Sh*t Who Am I Without My Job?

The dream: Find work that is meaningful, that makes you happy, that keeps you engaged. Find work you love and you’ll never work a day in your life. But what if you find that job, you spend years and years and years doing it, and then something happens that, without warning, makes you question everything? It maybe something big like a big reorg in your company, or it might be something small — maybe a comment from someone you know that makes you look at things differently. What if that little comment shakes you so much that you decide to take a hard look at yourself and realize, I’ve let my work be the thing that defines me. My job has taken over my identity. How do you take it back?My guest today, Nyla Bahri, found a job she loved and spent 14 years of her life being excellent at it. The job didn’t even exist, but she was so good, it was created for her. That’s how much of herself went into the position. And then one day someone made her question what she’d do if this job didn’t exist? Who was she without it? After some soul searching and a long period of coming to terms with falling out of love with the one constant thing in her life, Nyla found what would come next for her. I sit down with Nayla to talk about some of the stories we’re told about what work means, the problem with letting your job define your identity, and how to come out on the other side after deciding to move away form what you know. Dr. Nayla Bahri is an executive coach, educator, facilitator, and co-host of The Inside Job Podcast. Her mission is to help everyone she collaborates with create their ideal relationship with work, one that lets them thrive, experience more satisfaction and flow, and deliver excellence.Her clients include individual leaders and teams across organizations and levels. She works with not-for-profits, startups, and well-established organizations including Apple, American Express, The City of New York, Appian, The Nature Conservancy, Colgate University, Royal Bank of Canada, Stripe, and ABC/Disney.This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit maricellaherrera.substack.com