I'm happpy for you but different strokes for different people. I have watched two people - both of them very close to me. They were asked to leave the company they had given their all. It broke them. The suddenness and the way it was handled was brutal. For some their job is their core identity and the loss of the job can and does shake the ground beneath. While reading your article, I got the feeling you had already switched off from the job. So, you felt relieved when it ended.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts, Kanchana! You hit the nail on the head with 'different strokes for different people.'
You're not wrong at all, there is definitely a place for people who see their job as their core identity, and that is perfectly okay. I really appreciate you adding this perspective that is also worth mentioning
How I wish my friend and cousin felt the same as you! Both are in deep anguish, continuosuly trying to hold on to the identity that no longer exists. Wish you well, Katie. God Bless.
I had this happen to me around 2 months ago. As someone with a mortgage that financial support was my only worry but as you mentioned in your article there was a major relief the moment it happened. Also the relief was stronger than the sadness because it felt like I wanted them to make the decision for me. I'm battling between enjoying the time off and finding the next thing to lock me in without healing. My redundancy process was not so great either so that gave me emotional closure on some things. Money comes and goes but your mental health and overall well being is forever.
Thank you for sharing Ferinaab, that feeling is so real. It is completely normal to battle between wanting to rest and the anxiety of finding the next thing, especially with real-world responsibilities like a mortgage. Please give yourself the grace to heal. Your final sentence is spot on and sums it up perfectly: money comes and goes, but your well-being is forever. Sending you so much support during this transition! ❤️
Yes I’ve felt relief at weird times. Recently after opening up to family member about them making me feel unimportant to them. I thought I would feel sad or guilty but I just felt relieved.
Such a profound realization! We're 'supposed' to feel guilty in those moments, but finally speaking your truth is just a massive exhale. I love that you allowed yourself to just feel the relief.
This reminded me of a season when life was pulling hard in every direction at once - I had a young baby, multiple relocations in a short period, a possible move abroad that kept falling through, and me as the main earner, so the timing to walk away felt very risky. But stepping back from work gave me such relief.
What surprised me most wasn't just the grief but the relief I felt (which you named so well) and the clarity that came once I finally had space to focus on what mattered most. It led somewhere I never could have planned - our chapter here in Tokyo! And I found my way back to work in a different way through writing.
Wow, this is such a beautiful reflection of trusting your intuition! Carrying all of that at once is a heavy load and I'm glad you gave yourself that space to breathe and find clarity, which ultimately led to your chapter in Tokyo and writing. Thank you so much for sharing your story; it's a powerful reminder of what can happen when we finally make space for ourselves. Your journey and story will stay with me for sometime, especially as now I am also making my way to Osaka to begin my writing journey!
Thank you! It was one of the hardest seasons of my life, but I’m so grateful it led us to Tokyo.
That sounds amazing. I hope Osaka gives you so much writing inspiration and I also hope you stay cool if you’re visiting during the summer 🤍 Feel free to reach out if you need any recs!
"The grief I offered at dinners was doing a social job." God, that line. The difference between the feeling you perform and the one you actually have - I think that's one of the most honest things someone can admit about themselves. And usually the one nobody says out loud.
Yes yes yesss! That line speaks so loud. It's exactly that - the truth that nobody says out loud because we're all too busy keeping up the social performance. It is so freeing to finally just name it!
I totally get this and have felt it a few times… sometimes you outgrow a role or company, sometimes your priorities change… I have felt anxious at times and relieved at others, but generally have found that each time it led me to a better place than where I was before.
This is such an empowering reframe. Trusting that those transitions ultimately lead to a better place is exactly the kind of reassurance my younger self would have loved to hear. Thank you for sharing ❤️
It's a strange feeling when the unravelling begins, because it's not like a freight train that will eventually come to a halt, it's more like having the wind knocked out of your sails in a way you haven't prepared for.
100%!! That metaphor is spot on. It’s not a predictable stop at a station; it’s a sudden, breathless halt. It takes a while to recalibrate after the wind gets knocked out of you like that
Not exactly the same, but a cousin situation--a promotion I was certain to get went to someone else. The job description was changed soon after into something I would not have applied for. Thanked her many times for taking that hit.
