In this episode of The Humans vs. Retirement Podcast, I delve into one of the most disorienting aspects of life after work: identity.

For decades, we’ve answered the question “Who are you?” with a job title. Director. Manager. Teacher. Lawyer. And then retirement hits — and suddenly, the title is gone. What’s left is often a quiet identity crisis no one warned us about.

This episode, The Past Built You. Your Future Needs You explores why losing a role feels like losing yourself and how to begin rebuilding an identity that’s deeper, freer, and far more authentic than anything you had before.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode

• Why so many retirees experience role-based identity collapse.

• The hidden danger of achievement addiction, and why productivity isn’t the same as value.

• How identity is not fixed, but a story you tell yourself (and why that’s good news).

• Three powerful shifts to rebuild identity in retirement:

  1. From Role → Values

  2. From Productivity → Contribution

  3. From Legacy → Aliveness

• Why staying stuck in nostalgia is one of the biggest risks in retirement.

• How to introduce yourself without your past job title — and why this simple exercise is so transformative.

Challenge of the Week

👉 Introduce yourself without using your past job title.

Try it out loud. Then create an “I am” list:

• I am someone who makes people laugh.

• I am someone who listens deeply.

• I am someone who’s figuring it out, and that’s okay.

This is how identity is rebuilt: one sentence at a time.

Resources & Links

📖 Dr. Bruce Feiler — Life Is in the Transitions (on identity as fluid, not fixed).

📚 Research: Journal of Gerontological Psychology (2021) — 50% of retirees feel identity loss within the first 12 months.

👉 Share your “I am” list with me on LinkedIn or in your journal, whichever feels right.

👉 Want more? Connect with me on LinkedIn and share your Challenge of the Week answers.

👉 Buy my book The Retirement You Didn't See Coming

👉 Book a time for us to chat about your retirement plans

Next Episode

Up next: The Five Pillars of Retirement Well-Being (That No One Told You About) — unpacking purpose, identity, relationships, structure, and well-being, and why most people accidentally neglect all five after they retire.