I Was Building My Home on Rented Land

The day I lost my job, I realised how much of my identity and security I had placed in a position I could not control.

It was an ordinary working day.

I was preparing a presentation for an important meeting. My mind was on slides, numbers, and what I needed to say.

Then my senior called me into his cabin.

I thought it was about work.

I had no idea that a few sentences would change the way I looked at my life.

He was unusually quiet. He looked at me for a moment, then asked me to sit down.

He held my hands and said, “Sorry, Dharmendra. Our branch office is going to merge with another branch. The company has decided on retrenchment. From next month, you will no longer be with us.”

For a few seconds, I could not believe what I had heard.

I was physically present in that room.

But my mind had stopped.

I returned to my seat and sat silently. Then I walked downstairs, put my bag in the car, and started driving.

I looked out of the window. The trees were moving past me.

The road was familiar. My thoughts were not.

What about my family?

What about my child’s education?

What about the plans we had made?

I had no answers. Only questions.

When I reached home, my wife looked at me. She could tell something was wrong.

I sat down and told her what had happened.

She listened. Then she asked the question I was already asking myself.

“What about our child’s education? What about our plans?”

I had no answer for her.

And that silence was harder than any presentation I had prepared at work.

That evening, a thought slowly took shape.

I had been building my home on rented land.

My position had become my identity.

My salary had become my security.

But the position could be taken away by a business decision. And the salary could stop, even when my family’s needs did not.

I had mistaken something I depended on for something I controlled.

The lesson I carried forward

A job can be valuable. A salary can support a family. There is nothing wrong with being proud of your work.

But perhaps we should not place our entire identity and sense of security in something that can change without our permission.

My belief: Respect your job, but do not let your job become the whole definition of who you are.

Build your skills. Strengthen your ability to adapt. Learn how to create value beyond one designation. And, where possible, build more than one source of capability and security over time.

Not because a job is bad.

Because life can change.

And when it does, we need more than the title we once held.

Morale: Do not build your entire future on something you do not control.

A question for you

If your job title disappeared tomorrow, what would remain of your identity, your skills, and your ability to create value?

I ask myself that question even today.