Moving on
You feel like you’ve come to a sudden stop. Everything was flowing nicely – your job, your social life and your vision of the future. And then, it wasn’t. You’ve been laid off, and you’ve had to come to terms with that job loss.
“The essence of life takes place in the neutral zone phase of transition. It is in that interim spaciousness that all possibilities, creativity and innovative ideas can come to life and flourish.”—SUSAN BRIDGES
Once you’ve accepted that the job is gone and it’s not coming back in the short-term, you can get into the space of transition, deciding what comes next.
Bridges says “Transition is the inner psychological process that people go through as they internalize and come to terms with the new situation that the change brings about”.
The first thing that needs to happen is putting the past in the past. The “ending” is the beginning. Getting used to a new routine, or the absence of a familiar routine is a transition.
That starts by accepting that the old routine of getting up for work, having the role you had, the status, enjoying the work-day rituals, banter with colleagues and whatever else went into your professional day, is gone.
So, first thing, be clear about what you have lost and how you are dealing with these losses.
You may want to do something specific, ceremonial even, to get closure on these things.
Second, you may have managed to keep some elements of your old life, such as relationships, some routines….., acknowledge what you have kept and celebrate this.
Then, you are ready to step into the space of transition, to think about what comes next, what flight plan you can design, what your next destination could be.
You are ready to move on.