How to Explore NEW Identities Outside Teaching: Playing the piano keys you've never touched

In my last post, we talked about the piano keyboard of your identity—the keys you're playing now and the ones that have gone quiet over time.

Now I want to take this metaphor even further.

Because beyond the keys you're currently playing and the keys you used to play, there's a whole section of the keyboard you've never played.

Identities you've been curious about. Ways of being you've wondered about but never given yourself permission to try.

Sometimes the key to getting unstuck isn't rediscovering who you USED to be. It's discovering who you COULD become.

The Keys (Identities) you've never played

What identities have you been curious about but never actually explored?

What have you thought to yourself—maybe in passing, maybe late at night—"I wonder what it would be like to..."

Maybe you've been curious about:

Being an entrepreneur – Starting something of your own, building a business, working for yourself, creating something from scratch

Being a leader or manager – Guiding a team in a formal role, making strategic decisions, mentoring others with real authority

Being a consultant or advisor – Sharing your expertise without the daily grind, working with multiple clients or organizations, having variety

Being a writer – Not just journaling for yourself, but actually putting your thoughts out into the world where others can read them

Being a creator or maker – Designing products, building systems, making physical or digital things that people actually use

Being a coach or mentor – Working one-on-one with people in a more intimate, focused way than you can in a classroom or group setting

Being a researcher or analyst – Diving deep into questions that fascinate you, investigating, making sense of complex data or problems

Being a strategist – Thinking big picture, solving complex problems at a systems level, advising organizations on direction

Being an artist or creative – Finally taking that pottery class, painting workshop, creative writing course, or photography project seriously

Being an advocate in a different arena – Policy work, nonprofit leadership, community organizing, activism outside of your current sphere

These aren't just job titles or hobbies.

They're identities—ways of being in the world.

And if you're honest with yourself, you've probably told yourself stories about why you can't:

"I'm not creative enough for that."

"I'm too old to start something completely new."

"I wouldn't be good at that—I don't have the skills."

"That's for other people, not me."

"I don't have the experience or credentials."

"It's too risky. Too uncertain. Too impractical."

But what if those are just stories?

What if those keys are available to you, and you've just never tried playing them?

Why playing new keys (identities) matters for teachers

The thing about unexplored identities is that you can't know if they fit until you try them.

You can think about being an entrepreneur all you want. You can imagine it. You can read about it. You can tell yourself stories about whether you'd be good at it.

But until you actually TRY being an entrepreneur—even in a tiny, experimental way—you don't actually know.

And sometimes, the key you've never played is exactly the one that unlocks what you've been looking for.

My story of playing a new key (identity)

I left my job as the Associate Director of Career Advising at a local college in 2020. After 8 years in the role, I was bored. I knew I wanted to do something new, but I didn't know what it might be (sound familiar?!)

In addition to taking care of my kiddos who were home because of covid, I began a process of career exploration to figure out what my next chapter was going to look like.

The top two contenders for my career transition were: 1) doing work related to political depolarization (bringing reds and blues together in dialogue); and 2) independently coaching mid-career professionals through meaningful career change.

They both touched a little on my existing identitiesof pascifist/peacemaker and coach/advisor, but I was also learning that they would require me to build totally new identities as mediator, highly-skilled facilitator, and entrepreneur.

I had never thought of myself as any of these things...most definitely not an entrepreneur.

(Side note: I recently reconnected with an old friend from my Chicago, immigration paralegal days. When I told him what I was up to for work, he said this: I remember when I went into business at the store (he and his partner ran their own business), you said you could never see yourself running a business.  Well, now you're running a business sort of, right?")

Long story short, I ultimately decided to run my own coaching business. It drew on my existing identity of coach/advisor—no shocker there. But what did shock me was how much I loved the parts of running the business itself.

The marketing piece was interesting (and sometimes infuriating) and a huge learning curve (still is, honestly). Setting up systems to run my business uses a strategic part of my brain that wasn't activated as much in previous roles.

And I uncovered a love for writing: content for my website, blog posts, strategic messaging, etc...This particular identity has really flourished since I started my business 5 years ago.

I discovered new identities of writer, entrepreneur, and strategic thinker that I never imagined I had in me. And now I use these identities almost every day.

You can't think your way to clarity—You have to experiment

This is the part people often get wrong.

They think they need to KNOW whether a new identity will fit before they try it.

They think they need to be SURE before they take action.

But that's backward.

