I wrote something that broke my inbox.
- Julie McVey
- Jul 29
- 2 min read
People losing jobs. Leaders losing sleep. Humans losing hope.
But here's what nobody's talking about...
You weren't fired. You were freed.
That company that "let you go"? They just gave you permission to remember who you were before you became who they needed you to be.
That layoff letter? It's not an ending. It's an invitation.
An invitation to stop pretending. Stop performing. Stop being small so others feel comfortable.
Listen closely:
You spent years building someone else's dream while your own dreams collected dust in the corner of your mind.
You climbed their ladder so high you forgot you were afraid of heights.
You became so good at being who they wanted that you forgot who YOU wanted to be.
To every soul reading this who got "laid off":
What if this isn't happening TO you? What if this is happening FOR you?
What if the universe looked at your life and said, "They're too comfortable. They're too safe. They're too small. Time for an upgrade."
To every leader carrying guilt like a backpack full of stones:
Your tears don't make you weak. They make you human.
But don't let guilt become your identity. Let it become your fuel.
The way you treat people during their darkest hour reveals everything about who you really are.
Here's the truth they don't teach in business school:
Every ending is a beginning in disguise.
Every failure is success playing hide and seek.
Every rejection is redirection wearing a mask.
The person you're becoming doesn't need the permission of the person you used to be.
So forgive yourself for not knowing what you know now.
Forgive yourself for staying too long in places that were too small for your spirit.
Forgive yourself for being human in a world that rewards machines.
And then?
Build something so beautiful that your old life looks like a rough draft.
The world doesn't need another copy. It needs the original you.
The one hiding beneath the resume.
The one dreaming beneath the fear.
The one breathing beneath the doubt.
Your next chapter isn't written yet.
Pick up the pen.
🍄What dreams have been waiting for you to get "laid off" so they could finally come alive? Today is a beautiful day to say yes.
Before you start planning your next move, before you do anything else...
Take a breath.
A real one.
In through your nose. Hold it. Out through your mouth.
Your nervous system has been in fight-or-flight mode for weeks. Your mind has been spinning scenarios like a broken record player.
But right here, right now, you're safe.
Change is terrifying because it's unknown. But unknown doesn't mean dangerous. It just means... unknown.
And sometimes the most revolutionary thing you can do is simply breathe through the uncertainty instead of trying to control it.
Your next breath is the first step toward your next chapter.
Take it. 💙