How to Silence Your Inner Critic After a Layoff

Being laid off is one of the most difficult experiences that you can face in your career. Layoffs can trigger a sense of powerlessness and self-doubt in the form of a scary lack of control and the voice of a relentless inner critic. While a layoff can be temporarily destabilizing, it need not derail your career if you learn which parts of the process you can control — specifically, your mental habits. Start by pairing your negative thoughts (“The layoff must have been due to a lack of skill or some other weakness”) with questions (“How do I know for sure that it had to do with a deficit on my part?”). And shift your focus from your weaknesses to your strengths. Think back to a previous time when you suffered another difficult situation that you ultimately overcame and ask yourself the following questions: What strengths did you use to resolve the problem? What did you learn about yourself in the process? How can you use these strengths in your current career transition? With the right mindset paired with active questioning and follow through, you’ll be able to bounce back in the wake of your setback.