Who Are You Without Your Job? (Identity After Enough)

Who are you when your job is no longer your identity?

In this episode of Life After Enough, we explore one of the most overlooked aspects of financial independence early retirement (FIRE), and career change: identity after work.

Many of us build our entire sense of self around our profession - our title, income, productivity, and status. But what happens when that role changes, disappears, or no longer needs to exist? Whether through burnout, redundancy, early retirement, FIRE, sabbaticals, or becoming a parent, work eventually stops being the centre of life and that transition can be deeply unsettling.

Drawing on my own experience leaving corporate law, chasing extreme adventures, reaching my original FIRE number, and rebuilding a life beyond work, this episode introduces the idea of Identity Enough - the ability to build a resilient, multi-layered identity that isn’t dependent on a single job or role.

In this episode, we cover:

• Why tying your identity to work makes you emotionally and psychologically fragile
• The hidden trap of defining yourself by “escaping” your job and how it leads to the same place
• How identity collapse shows up after early retirement or FIRE
• Why financial freedom doesn’t automatically create purpose
• How to build a portfolio identity that makes you anti-fragile
• Practical ways to experiment with identity without blowing up your life

This episode is essential listening if you’re pursuing financial independence, questioning your career, planning early retirement, or wondering what life actually looks like after you reach “enough.”

Money can remove constraints.

But identity determines what you build next.

Related episodes:

• Episode 3 - Enough Is Not the Finish Line
• Quick Take 1 - The Day After the Sabbatical