Life Outside LinkedIn Profile

[00:00:04] Your LinkedIn Profile may describe your career perfectly. But does it describe your life? Hi, this is Coach Sonal Chauhan and you are listening to Creative Reset for Tech Minds. Think about your own profile for a moment. It probably tells people what you do.

[00:00:28] It may show your job title, skills, achievements, certifications, projects and the years of experience. It may even show the kind of professional you want to become. But your LinkedIn profile does not show the child who loved painting once. It does not show the friend who makes you laugh. It does not show the music you enjoy, the book you like.

[00:00:58] And it does not show the things you are afraid to say. And it certainly does not show the parts of you that have nothing to do with your job. That is where today's conversation begins. Many high-performing IT professionals spend years building a strong professional identity. There is nothing wrong with the ambition.

[00:01:27] Your career matters. Your work can give you purpose, confidence, financial security and the sense of achievement. But a problem starts when your career becomes your entire identity. And then a bad day at work starts feeling like a bad day in life. A missed promotion feels like a personal failure.

[00:01:56] A difficult project affects your confidence. A job change feels like a losing a part of yourself. And your work starts carrying more emotional weight than it was designed to carry. And slowly the rest of your life gets smaller. Your hobbies become optional and the friends becomes people you meet only when work allows.

[00:02:24] Creative activities become something you will do after things settle down. Or rarely it matters to you. There is always another project, another deadline, another meeting, another skills to learn and another goal to achieve. So your personal life becomes nothing more than recovery time. You sleep, eat, work, recover and repeat.

[00:02:54] And that pattern can keep you functioning. And it does not give you the rich personal life. This is where hobbies matter. A hobby gives you an identity that does not depend on your job title. You can paint without being a painter. You can sing without being a singer. And you can garden without being a gardener.

[00:03:23] You can cook without being a chef. You can learn something simply because you enjoy it, not because you need it. There is no performance review attached to it. No appraisal, no timeline and nobody is waiting for the results. And that freedom matters. For the high performing mind, creative activity can create a different kind of space.

[00:03:50] Where you stop solving problems and start noticing. You give your attention to something that does not ask you to prove your worth. And that is one reason I believe creativity belongs in the lives of stressed professionals. Painting is not only something I teach. It is something I have experienced personally.

[00:04:19] There was a time in my own life. My own professional life had taken a lot of my personal space. And painting brought a different kind of attention into my life again. I did not need to produce something to be perfect always. I simply needed to be present with the colors, canvas and my own thoughts. And that experience helped me to understand something very important.

[00:04:49] Sometimes we do not need another productivity technique. We need an activity that reminds us we are more than our productivity. Let me give you a small reflection exercise. Take a piece of paper and write your job title at the top. Then draw a line underneath it.

[00:05:16] And write five things about yourself that have nothing to do with your career. Maybe you love painting. Maybe you enjoy long conversation with your friends. You love traveling. Maybe you enjoy cooking for your family. Maybe you always wanted to learn photography.

[00:05:42] Maybe you simply enjoy sitting quietly with a cup of tea. Do not judge your answers. Just notice them. Now ask yourself one question. How much space do these parts of me receive in my current life? Pause here for a few seconds and that question can reveal a lot.

[00:06:11] Your professional identity needs attention. And your personal identity needs attention too. And relationships belong here. People do not experience work only through task and target. Human connections matters too. For many professionals,

[00:06:38] work friends become a major part of their social life. That is good. But your entire support system should not depend on your workplace. Build friendships outside your job too. Call an old friend. Spend time with your family and join a creative group. Learn something new.

[00:07:05] You need places where nobody cares about your job title. You need conversation that is not always about some activity, task or deadlines. You need moments that do not need to improve your career. And this is not time wasted. This is a part of being a whole person. So here is a simple three part check. You can use this week.

[00:07:37] Part 1 is a career. Just ask this question to yourself. Am I growing in the work I care about? Part 2 is a connection. Am I spending meaningful time with the people who matters to me? Part 3 is a creativity.

[00:08:04] Am I doing something simply because it brings me joy? And you do not need perfect balance every day. You need regular space for all three. Your career can be an important part of your identity. It does not need to become your entire identity. Your LinkedIn profile can show your achievements. And let your life show who you are.

[00:08:34] And perhaps tonight, instead of opening LinkedIn after work, pick up a pen and draw something. Read something unrelated to your job. Do one small thing that reminds you that your life is bigger than your career. If this reflection connected with you, I invite you to explore my masterclass.

[00:09:02] We go deeper into how creative practices can help stress professionals to reconnect with themselves and create more emotional space. You can register for it by clicking the link below in the description box. And if you want to learn more about building a digital coaching career, you can register for my mentor's webinar by clicking the link below in the description box.

[00:09:32] Thank you so much for spending these minutes with me. Before you move to your next task, take one quiet moment and ask yourself, Who am I when I am not working? Then give that person a little more space this week. So bye-bye, take care, we will connect in our next episode.