Ravi kept a spare blazer in his desk drawer—just in case a client visit came up. Fifteen years of “just in case.”
On a quiet Tuesday, an email arrived:
“We thank you for your services. Effective immediately.”

No conversation. No handover. No last cup of chai with the team. Only the soft click of a deactivated access card.

That evening, Ravi sat at his dining table, staring at the blazer. He wasn’t mourning a designation; he was grieving a rhythm—the 9:10 a.m. mail tone, the walk to the third-floor printer, the inside jokes about the temperamental coffee machine. When endings are abrupt, identity doesn’t transition; it fractures. Psychologists call this a narrative rupture—the story of the self torn mid-sentence, leaving behind questions: Who am I without this chapter? What, of me, continues?

Over the next week, small absences hurt most: a commute no one expected, a calendar that stayed blank, friends who didn’t know what to say. Unceremonious departures do more than end employment; they can make a person feel unseen.

And yet—beneath the ache—another truth appears: endings can be editing. When the old story closes abruptly, a more honest voice has room to speak.

1. Name it. Say, “This was abrupt. It hurt.” Naming replaces shame with dignity.

2. Ritualize closure.Write a one-page farewell—to people, projects, even the printer on the third floor. Close the page intentionally.

3. Keep what’s yours.List three strengths that outlive any title (e.g., “I structure chaos,” “I build trust fast,” “I teach under pressure”). These are you, not the badge.

4. Micro-begin.For seven days, one hour a day: speak to one person, learn one tool, prototype one offering. Momentum > magnitude.

5. Rewrite the headline.Replace “I was let go” with “I am in redesign.” Your narration shapes your direction.

Morgan Housal (The Author of The Psychology of Money) says – Do not take Credit for every achievement and Do not take Blame for every failure. Let the forces of your ups and downs help you decode life its meaning.

Victor Frankl discovered Meaning in a Concentration Camp. He never blamed or cursed but redirected his energy.

At Thryve, we meet people at the ripped edge of the page. We help you:

• Evoke what stayed true when the title fell away—values, strengths, voice.

• Evolve through structured experiments—portfolio sprints, network rituals, learning stacks.

• Enlighten the next chapter—so you’re not just re-employed, but realigned with purpose.

If your exit was unceremonious, your becoming doesn’t have to be.
Close with dignity. Begin with intention. The blazer can stay—let the story fit you this time.