Resilience

The art of getting back up again

Photo by Michael Starkie on Unsplash

The most valuable asset in my career has been my resilience—my ability to get back up, time and time again.

"The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall." — Nelson Mandela

Throughout my career, I've been laid off several times.

One of my first jobs was in the IT department of a U.S. company based in Ireland, set up to take advantage of favourable tax incentives.

From the outset, I realised being a small cog in a large machine wasn’t for me.

A few weeks in, the tax breaks were discontinued, and I was laid off.

The freedom was heady.

I shifted my focus to finding more dynamic, creative environments that aligned better with my personality.

Later on, I worked as a programmer on a “newfangled” email system that unfortunately wasn’t selling. Again, I was laid off, but this time, inspired, that email was the future, I started taking night classes in marketing to understand better how people could be informed of the benefits of new technologies.

In another role, as a newly fledged Project Manager, I was tasked with implementing a groundbreaking technology for local government in Ireland.

The project involved integrating three different systems and hiring new staff.

I delivered the project within an ambitious three-month deadline. But I was fired, as unbeknownest to me, the salesperson had promised the client a six-week delivery.

I didn’t like what I saw about the politics of sales but picked myself up and chose – finally - to "take the boat" to the UK where I easily picked up a job with a leading-edge tech company.

Two years later, I was laid off again when the sales of new technology faltered. This time, I received a redundancy payout. After working and studying non-stop for 10 years, I decided to take a break. I used the funds to travel across Asia, Australia, North & Central America. That journey opened new doors, and on my return, I landed my first freelance contract and eventually established my own company.

I used to think being laid off meant something about me and my capabilities.

Something bad.

Maybe it did!

But ultimately rather than viewing them as failures, I’ve come to see them as nudges in new directions, opportunities to reinvent myself.

This ability to reframe setbacks, to see what happens as an invitation for change rather than a reflection of my worth, has been the single greatest asset in my career.

Get in touch if you want to build resilience and transform setbacks into opportunities book a no obligation 30-minute transformational conversation.

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