I'm 66 and I've watched a lot of men retire with full bank accounts and empty schedules, and the ones who struggled most were the ones who never figured out who they were outside their work - Silicon Canals

"You spend your whole life being 'Mike the plumber' or 'Tommy the electrician,' and then one day you're just... Mike. Or Tommy. And you realize you have no idea who that is. Work becomes your whole identity without you noticing. It happens so gradually you don't even see it coming. You start out young, eager to prove yourself. You work hard because that's what men do."

"Before you know it, thirty years have gone by and everything about you is wrapped up in what you do for a living. Your friends are work friends. Your stories are work stories. Your sense of worth comes from the job you just finished or the one you're bidding on next. I remember being at a barbecue once, and someone asked me to tell them about myself. You know what I talked about? Work."

"The scary part is how proud we are of it. We wear it like a badge of honor. 'I haven't taken a vacation in five years.' Looking back, I see it different. The business ran fine without me."

Retirement presents a profound challenge for tradespeople and workers whose identities become inseparable from their professions. After decades building careers as electricians, plumbers, or business owners, retirement strips away the role that defined them. The transition leaves retirees struggling with purpose, unable to sleep, unable to engage in hobbies, and uncertain who they are beyond their job titles. This identity crisis develops gradually over years as work consumes friendships, conversations, self-worth, and daily structure. The realization comes too late that the business functioned without constant personal involvement, and that building an identity solely around work leaves nothing when that work ends.

Read at Silicon Canals