I was wondering how life shapes itself moment after moment. No matter what you plan, what comes your way will.
There’s this short story I read on Facebook the other day. It goes something like this:
A daughter finds her mom under the hood of her car, working on an oil change. Flabbergasted, she asks, “Mom! How do you know all this?”
Her mom looks up, confused. “What do you mean?”
The daughter retorts, “All the stuff that you do — mending the kitchen cabinets the other day, and now this oil change.”
Her mom, still puzzled, replies, “What do you mean, love? You just have to wake up, roll up your sleeves, and get down to business. EVERYTHING IS FIGUREOUTABLE.”
Three words. Magic. The girl smiles and repeats to herself, “Everything is figureoutable.”
Those three words have stayed with me through the years. Every time things get tough, I remind myself: Everything is figure-out-able.
I just need to roll up my sleeves, put in some elbow grease, and get to work.
While you might think, “How much more of Niki’s layoff rant do I need to hear about?” — this isn’t a rant. It’s a story of redirection and aspiration. I’ve been looking at my layoff as a turning point, guiding me toward the path I’ve been meaning to carve for myself.
I was laid off in January. While I had already been planning to quit because my job no longer aligned with my career goals, I decided to stay a little longer to sharpen my skill set and fill in the gaps from my ten years as a content marketer. I worked here for close to 6 months, and well, come January and I was made redundant.
Post layoff, of course, I job-hunted — 250+ applications (freelance and full-time, remote, hybrid, on-site — you name it). Yes, this comes from someone who passionately advocates for remote work! But sometimes, you do what you have to do.
Frustration, exhaustion, and feeling low on hope — it was all there. What made it even harder was seeing my friends in marketing getting laid off at the same time. That hit the nail on the head for me. It was my time to introspect: Did I really want to allow another company to exploit my loyalty?
That was the exact moment I stopped chasing job boards and chose to commit to freelancing.
Was it overwhelming? 100%. But my biggest win? Happiness.
I now make only a third of my previous total income — but I get out more. I, who once made social plans twice a month, now do so four to five times a week. I cafe-hop. I work in beautiful places. I eat incredible food. I’ve met amazing people, binged on movies, and worked on some mind-blowing projects (NDAs mean I can’t name them, but trust me, they’re cool).
One of my biggest professional wins? Helping one of my clients hit a viral post that got him 100+ comments and 40+ high-quality leads. Inbound requests flooded in, fully-booked consultation calendar and that was INSANE to experience.
Personal growth? Better mental health, thanks to heading out daily and interacting with others. Remote work can be lonely, but meeting people outside your usual circle makes a huge difference.
And through it all, I’ve realised — EVERYTHING IS FIGUREOUTABLE.
What’s one thing in my life that’s figureoutable? My career path and income source — those can always be taken care of. If I need to, I can still get back to full-time work. I’ve been self-employed for five years between 2018 and 2022, and this isn’t my first stint. But this time, I’m diving right into it with half a decade of experience — I’m excited to see how it unfolds.
