I was laid off from Lyft and it was a relief. Here's exactly how I used my severance to land somewhere better.

• Ziwei Li used her severance from Lyft to reinvent her career narrative.
• She invested in career counseling, started her own business, and invested in hobbies.
• Li also used mindful travel to help transition from one role to another.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Ziwei Li, a 28-year-old LA-based former Lyft employee and founder and CEO of Wei Good Food. It's been edited for length and clarity.

I led food delivery partnerships at Lyft for one year. Then the role was eliminated when the company decided to shut down its delivery business during its layoffs in November 2022. The layoff impacted 13% of Lyft's workforce, and my team was broadly affected.