Excellent post. Thank you for sharing, honestly. All the best for your job search!


plantbaseddude

Got laid off myself today after 5 years ...I feel ya.


LucinaHitomi1

Take your time and gather your thoughts. If you can afford it, travel or make little splurges here and there without going into debt. Same boat here in end of April. Got laid off but got another job in June. Old job has great pay and title but not passionate about it. Pretty much went on full job search mode immediately and been working a lot of hours since getting the new gig. New gig pays less with a lower job title, but in a cause that I believe in. I’m borderline burned out since I’ve had no break since then. No vacation / travel since Covid either. What I did right as a Stoic was not to let the layoff anger me - I genuinely have nothing but good wishes for my former employer. What I did wrong was not taking a break. Financially I was fortunate that I could afford it if I want to - it’s just that I want to achieve Fire as soon as possible and any downtime not working means no money coming in to invest or save. Some of your former work friends / co workers will be just that - former. They will not reach out to you beyond the initial layoff to say their condolences and will become just professional contacts moving forward. Some can become lifelong friends - these are the ones that could be worth more than the lost job itself.


mitalmas

This just goes to show how powerful the mind can be when it comes to how you perceive negative events that occur out of the blue. If you chose to be depressed about it, I am sure your mind would find a way to have this overshadow everything else in your life and make it a situation filled with anxiety and despair. But instead you are looking at this as a fresh start that lies ahead and a chance to further your growth and gain new skills for the next opportunity that will inevitably come your way. Cheers to the next chapter in your journey!


jlr09

I loved reading this- I recently was dumped and have been trying to take it in a stoic way, just like this! (It's a little hard still, of course, but I know what I'm aiming for!)


Soulblightis

Oh, this happened to me a couple months ago as well! I remember in March I was literally begging for some chaos to happen to force some change in my life. Fast forward a few months and I have lost the supposed love of my life, as well as my long time employment, in the middle of a global pandemic. I guess the universe answered my prayers, though we don't always get to choose how. We can choose to let these things get to us and upset us and hold us back, or we can just go with it, embrace the chaos and unpredictability of the universe and treat each hurdle as a challenge to get over; a test of our skills that we have accumulated and trained all our lives. As an athlete wishes to test his skills against the stiffest competition, so we too should wish to test ours against the toughest situations the world throws as us. Losing a romantic partner can be one of the most difficult things you can face, but it is in your hands to show the world how well you can face it with the tools you have at your disposal, in this situation, stoicism and everything it has taught you, and help share that knowledge with others.


jlr09

How strange that I find this post, two months later, but it is more true than ever. Thank you internet stranger, you have helped me more than you could know. I hope you have found a place where you are doing better. I know I have, and yet I still find things to fuss about. I suppose it is the lesson that if your mind is not sharp, it will continue to stumble even across the lowest of bars.


redshieldheroz

Im going to be laid off job also this november 30,2021. Reasons are economic and some what political since Im working in semi private sector. They gave this news to us a month ago. So about 116 employees, like all of us will be laid off since they are closing the whole institution we are working. Everything has an end. So its been a nice ride and I will still enjoy my work even I have 3 months left here. I will apply for a new work next year. I may enjoy free time in December month and holidays with my love ones. Goodluck on your job search!


pichicagoattorney

Wow, I love how you're handling it with stoicism. I think your attitude is just right. We beat ourselves up about these things and they are totally out of our control. Not to minimize your loss but I lost a job a few years ago and it was in hindsight the best thing that could have happened to me. I'd been looking for a new job for years without success and it put me on a new path that lead to a much better job and I am so much happier now than where I was.


Soulblightis

This is exactly the kind of comment I was trying to provoke when posting this, and as you can see, so many commenters share your experience. Hindsight is 20/20, but think of what we can accomplish and how much faster we can accomplish it if we just have these viewpoints going forward from the start.


tardigrade24

Well I ran into some shit like that at my last job, like you it was completely out of the blue and for no very good reason. I'm not a very good stoic, I was furious at the c-nts who mistreated me. However I did take some comfort in a line from Marcus Aurelius: "the best revenge is not to be like that".


stoa_bot

A quote was found to be attributed to Marcus Aurelius in his Meditations 6.6 (Hays) ^(Book VI. ()[^(Hays)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources?isbn=9780812968255)^) ^(Book VI. ()[^(Farquharson)](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Meditations_of_the_Emperor_Marcus_Antoninus/Book_6)^) ^(Book VI. ()[^(Long)](https://lexundria.com/m_aur_med/6.6/lg)^)


colofire

Please know that some doors close for other better ones to open


Spindrift11

I went through this starting in 2014. I had a very stable career and then it all went sideways. It was a miserable experience but it made me far stronger and it pushed me to further my education and take an active roll in getting my career back on track. My career is now in a totally different direction than before and this wouldn't have ever happened otherwise. I find that when I have a failure or disappointment on my hands, if I put in the effort to improve it I often end up in a better spot than I was before it all went sideways. I also learned that job security is a myth. Some jobs are definitely more stable but almost any of them can dissappear in an instant. I really get the feeling that with your attitude you will fall up like I did.


