2025 is being described as a year of disruption, collapse, or instability in the job market. This episode offers a different interpretation. Rather than focusing on trends, milestones, or predictions, Sabina Sulat steps back to name what actually shifted beneath the surface in 2025: how we understand work, how we relate to it, and what we now know it can and cannot provide. This was not a year of transition.It was a year of realization. In this conversation, Sabina examines why so many people experienced confusion, self-doubt, and disorientation—not because they failed, but because inherited models of work stopped explaining reality. The episode is designed to help listeners process what changed, release misplaced self-blame, and prepare for a more grounded, self-directed relationship with work in 2026. Key Themes & Sections 1. Why This Is Not a Year-in-Review Episode Most end-of-year content focuses on summaries, trends, and predictions. This episode intentionally does not. Instead, it explores why 2025 felt fundamentally different—not because of any single event, but because long-standing assumptions about work stopped holding. Sabina frames the year as a moment of collective realization rather than disruption or decline. 2. When Work Becomes Unstable, People Blame Themselves One of the most consistent patterns Sabina observed in her work this year was how quickly people internalized blame when work became unstable. Rather than questioning systems, people questioned themselves: their judgment their abilities their value This response is not rooted in arrogance.It is rooted in confusion. The episode explores why doing “everything right” and still losing a job creates deep psychological dissonance—and why that dissonance reveals a broken model, not personal failure. 3. AI Anxiety as a Signal, Not a Cause AI loomed large in 2025—not only as a technological shift, but as an emotional one. Sabina unpacks a critical distinction she heard repeatedly from clients: “I’m not afraid of AI taking my job. I’m afraid of how fast I could be replaced.” This section reframes AI anxiety as a reflection of how narrowly value had already been defined in many workplaces.AI didn’t destabilize work—it exposed how transactional work had become. The conversation focuses on leverage, replaceability, and why speed—not technology—is what unsettled people most. 4. Loyalty Was Real, But It Was Never Protective Many people experienced deep grief in 2025 when loyalty failed to protect them. This section examines the difference between: human loyalty (relationships, culture, belonging) institutional decision-making (risk, resources, strategy) Sabina clarifies why loyalty can be authentic and meaningful without ever being protective—and why confusing the two caused so much pain this year. 5. When Work Feels Personal but Operates Transactionally For many listeners, job loss or workplace instability felt like a rupture of identity, not simply income. This section explores: how narrative and identity became intertwined with work why transactional systems masked themselves as culture how clarity—not bitterness—is the productive response The loss people experienced was often about coherence and meaning, not just employment. 6. Why Putting Yourself First Became Necessary A central realization of 2025 was that stability can no longer be outsourced. Sabina explains why “putting yourself first” is not selfish in this context—it is structural. This means: acting in your own best interests building skills that travel learning for your own growth ending patterns of constant people-pleasing The episode emphasizes agency without isolation, and accountability without self-blame. 7. This Was Not Collapse—It Was Clearing Some describe 2025 as an internal collapse of employment and the job market. Sabina challenges that framing. What we witnessed was dismantling—an essential step before rebuilding. Outdated models broke