Your last step does not have to define your next.

It’s easy to take the titles and roles others assign to you and let them shape your professional identity. Over time, those labels can feel permanent, like a blueprint for what you’re supposed to be. But every role you play—every job, title, or responsibility—is just a piece of a larger puzzle.

Each role offers a lesson, a new skill, or a shift in perspective. These moments are puzzle pieces, waiting for you to step back and see how they fit into the bigger picture. The trick isn’t to stay confined within one title but to find the valuable thread that runs through your experiences.

What are the connections that matter most to you? What insights have you carried from one role to the next? Instead of focusing on where you’ve been, focus on where you’re going. The next step doesn’t have to mirror the last—it just needs to reflect the person you’re becoming.

When you stop letting titles define your path, you open yourself to possibility. Every piece of your puzzle has a place, but only you can decide how they fit into the life you’re building.