“Am I getting fired today?”

“Am I getting fired today?”

I cannot tell you the number of powerhouse, high performing leaders I work with who still think this on a daily basis.

Not because they suck at their jobs, or even because they think they suck at their job. Far from it.

These are folks who are somewhere between “pretty sure” and “super damn confident” that they’re good at what they do.

But they’ve also all worked in enough unpredictable or even toxic environments, that odd behavior starts to make them think “is this the day I get fired?”

And while it’s relatable, it’s actually a big risk for someone working at that level.

When you’re making high-stakes decisions weekly (or sometimes daily), you can’t afford to be stuck in your head, pattern matching everything based on fear.

If you’re busy thinking about whether you’re going to get fired, you’re missing out on opportunities to think about much higher value topics.

And if you do get fired today? No amount of thinking about it was going to change that fact. 🤷🏻‍♀️

I’m not saying ignore odd behavior or vague directions from your boss/CEO. But if you let it run your life, you’re only increasing the chances your worry will come true.

Acknowledge the feeling - it won’t move along if you don’t. 😉
And then ask yourself, “what’s the highest-value thing I can focus on right now?” Spoiler: it's not this.

Has this ever been you? Even just a little? 😅