Meet Danesha. It’s 11 p.m. on a Monday, and she’s sitting at her kitchen table, laptop open, staring blankly at her LinkedIn profile. Three months have passed since she was let go from her job at a top tech company, and she hasn’t applied for a single position. She knows she should start looking, but she feels completely stuck. After dedicating over a decade to her company, Danesha’s position was eliminated during layoffs. Instead of preparing for the worst, she kept her head down at work, hoping she wouldn’t get that dreaded Zoom call from HR. Now, she fills her days with distractions—fixing things around the house and spending time with her family—anything to avoid facing her career. But whenever she thinks about it, she just freezes. How can she even think about working somewhere else? After ten years, a part of her still hopes they’ll realize their mistake and ask her back. Her husband and friends encourage her to network and explore new opportunities, but she’s terrified. The truth is, she’s not sure what she wants anymore. Her career was a huge part of her identity, and the idea of starting fresh feels overwhelming. Jay Abbasi dives into Danesha's situation, exploring how her identity is tied to her career and how that attachment is keeping her from moving forward. Tune in as he discusses actionable steps for breaking free from this paralysis so that Danesha—and anyone in a similar situation—can become the CEO of their own life. In This Episode: (00:01) Danesha’s story (01:27) Danesha's emotional state (02:41) Understanding attachment to career (04:03) Mindfulness in career identity (05:46) The two-way street of employment (07:09) Keeping professional materials updated (09:44) Avoiding distraction and embracing discomfort (12:07) Taking inventory of strengths (13:05) Networking as conversations (15:07) Key insights and takeaways (17:21) Actionable strategies (18:27) Next episode preview Notable Quotes “How could she even imagine working somewhere else? After pouring ten years of her life into this company, a part of her still clings to hope, thinking they'll realize their mistake and ask her to come back.” — Jay Abbasi, 00:01:27 “Danesha's story hits close to home because I can relate to that experience of leaving an organization where you felt so invested. When I left Tesla years ago, there's this sense of loss, the sense of grief that you go through, especially when you were so aligned with the vision of the organization and you put so much into it.” — Jay Abbasi, 00:04:03 “The only way to overcome this is to go right through it, and I would encourage Danesha, I would encourage anybody who feels this kind of loss when you lose a position, to embrace it, feel it, go right into it because the only way out is through.” — Jay Abbasi, 00:10:55 Resources and Links Jay Abbasi Website: https://jayabbasi.me/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jayabbasi/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jayabbasi_/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thejayabbasi/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@jayabbasipodcast