There are two sides to every story, two sides to a coin, two sides of a debate and of course, two sides to our brains. Our left brain is responsible for logic, rational thought, analysis and reasoning while our right brain gives us philosophy, creativity, imagination, and intuition. As a person who has just been laid-off, I thought I’d share what the two halves of my brain are thinking and why they’re in such conflict.
[@LeftBrain] Laid-off. Fired. Downsized. Terminated. Made redundant.
It doesn’t matter how you say it, it always means the same thing – unemployed. To be honest, I’m feeling pretty anxious right now – worried about looming college tuition payments for my seventeen-year-old high school senior. He’s deciding between a state and private school which could mean a difference of over $30K per year. That’s $120K extra for a four year degree. Is it really worth it and what’s the ROI of that? I’ll have to analyze our budget to see how much additional debt we’ll have to take on to make it work. If I were entering college now, I’d doubt I’d be able to afford my degree from MIT, which was only $15K/year in 1987 – a real bargain compared to today’s cost of private schools. I’m skeptical I’ll be able to find a good, stable job before my severance runs out, but that’s what I’m aiming for.
[@RightBrain] Free. Opportunistic. Rejuvenated. Optimistic. Lucky.
I consider myself pretty lucky. In the span of a 22 year career, I’ve only been unemployed twice. Twice in the past five years, but who’s counting anyway. The big picture is that I feel pretty relieved. I can now leave behind all the stresses of my last job – the late nights, weekend work, company instability – and just move on to my next challenge. I see this as a good time for some self reflection. I can look back on what I’ve accomplished and refocus my career toward work that I’m really passionate about. I’m feeling pretty optimistic. There appear to be a number of interesting start-ups that can leverage the breadth of skills I offer while allowing me the opportunity to once again be strategic and creative.
