Losing your job doesn’t mean losing your purpose

Many of us, consciously or otherwise, link our purpose very deeply to the company we work for.

There are many reasons for this, not the least of which is that industrialized economies are often built to encourage fealty to employers. This gets reiterated in messaging employees receive, both internally and externally. As a result, a layoff can be much more than a financial shock — it can feel like a deeply personal loss that leaves us rudderless.

In these moments, it can be reassuring and empowering to remember that your purpose doesn’t belong to any company you work for, past or present or future.

As a brand-vision writer, I spend a lot of time thinking about things like vision, mission, and purpose. Here’s how I break them down: if vision is our North Star, mission is our map to a specific destination, and purpose is why we’re moving. (And why we keep moving when things get difficult.)

At the start and end of the day, vision, mission, and purpose are navigational tools.

They help us stay oriented when everything is fluid. And things don’t get too much more fluid and uncertain than tech right now.

Traditionally, a helm is symbolic for seafaring navigation. But I love physics, so if we’re using an analogy for what purpose does I actually prefer the metaphor and mechanics of a gyroscope.

Gyroscopes are fascinating things. They’re able to maintain their orientation in places like deep space where there is literally no up or down. They create stability in unstable environments.

Purpose can do that, too.

No matter your employment status, your purpose is your own. It’s yours to define and embody. It can be as lofty as finding a cure for cancer or as down-to-earth as keeping ourselves fed, sheltered, and safe. One is not inherently better or more “right” than another. There are as many ways to express and live one’s purpose as there are souls on the planet.

Regardless, the great news is that purpose is a power that’s within you. And the strength of your power is determined by the meaning you ascribe to what you do.

Meaning and purpose are deeply intertwined. Meaning is the significance we assign to what we do. It’s the story we tell about the steps we take as we keep moving.

If a layoff or struggle to find employment is hitting you especially hard, it may be because you derived a sense of meaning from past work that isn’t currently being fulfilled elsewhere.

In their almost 100 years of consulting work, McKinsey has found the desire for meaning at work is universal — across role, industry, and geography. Understanding what motivates you can be a powerful insight that influences your direction in the future.

Do you derive meaning from making an impact on society, the company, customers, or your team? From personal success?

(For a deeper dive on this topic, I recommend exploring McKinsey’s five sources of meaning.)

Stability can be found when we operate from a place of purpose that provides us with meaning. Purpose helps us stay grounded in our day-to-day lives while everything around us is still uncertain, because only one thing is certain: uncertainty isn’t going anywhere.

Anita Stubenrauch is an ex-Apple creative and the founder of Cause:Effect Creative, an agency that helps brands express visionary ideas with poetic power. Connect with Anita on Volley to learn how she can help you express and live your purpose.