The Art of Starting Over

A growing number of professionals find themselves in a peculiar professional limbo, often not triggered by job loss, dramatic crises, or conflicts with superiors. Instead, this state emerges quietly, sometimes on a routine morning, as one stares at a computer screen and thinks: “I know I don’t want this anymore, but I have absolutely no idea what I do want.” This is the threshold of professional uncertainty, a space where past careers feel too small and future paths remain blank pages. In this ambiguous territory, individuals possess titles, professions, reputations, experience, and often solid resumes. Yet these credentials increasingly describe who they were rather than who they might become. The sense of disorientation grows as traditional career models, once linear and predictable, become less structured and more fragmented. Today’s professional journeys resemble winding roads with frequent forks in the road, rather than well-marked highways. The initial response to such a crisis typically involves searching for definitive answers. People ask themselves: What should I do? In which am I truly skilled? What is my passion? Where do I see myself in ten years? They turn to assessments, coaches, books, conversations, reflective weekends, and even an overabundance of TED Talks. While all can offer guidance, there's a common pitfall: believing one must discover their next professional identity before beginning to live it. Professor Herminia Ibarra of the London Business School has long challenged this notion. In her book Working Identity, based on research into professionals transitioning careers, she argues that reinvention rarely follows the sequence of “first discovering who one wants to be and then acting.” Often, the process works in reverse: action precedes discovery. Through experimentation, individuals gradually uncover new identities. No one resolves a career crisis by meditating in a chair. The obsession with finding a “definitive answer” leads to analysis paralysis. One mentally explores twenty possible scenarios, dismissing them all before ever trying one. Meanwhile, the individual continues sitting in front of a computer, questioning life. Ibarra introduced the concept of “provisional selves,” or provisional professional identities. In a study published in Administrative Science Quarterly, she observed that people adopting new professional roles experimented with different versions of themselves. They observed role models, tested behaviors, and evaluated what felt authentic. Thus, the new identity did not emerge through revelation but was built through trial and error. This explains why, in the face of professional limbo, it is preferable to speak of micro-experiments rather than major decisions. Those considering a change need not immediately resign. Instead, they could participate in a project related to their interest. If another industry appeals, they might talk to at least five people already working in that field. If curiosity is sparked, even if its application is unclear, taking a short course could help. And if one imagines teaching, starting a business, advising, or writing, testing these ideas on a smaller scale is ideal. The goal of a micro-experiment is not to achieve perfection but to gain insight. Andrés Hatum, professor at the Universidad Torcuato Di Tella and a regular contributor to La Nación, noted that reaching 50 or 60 does not necessarily mark the end of a professional journey. Many professionals begin to question how to continue their careers in a market that often equates age with retirement. However, reinventing oneself after midlife does not mean abandoning accumulated experience, it means finding new ways to leverage it. Hatum emphasized that the traditional model of career, study, work, retire, is outdated. Modern careers are composed of multiple stages, and arriving at 50 does not signal the end of a professional path. To put this into practice, he outlined three steps that he also teaches to his students and discusses in his book Carreras extraordinarias para gente común. First, he recommended decoupling personal identity from the last held position. Rather than presenting oneself solely as a manager, director, or executive, one should recognize the skills gained throughout a career. “You are a package of portable capabilities,” he stated. Experience in managing crises, negotiation, or team building can be especially valuable for small businesses, entrepreneurial ventures, or independent projects that require executive knowledge without the commitment of a full-time hire. Some workers transitioned from positions in large companies to roles as independent consultants, NGO directors, startup advisors, or mentors for younger generations. “They didn’t discard their experience, they changed the format of delivery,” he concluded. Second, Hatum encouraged seeking what he called “cross-pollination”, building professional relationships across generations and forming intergenerational teams. He warned against placing older professionals in positions where they assume they already know everything. Instead, he advised approaching young people, listening to their perspectives, and combining strengths. “The combination of the energy and technological savvy of someone under 30 with the critical thinking and calmness of someone over 50 is unbeatable,” he wrote. Finally, Hatum urged moving beyond endless reflection and beginning to test alternatives. “Reinvention doesn’t happen during a spiritual retreat, it happens through action,” he asserted. Among the first experiences he suggested were enrolling in an executive program on emerging technologies, offering mentorship in an incubator, or conducting a consultancy to assess how something might be implemented.