Dear Friends -
Most high-performing people are well prepared for professional transitions. Promotions, exits, leadership changes. Even retirement, at least financially.
What almost no one prepares you for is the identity gap that can follow.
It often shows up quietly. You’re still capable. Still respected. Still “you.” But the role that once organized your days, your status, and your sense of usefulness no longer does the same work.
Suddenly, there’s space.
For some people, that space feels like freedom. For others, it feels uncomfortable or unsettling. Not because something is wrong, but because identity has momentum. When a role has shaped you for decades, it doesn’t simply disappear when the calendar changes.
That quiet discomfort many people feel after stepping out of a long-held role doesn’t mean something is missing. It means something is rearranging.
You don’t have to resolve the identity gap immediately. You just have to stop assuming it shouldn’t exist. Naming it is often the first real moment of relief.
This is the kind of gap I’ve been studying closely over the past year. Not to fix it, but to understand why it’s so common and what actually helps people move through it with more ease.
Act Three isn’t about rushing forward. It’s about understanding where you are.
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Want the bigger picture?
The identity shifts I’m writing about here are part of a larger pattern I explored in the 2026 Act Three Trends Report at the end of December.
Warmly,
Cara
Future Identity Strategist
Founder, Good Morning Freedom
P.S. If you want to start planning your third act, set up a time on my calendar for a chat: Schedule a Chat with Cara