Epictetus opens his handbook with a short list. "There are things which are within our power, and there are things which are beyond our power. Within our power are opinion, aim, desire, aversion, and, in one word, whatever affairs are our own. Beyond our power are body, property, reputation, office, and, in one word, whatever are not properly our own affairs."
Office, in his day, meant your position. Your job. It sits right there on the list of things that were never fully yours.
That line lands hard the week cuts come through at work. The email goes out, sometimes in a strangely upbeat tone. People you like are gone. A desk sits empty. Someone says there might be another round. You feel relief that you made it, guilt that they didn't, and fear that you're next, sometimes all in the same hour. Focusing on actual work feels close to impossible.
Those feelings are human. They are not weakness, and you don't have to argue yourself out of them. The Stoic move is to feel them honestly, then judge carefully, then act on purpose. Your title was never fully in your hands. Your effort, your judgment, and how you treat people still are.
Here is a simple practice for the week after:
Sort the week. Write two short lists. What's mine: the next task, how I show up, keeping my own options quietly current. What isn't: the next round, the memo, the rumors. Put your energy into the first list.
Be decent to the people who left. Marcus Aurelius reminded himself at the start of the day that "we are all born to be fellow-workers." Send one former coworker a text. If you can honestly vouch for them, offer a reference or an intro. No grand gesture needed. Nobody can lay off that part of you.
Starve the rumor mill. Ask your manager once, plainly, what changes for your role. Then stop chasing hallway talk. Do today's work well because it's your part, not as a deal to keep the job.
You didn't choose who stayed. You do choose who you are while you're here.
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