SCRIPT CHECK · 60 SECONDS
Five quick questions show how often it appears, how believable it feels, and what it makes you avoid. You’ll get one private next step.
This is not a diagnosis and there is no pass or fail. It measures the current frequency, credibility, and behavioral cost of “The next layoff round will be me”, including the private rule underneath it: If the industry is shrinking and I'm not among the obviously essential few, then I'm in the next culling. The contraction is real, so the logic is airtight. Investment in this career is fighting entropy. Better to stay ready to leave than…
QUIET
“The next layoff round will be me” appears, but it rarely gets the final say. Keep this line available for higher-pressure moments: “The industry shrinking doesn't mean my work yesterday was wasted or that what I do today is worthless.”
PRESENT
“The next layoff round will be me” wins some small decisions before you catch it. Your useful interruption is: “I can acknowledge real cuts without treating them as a personal forecast I've already confirmed.”
ACTIVE
“The next layoff round will be me” is shaping action often enough to deserve a deliberate counterexample. Start privately and concretely: Write down three specific reporting or editorial decisions you made well in the past four weeks. Review them once, then close the document. Don't share or send it.
DOMINANT
Right now, “The next layoff round will be me” is steering many of the moments you measured. That is a pattern reading, not a diagnosis or character verdict. Begin with one reversible receipt: Write down three specific reporting or editorial decisions you made well in the past four weeks. Review them once, then close the document. Don't share or send it.