Who are you without the job title or the parent hat?

One of the most unexpected challenges of retirement isn’t the extra time. It’s the identity shift.

For decades, many of us build our sense of self around two things: our careers and our families. We introduce ourselves as “a director of…” or “a teacher” or “a nurse.” We talk about being a parent, a caregiver, a provider. These aren’t just roles — they’re sources of pride, purpose, and structure. They help us answer the question: Who am I?

But then, things start to shift. Maybe your children move out and start lives of their own. Maybe you hit the final stretch of your career. And when retirement finally comes, it brings a strange silence with it. No team meetings. No deadlines. No urgent family logistics. And for the first time in a long time, you’re faced with a different kind of question:

Who am I now?

This is something we hear all the time. When we surveyed people in our community, the responses echoed a common theme: I don’t know who I am outside of work and parenting.

It’s not that people regret those roles. Far from it. But when those defining responsibilities fade, what’s left can feel unfamiliar, and even unsettling. It’s hard to shift from being needed constantly to suddenly… not. It’s hard to go from daily structure to endless free time. It’s hard to lose the shorthand you used to define yourself.

So how do you figure out who you are, outside of all that?

We believe it starts with curiosity. Not about what you used to do, but about what lights you up now. What do you look forward to? What kind of environments give you energy? What topics, hobbies, or causes quietly interest you?

At LivOn, we’ve built a tool to help with exactly this. During onboarding, our app guides you through a simple quiz — rooted in personality psychology — that helps you understand what type of retiree you might be. Are you a deep thinker? A creative explorer? A social connector? A quiet builder? It’s not about boxing you in. It’s about opening doors to what might feel most fulfilling for you.

Once you get that snapshot, your LivOn experience becomes more tailored. You get insights, suggestions, and prompts that speak to your values and preferences. Because reinvention doesn’t have to be dramatic. Sometimes, it’s just about getting reacquainted with the parts of yourself that were always there, just a little buried.

We’ve seen how powerful this can be. People rediscovering a love of writing. Joining community choirs after decades of only singing in the car. Signing up for a volunteer role that mirrors the leadership skills they used in their careers, but without the pressure. Or simply realizing that they don’t want to be busy all the time. They just want to feel content.

The truth is, retirement doesn’t erase who you are. It gives you the space to finally find out.

If you’re feeling a little lost without the title or the parent hat, you’re not alone. This is one of the most human parts of the transition, and also one of the most freeing. Because now, you get to decide. Who you want to be. How you want to spend your time. What kind of joy you want to create.

And we’re here to help you figure it out — one insight, one connection, and one rediscovery at a time.