I'm happpy for you but different strokes for different people. I have watched two people - both of them very close to me. They were asked to leave the company they had given their all. It broke them. The suddenness and the way it was handled was brutal. For some their job is their core identity and the loss of the job can and does shake the ground beneath. While reading your article, I got the feeling you had already switched off from the job. So, you felt relieved when it ended.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts, Kanchana! You hit the nail on the head with 'different strokes for different people.'
You're not wrong at all, there is definitely a place for people who see their job as their core identity, and that is perfectly okay. I really appreciate you adding this perspective that is also worth mentioning
How I wish my friend and cousin felt the same as you! Both are in deep anguish, continuosuly trying to hold on to the identity that no longer exists. Wish you well, Katie. God Bless.
I had this happen to me around 2 months ago. As someone with a mortgage that financial support was my only worry but as you mentioned in your article there was a major relief the moment it happened. Also the relief was stronger than the sadness because it felt like I wanted them to make the decision for me. I'm battling between enjoying the time off and finding the next thing to lock me in without healing. My redundancy process was not so great either so that gave me emotional closure on some things. Money comes and goes but your mental health and overall well being is forever.
Thank you for sharing Ferinaab, that feeling is so real. It is completely normal to battle between wanting to rest and the anxiety of finding the next thing, especially with real-world responsibilities like a mortgage. Please give yourself the grace to heal. Your final sentence is spot on and sums it up perfectly: money comes and goes, but your well-being is forever. Sending you so much support during this transition! ❤️
Yes I’ve felt relief at weird times. Recently after opening up to family member about them making me feel unimportant to them. I thought I would feel sad or guilty but I just felt relieved.
Such a profound realization! We're 'supposed' to feel guilty in those moments, but finally speaking your truth is just a massive exhale. I love that you allowed yourself to just feel the relief.
This reminded me of a season when life was pulling hard in every direction at once - I had a young baby, multiple relocations in a short period, a possible move abroad that kept falling through, and me as the main earner, so the timing to walk away felt very risky. But stepping back from work gave me such relief.
What surprised me most wasn't just the grief but the relief I felt (which you named so well) and the clarity that came once I finally had space to focus on what mattered most. It led somewhere I never could have planned - our chapter here in Tokyo! And I found my way back to work in a different way through writing.
Wow, this is such a beautiful reflection of trusting your intuition! Carrying all of that at once is a heavy load and I'm glad you gave yourself that space to breathe and find clarity, which ultimately led to your chapter in Tokyo and writing. Thank you so much for sharing your story; it's a powerful reminder of what can happen when we finally make space for ourselves. Your journey and story will stay with me for sometime, especially as now I am also making my way to Osaka to begin my writing journey!
Thank you! It was one of the hardest seasons of my life, but I’m so grateful it led us to Tokyo.
That sounds amazing. I hope Osaka gives you so much writing inspiration and I also hope you stay cool if you’re visiting during the summer 🤍 Feel free to reach out if you need any recs!
"The grief I offered at dinners was doing a social job." God, that line. The difference between the feeling you perform and the one you actually have - I think that's one of the most honest things someone can admit about themselves. And usually the one nobody says out loud.
Yes yes yesss! That line speaks so loud. It's exactly that - the truth that nobody says out loud because we're all too busy keeping up the social performance. It is so freeing to finally just name it!
I totally get this and have felt it a few times… sometimes you outgrow a role or company, sometimes your priorities change… I have felt anxious at times and relieved at others, but generally have found that each time it led me to a better place than where I was before.
This is such an empowering reframe. Trusting that those transitions ultimately lead to a better place is exactly the kind of reassurance my younger self would have loved to hear. Thank you for sharing ❤️
It's a strange feeling when the unravelling begins, because it's not like a freight train that will eventually come to a halt, it's more like having the wind knocked out of your sails in a way you haven't prepared for.
100%!! That metaphor is spot on. It’s not a predictable stop at a station; it’s a sudden, breathless halt. It takes a while to recalibrate after the wind gets knocked out of you like that
Not exactly the same, but a cousin situation--a promotion I was certain to get went to someone else. The job description was changed soon after into something I would not have applied for. Thanked her many times for taking that hit.