I was fired once.
I’m not talking about being caught up in a massive layoff (though layoffs can be similar) where hundreds or even thousands of people are let go. I’m talking about a targeted, center-of-the-bullseye firing. It felt personal and, in some way, probably was.
I was devastated. I felt like my life was over.
But over the years, I’ve realized that what felt like an ending was actually a beginning. We balk at acknowledging it but, in most cases, by the time we are fired, we are already done.
Occasionally we are let go because we’ve exhausted our potential in a particular role, and no one, including ourselves, has found a suitable new challenge for us to transition to. More often, being fired is clear evidence that we are working on the wrong career curve to begin with.
When you are let go from a position, circumstances have conspired to facilitate a jump to a new curve and a chance to turn things to our advantage.
Read Whitney Johnson’s fill column about new beginnings from the latest edition of Business Report. Send comments to editor@businessreport.com.
