You Are NOT Your Job
By Shazad
“The purpose of life is a life of purpose.”
Robert Byrne
To say the world of business is tough is a huge understatement. Many people are afraid of losing their job or have already lost one, and they are scrambling to find another. It’s stressful and confusing out there, and all this talk of AI replacing jobs makes it even more chaotic. What we do in our work or business often ends up defining us in ways we don’t realise. We sometimes think that we were born only to work, create, and manage a business, but not much else. I’m going to explain why life can be much more like a creative adventure than just a routine of 9-5 duties.
I need to start by saying I know what it’s like to lose a job due to companies changing direction, downsizing, or reorganizing their staff and resources. I’ve experienced it twice already, and it’s no fun. Both times, it shocked me, and I had to step back and evaluate my life and consider my next steps. I had, and still have, a family to support, and I’m far too young to retire, not to mention the lack of funds to do so. I found myself knocked down, but I managed to get back up and look on the bright side. You can do the same.
I began by feeling grateful for the great experiences I had and the long tenure at both companies I worked for. I had excellent managers, role models, and supportive peers who helped shape my career and encouraged my growth. My work environment wasn’t perfect, but it was a fantastic learning laboratory, full of experimentation and collaboration. I enjoyed many aspects of working life, and I think it’s essential to start from what was good about the situation as we move forward.
Being without work in both cases felt like I was cast out of something great—like I was no longer needed for a roadmap. This was partly true, and I embraced that feeling to allow myself to experience the emotional pain of loss and separation from the familiar routine and the people I worked with. Now, I began planning my new growth phase. I realised I now had time to pursue projects, training, and personal development that I had been delaying due to full-time work commitments. I treated my transition from one job to the next as a well-deserved sabbatical to figure things out. I asked myself: What am I most interested in learning next? Who am I becoming in this new phase of life? What is my ideal next role and company? Should I start a side hustle or a business and grow it in the meantime? Suddenly, I was filled with excitement for a future I had only imagined, but now it felt within reach.
I gave myself permission to dream, create, and diversify because I was no longer bound by an office clock. Don’t get me wrong—I was still polishing my online profile, updating and tailoring my resume, and actively applying for interesting positions. But I also dedicated some time each day to visualizing success and a different routine at a new organization. I even considered alternative but related roles I could be suited for.
The key point I want to make is that I didn’t wallow in sadness or despair. I didn’t give up or simply send out resumes mechanically, clicking ‘apply’ on every job I saw. Instead, I curated my days and nights to something better. I found meaning in a different routine and realized I’m not just a ‘worker’ or employee—I’m a human being who has done meaningful work and will continue to find ways to do even more meaningful work in the future, God willing!
Once we take stock of our skills, life experiences, tastes, and future plans, we see that we’re not here just to work, pay bills, and sleep. We can create a richer life by consciously engaging in what we enjoy and recognizing our capabilities. We’re not limited to a job title or a trendy phrase describing our work. We can—and should—evolve ourselves, constantly pushing the edges of the kind of work we do and the person we’re becoming. This is where true growth happens, whether you’ve lost your job or are about to.
Before you find yourself collecting employment insurance, reflect on what you know, what you desire, and what you’ve always wanted to become. How does your current role or business support you, and how might it be holding you back? If you’ve already lost your job, I encourage you to do the same quickly, because time is short.
Get up, get back into your ‘fighting shape’ or a better position, and go out there with your head held high. Find the next challenge to solve, a community to serve, and a place to grow. You are so much more than some kind of ‘cog’ in a machine. You are a unique individual with talents, relationships, proven results, and incredible stories of how you’ve reached where you are today. Make the most of your life as a person and find a place where you can make an even greater impact than before. You’ve got this!
Have An Awesome Day Every Day!
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