Who Are You Without the Title? 7 Journal Prompts to Reinvent Yourself After 50

"I've spent decades making decisions. Why can't I decide what's next?"

If that question finds you somewhere between 2 and 3 in the morning, you're in good company. For thirty years a title did a lot of work for us. It told people what we were for. It told us what to do on Monday. When it loosens, there's a gap where the answer used to be.

I don't think you've lost yourself. I think you finally have a little room to find out who's been in there all along. Start with these.

1. Every title. List every title you've ever held, official or not: the job titles, and also the oldest, the reliable one, the fixer, the one who drives, Mom. Circle the ones you chose. Underline the ones that were handed to you.
2. The girl at eleven. What did you love doing at eleven, before anybody told you what you'd be good at? Where is that girl now?
3. Five sentences. Introduce yourself in five sentences without mentioning a job, a title or anyone you take care of. Notice which sentence was hardest to write.
4. The unpaid version. What would you still do if nobody paid you, promoted you or thanked you for it? Look at the last month and find the evidence.
5. The part nobody at work met. Finish this sentence ten times without stopping: "The part of me nobody at work ever met is…"
6. The toast. It's your seventieth birthday and a friend stands up to give a toast. She never once mentions your career. What does she say?
7. Name the chapter. If this part of your life were a chapter in a book, what would it be called? Not a job title. A chapter title that makes you want to turn the page.

Write by hand if you can, and leave the phone in another room. Messy and true beats tidy every time.