We have no difficulty knowing who we are during our work life. It’s afterward that we can feel challenged. Identity is one of those things that tells the world who we are: the title, the initials that signal our status. It’s something we often cleave to.
But take a minute to think about the “why.” During our careers, our titles announced our level of expertise, power, and achievement. In Chapter X, when we’re no longer functioning in those roles, those titles signify where we were, not where we are.
Consider how the lack of a title affects your thinking about who you are and what your role is now. If you’re stuck in the thinking of “who you used to be,” you crowd out the opportunity to figure out who you are right now and who you are becoming.
Think about it. You might have been captain of the baseball team or president of your high school class, but you managed to shed those titles as you matured into your next iteration. The same holds for your life now.
Old titles, like old habits, can be hard to break or break away from. But personal growth depends on our ability to let go of what is no longer necessary or relevant so that we may live as our fullest selves.
