When we talk about pivoting, people highlight the excitement of change. New opportunities, new directions, new goals. What rarely gets discussed is the unraveling of your identity.
After spending decades building a career, you are confronted with a painful question: Who am I without the attachments I built along the way? For years, you were part of a collective on a mission, surrounded by community, connections, and a sense of purpose. That life becomes a memory, yet it lingers. Sometimes it feels like a haunting. Other times, you find yourself longing for it because it was your comfort zone.
Shifting careers takes courage at the highest level. You may bring your skills and knowledge into this next chapter, but you no longer have the network you once relied on.
It is like leaving the church you grew up in. You learned the Word, but you were also part of a family of like-minded people. Then suddenly, you are the new kid in class, walking into a space that is already established and not always welcoming. You have to learn a new environment, and most importantly, you have to learn yourself.
That is when the real questions begin. Why am I doing this? Who am I now?
Self-discovery at this level is not about finding which colors flatter your complexion. It is a deeper excavation, an explosion of your story and your journey.
Most of us followed the path of the American Dream. We built lives that fit neatly into society’s expectations. We talk about freedom but rarely speak about its cost. When you begin unraveling what you built, it can feel isolating. Not because you lack people who love you, but because the chrysalis stage of life calls for quiet. The conversations and patterns you once relied on start to feel foreign. You begin to redefine who you are and where you belong.
It can even feel like depression. Sometimes it is. But often, what is really happening on a cellular level is that your old identity is peeling away. Pivoting is not about dragging your former self into a new life. It is about releasing what no longer fits. Like a tree shedding its bark to grow, you too are expanding.
For me, it began with self-examination, recalibrating my vision, and building an expansion plan. I realized I could either invent another identity or uncover the truth of who I already was. I chose the latter.
My self-exploration became an introduction to my true self. Who am I without proximity to the life I created? Who am I without the network I built? Who am I without the comfort of familiarity?
What I learned is that it was not about building. It was about surrendering. I had to surrender to my purpose and allow the soul God created to be revealed to me.
I had to meet myself for the first time. The girl I hid from the world to fit in. The one I suppressed just to get along. She is bold, highly intelligent, and sees life differently. For years, I buried her because it did not feel safe to let her be seen.
Today my life does not look like what I expected when I walked away from my career. But I can say with certainty that I have released the belief that proximity equals value.
Now I am simply me, the messy, smart girl who knows the matrix is real and understands that we have the power to bypass it and live a truly authentic life.
This is why I created the Soul Synergi Journal. It is the same tool I used to anchor my own pivot. Inside, you will find guided space to unpack your story, recalibrate your vision, and reconnect with the truth of who you are. If you are in your own chrysalis stage, this journal will help you navigate it with clarity and courage.
With purpose,
Monica Wisdom
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Great Job monicaamplified@gmail.com & the Team @ Black Women Amplified | Podcast | Storytelling | Personal Development | Journals Source link for sharing this story.
