On The Job Training
When a Job Trains Your Brain the Wrong Way
Jobs don’t just give you a paycheck. The on-the-job-training can be more that job related skills.
Every meeting, every interaction, every little moment where you either feel trusted or micromanaged, respected or belittled — your brain is watching. It’s learning. It’s wiring.
That’s why leaving a toxic workplace isn’t the end of the story. Sometimes, it’s just the beginning of untangling the damage.
The Hidden Cost of “Just Doing Your Job”
Maybe you told yourself you were fine. You showed up, you got things done, you kept repeating: This is just how corporate life is.
But your body knew different.
The stomachaches.
The sleepless nights.
The panic before logging in.
All of that was your nervous system waving a red flag.
And here’s the thing: when you push through anyway, your brain doesn’t learn that you’re safe. It learns that constant danger is normal.
Why It Follows You
So you leave. New company, new boss, new start.
But the scars show up in sneaky ways:
You jump when your email dings.
You freeze when your boss says, “Can we talk?”
You brace for criticism even when someone’s trying to help.
That’s because your brain isn’t measuring “Is this job toxic?” It’s measuring “Have I felt danger here before?”
And when the cues look the same — emails, meetings, authority figures — your nervous system doesn’t know the difference.
When Strengths Get Twisted
Here’s the cruel part: the qualities that made you good at your job are the same ones that got used against you.
Reliability became being taken advantage of.
Sensitivity became “unprofessional” or “weak.”
Creativity became “noncompliance.”
Over time, you stop seeing those things as strengths. You start believing the labels you were given.
Rewriting the Story
This is why healing takes more than “moving on.” Your brain needs new evidence. It needs to experience safety, trust, and respect often enough that the old wiring can fade.
That’s what coaching with me looks like:
Resetting the nervous system so the old alarms stop running the show.
Seeing your strengths clearly — not as liabilities, but as your best tools.
Breaking unconscious patterns that keep you walking back into unhealthy environments.
Because here’s the truth: you can’t out-think trauma with logic. You have to reteach the brain.
Moving Forward
So if you’ve ever thought, “Why am I still so anxious when that job is behind me?” — this is why.
The old wiring is still running. But wiring isn’t forever. With the right tools, it changes. And when it does, you stop living like the past is in the present.
You get your life — and your strengths — back.
👉 If you’re ready to stop carrying an old job into your new life, this is exactly the rewiring work I do with clients. Let’s talk about what freedom looks like for you.
