Laid Off, Not Laid Down: Leading Yourself Through Uncertainty

There’s a silence that hits after a layoff.

Not just in your inbox, but in your chest.

The world keeps spinning, but your identity feels like it just got yanked from under you.

I remember that silence.

When I got laid off from Southwest earlier this year, I wasn’t just losing a paycheck, I was losing a piece of who I thought I was.

The title. The rhythm. The community.

Gone.

And the questions came quick:

“Am I still valuable?”

“Did I miss the signs?”

“What the hell do I do now?”

If that’s where you are right now, especially after hearing about the 9,000 people laid off from Microsoft; this is for you.

Not a pep talk.

Not a pity post.

A posture shift.

Because here’s what I learned in the trenches:

A layoff attacks your stability, not your worth.

Your gifts didn’t leave when that job did.

Your leadership didn’t expire when your ID badge did.

Your purpose isn’t on pause just because a company changed directions.

But you will have to fight to remember that.

You will have to choose presence over panic.

Because layoffs don’t just take jobs, they surface unhealed pain:

• The old fears about not being enough.

• The urge to grind just to prove you still matter.

• The shame of having to start again.

But starting again isn’t a step back, it’s a chance to lead yourself forward with more clarity than you ever had before.

The most powerful thing I did wasn’t update my résumé; it was rebuild my identity.

Not around what I do, but who I am.

Not around what I lost, but what I still carry.

Not around who didn’t keep me, but who I’m becoming.

I faced my fear of being forgotten.

I sat with the grief of losing my rhythm.

And I told myself the truth, I’m still a man worth following.

Even if nobody’s clapping right now.

If you’re reading this and your head is spinning, hear this:

You are not your layoff.

You are not your title.

You are not the silence that followed.

You are the leader of your own life.

And now is the time to lead like it.

• Lead your mind into truth.

• Lead your emotions with grace.

• Lead your actions with consistency.

• Lead your posture with power; even if your plans fell apart.

Because when the dust settles and the anger fades, you’ll find the strongest part of yourself was never in the job.

It was in the way you refused to lay down.

Closing Words:

To the 9,000 laid off at Microsoft…

To every person out there who got the call, the email, the pink slip…

You may be unemployed, but you are not empty.

You may be uncertain, but you are not unworthy.

You may be knocked down, but you are not done.

Your voice still matters.

Your presence still commands the room.

Your leadership still echoes, even in the silence.

So stand up.

Breathe deep.

Ground yourself.

And walk like royalty who knows: I’m not just trying to get back in; I’m building something of my own.

Because you weren’t laid off to lay down.

You were shaken so you could rise stronger.

👑