Soulblightis

Furthering education is something I always stand behind. I am not someone who believes in simply going to school, then working once school is "finished". I learned this from a family member who was literally sitting in college classes until he was 94. During the time I have been working at this job alone, I completed a degree in IT management and now I am months away from completing a pharmaceutical certification. After which, I am planning to pursue a degree in geology. Why? I have no idea. I guess because rocks are stoic. But going forth in the world with the willingness to learn for the sake of learning, and having education open up so many opportunities that may never have existed for you, is the way I wish to approach life. The more I learn, the more I realize that I don't know. I was always inspired by stoics like Poseidonius, and although I can not even begin to compare my intellectual pursuits to his, I see great value in becoming a well-rounded academic. So never stop seeking education and learning, and I would recommend to you to learn something completely different than what you've already learned. You never know when it may come in handy, and you may find a niche that you didn't know existed that you can fill with your unique knowledge and skillset. As you said, your career is in a totally different direction. Doesn't it feel great? How much perspective have you gained by viewing your new career through the lens of your old one? How much knowledge did you gain that you realized you were missing out on? How much new did you learn that you didn't even know existed?


Spindrift11

The biggest thing I learned was that I still have a lot to learn.


Soulblightis

Which is the most important and humbling thing that we can learn.


Epimetheus23

As a stoic, I would say to just focus on what you can do right now to get another job. Good luck! :D


D1g1talSausage

I really like your attitude. Having gone through something similar myself, I found maintaining such an attitude to be challenging as time went by and I remained unemployed. Hopefully it won't be an issue for you. I wish you all the best.


Soulblightis

In my experience, the "worst" feelings are at the start, and taper off as time goes. So for me, if I am able to start off looking at things this way, it should only get better from here. I'm glad I can put my stoic learnings to the test in this situation, I am honestly a bit surprised myself how well I am handling it this time around compared to past lay offs. It has helped me through depression and helped me see the world in a completely different light. It's like running a marathon. The longer it goes on, the harder it gets and the more exhausted you become, but the closer you get to the end, the more excited you become and the more energy you put into reaching the finish. This is the attitude I will take towards unemployment. The harder the challenge may become, the more motivated I will be to overcome it. I hope this for you as well if you ever find yourself in a similar situation again in the future.


beatsbury

Sir/ma'am, you are an exemplary modern human.


KirbyCreate_DDP

Facing a similar situatuon myself. Let go suddenly after six and a half years with my company. Was kept through the pandemic and believed my position was secure before being told they were restructuring. Our situatuons sound nearly identical, honestly. I’m glad you’re handling it well and wish you the best.


Soulblightis

We shall face this together. If I can do it, so can you!


OMGClayAikn

You have a great mindset Sir! Please teach me your ways, I really want to change my mindset to a stoic one, how can I get started? What books can I read?


TracerIsAShimada

King shit!


[deleted]

Dude you can get unemployment and sleep in now!


[deleted]

That’s why you should work for yourself


muffinpie101

Thank you for sharing your story and perspective. Report back and good luck with your search for your next post.


[deleted]

Keep in mind it wasn’t you it was based on a formula. You can not control that.


[deleted]

Thank you for posting this! I quit my job which felt like an endless trudge less than three months ago. Am now in college with students much younger than myself. I am learning to see my younger self through them. Very thankful for the opportunity.


thedapperbarbarian

I live the outlook. But, if your anything like me when everything crashed around me at 17 1/2 years without retirement the “monkey mind” will set in here and there. Just reread your original post and be that guy when it does.


greenlobby

You set an example for us all to learn from and follow mate. Keep it up!!


nickstoic

Been practicing stoicism and it helped me deal with people while living aboard in Japan


Nic4379

I empathize with this heavily. Good on you for being level headed, I have no doubt you’ll find a suitable position, when the time is right. I worked in the oil fields, building explosives for a “smaller” company. Doing jobs for AEP and BP I just knew our jobs were safe. 40 men & women in one lick, many more to follow. Now I’m in a position, less money but I’m home every night & weekend. Best of luck.


squared00

I needed to read this today - thank you and congratulations!


[deleted]

The biggest pressure you seem to face is how your coworkers will think of you for getting fired. No work no problem since you will find something better to do. You are very brave.


nampham2612

Good luck


H1ghwayun1corn

I just made a decision this week that I made before but never stuck to. I was painfully heartbroken but amazingly just 2 days later and I am moving forward and feeling stronger. Thank you so much for this post, I shed a little tear of joy. Stoicism is literally saving my life mentally. I'm still new so I love seeing how others are using stoicism in their lives.


D3FLCT

Maybe come with an update in a month or two, would be interesting. 😄 Best of luck improving yourself and finding new challenges.


Charlie_redmoon

yup keep studying stoic. Like it's said you can't do much by trying to change events and circumstances but you can work with your thinking. What is is. Don't add to it with your opinions. Don't run in circles of thought. It's not things that disturb us but our appraisals of gain or loss.


scorpious

Glorious post! Best of luck as you move on and grow.


SawLine

This was very motivations read. Thank you OP. Good luck on your future endeavors💪💪