When Who You Have Become No Longer Fits What You Do

This week, I had a conversation that didn’t feel like a “meeting.” It began like any professional exchange - polite introductions, a bit of context, a few sentences about our backgrounds. But almost immediately, the conversation took a direction neither of us planned.

We started talking about identity, purpose, spirituality… and how all of that quietly shapes the trajectory of our careers.

I realized something powerful in that moment: Our career is always giving us signs about our discomfort with life, and often telling the truth about our spiritual life, even when we don’t realize it.

I don’t mean spirituality as dogma, religion, ritual, or memorized concepts. I mean spirituality as something far more intimate: the place inside you that asks “Why am I here, what is my true mission?” It is the inner signal that tells you when you’re out of alignment, the discomfort that grows when you choose safety over truth, and the quiet relief that comes when you finally honor who you’re becoming.

The Courage to Listen

As we talked, this leader shared something that felt deeply sincere. He has been asking - not the world, not his résumé, not his conditioning - but God: “Who do You say I am?”

He told me that three words came to him in one of his conversations with God: Connector. Encourager. Uplifter.

Simple, but profound.

Those words didn’t come from ambition or strategy. They came from listening, from honesty, and from surrender. They touched a truth I see everywhere in my work: We suffer when our career no longer reflects who we are becoming.

Listening to him, I remembered my own path. Years ago, I let go of corporate titles, a structured routine, and a clear salary. I had the experience and the credentials. But something within me kept insisting: Is this aligned with your purpose and your life mission?

When Misalignment Becomes a Cage

There was a deeper calling, one that required courage and an unfiltered look at the emotional patterns holding me back. Every time I tried to take a step forward in my own project, my internal saboteurs rose up - the doubts, the fears, the voices whispering “Not you. Not now. You are not big enough.”

But growth demands truth. Eventually, I understood that the path wasn’t just about becoming an entrepreneur, it was about becoming more of who I truly am. I’ve spent years studying this in psychology, neuroscience, and spiritual wisdom. I’ve learned why brilliant people sabotage themselves and why high-performing professionals collapse internally.

And I reached a conclusion: Purpose isn’t something we seek. Purpose is something we feel, something we perceive that already exists within us.

And what happens when the identity God whispers to you no longer fits the professional identity the world expects from you? That tension is what breaks so many strong people. It creates depression, confusion, and a dissatisfaction that success can’t solve. Because a career without alignment becomes a cage.

The Assignment

During our conversation, one thing stayed with me... often we are not searching for achievements, but rather for a meaning behind the mission.

And it also became clear that some conversations are not coincidences; they are assignments. Assignments to reflect, to expand, and to question the path we are on.

So I leave you with the question that stayed with me after we ended the call:

What identity inside you is asking for space? What part of you knows that your greatest treasure is yet to be discovered within you?

Our calling never disappears. Our identity will ask to be honored, no matter how long we ignore it. Our spirituality is always reminding us of our deepest purpose.

Valéria Ritis

Creator of the I-Avatars™ Method | Mentor in Self-Awareness and Emotional Integration | I help people and professionals unlock clarity, personal power, and strategic decisions through a path of inner transformation.

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