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Belongs to: HeartSupport_Fans Content #2564
From jessmstaffo: I left my career of over 12 years, and even though it has been nearly 2 years later, I never realized how much of my identity was tied to my career. I lost my identity and still struggle with the “tell us a little about yourself” prompt, even to this day.
@jessmstaffo This is so hard. As someone who also tends to put a strong sense of identity into what I DO, my heart truly goes out to you. 12 years is such a significant part of your life, and it makes completely sense to feel like not only you are turning the page of a specific part of your life, but also of something that has been significantly making the person you are today. It hits even more when you lose it and have to face all these seemingly insignificant (yet impactful) elements of daily life that reminds you of your loss. When I was unemployed, this little prompt that you mentioned was something that gave me so much anxiety. It’s incredible how much one of the first answers we think about is our job/career. When you don’t have anything particular to respond, it makes you feel this huge sense of emptiness - if not of failure at times. This is without a doubt a huge transition for you and on top of it a very personal/intimate challenge. Somehow, it is a strong invitation to re-discover who you are beyond the job you had, and any other job you could have in the future. Because you are still here, and you are SO full of life regardless of your career and employment status. Sometimes we just lose sight of it, and it takes time to rediscover who we are - more closely and more authentically. Somehow, this loss holds a potential for you to reconnect with yourself in ways that are very significant and powerful. I’m rooting for you and hope that through all of this, you will meet yourself again and see how much you are not empty, but full of life, needs, dreams, personality, emotions, sensations of all kind… everything that makes you a unique human being in this world, and someone who has still a lot to bring in it and contribute to. <3