You don't get clarity and THEN experiment. You experiment and THEN get clarity.

I didn't know I could be a decent entrepreneur. I discovered it by trying it, first with baby steps and then with more certaintly as I went along.

How to start playing new keys (identities)

Okay, so you're curious about an identity you've never explored.

Where do you start?

Here's a simple framework:

Step 1: Pick ONE new identity to explore

Don't try to become five new things at once. Just pick one.

Ask yourself:

• What identity have I been curious about for a while?

• What keeps coming up in my thoughts, even quietly?

• What sounds exciting, even if it also sounds scary?

Write it down: "I want to explore being a ___________."

Step 2: Take one small, low-stakes action this week

You don't need to overhaul your life. You don't need to quit your job or make a huge commitment.

You just need to TRY the identity in a tiny way and see how it feels.

If you want to explore being an entrepreneur:

• Start a tiny side project—tutoring, consulting, selling something you make

• Research what it would actually take to start a business in your area of interest

• Talk to someone who's done it and ask them real questions

• Offer a service to one person, even for free, just to see how it feels

If you want to explore being a writer:

• Start a blog or newsletter (even if no one reads it at first)

• Submit one piece to a publication or writing community

• Join a writing group or take a short online course

• Write 500 words a day for a week on a topic you care about

If you want to explore being a leader:

• Volunteer to lead a small initiative at work or in your community

• Mentor someone informally and notice how it feels to guide them

• Facilitate a meeting or workshop and pay attention to your energy level

• Take a leadership course or read books by leaders you admire

If you want to explore being a coach:

• Offer to coach someone one-on-one for free (friend, colleague, mentee)

• Take a coaching certification course or intro workshop

• Join a community of coaches and notice if you feel like you belong

• Practice coaching conversations with willing volunteers

If you want to explore being a creator/maker:

• Build something small—a workshop, a digital resource, a physical product

• Take a class in the craft you're curious about (pottery, woodworking, design)

• Share one thing you create online and see how it feels

• Spend 2 hours this weekend just making something with your hands

If you want to explore being a researcher/analyst:

• Pick a topic you're genuinely curious about and dive deep for a month

• Offer to help someone analyze data or research a problem

• Write up your findings in a report or presentation

• Join a research community or take an online course in data analysis

The point isn't to be GOOD at it right away. Or at all!

The point is to play the key and notice what happens.

Step 3: Notice what happens with the new identity

As you explore this new identity, pay close attention:

Do you feel energized or drained?

When you're doing this thing, does time fly or drag? Do you feel alive and engaged, or bored and relieved when it's over?

Do you want to do MORE of this?

After you try it once, do you immediately want to do it again? Or are you satisfied and ready to move on?

What does your body tell you?

Do you feel expansive and excited? Or contracted and anxious? Your body often knows before your brain does.

What's the quality of your thoughts?

Are you thinking "I could see myself doing this" or "This is harder than I thought and I'm not sure it's for me"? Both are useful information.

Step 4: Let the data inform your decisions

Once you've played the new key—even just a few times—you'll have information you didn't have before.

Maybe you discover: "I thought I wanted to be an entrepreneur, but actually I hate the chaos and uncertainty. I need more structure than that."

Great! Now you know. That's clarity. You can stop wondering and move on.

Or maybe you discover: "Wait. This feels RIGHT. I've been missing this my whole life and didn't even know it."

Also great! Now you know. That's clarity too. Now you can make life and career decisions based on real experience, not fantasy.

Here's what might happen next:

Scenario 1: You realize you need to express this new identity outside of work

Maybe teaching can stay as your day job, but you need to build this new identity into your life in other ways. Nights, weekends, summers. It doesn't have to BE your career—it just needs space.

Scenario 2: You realize you need a career that lets you express this identity

Maybe teaching can't stay because it's squeezing out something too important. You need a role that lets you be The Entrepreneur or The Writer or The Leader during work hours, not just on the side.

Scenario 3: You realize you need a hybrid

Maybe you need teaching part-time PLUS this new identity. Or maybe you need a role that combines both—like being a teacher AND a curriculum writer, or a teacher AND a coach.

All of these are valid.

The point is: You're making decisions based on actual data about yourself, not guesses or fear or what you think you "should" do.

You don't have to abandon familiar keys (identities)

Exploring new identities doesn't mean rejecting the ones you already have.

Your teacher identity? Still valuable. Still part of you.

Your parent identity, your friend identity, your reader identity? They're not going anywhere.

This isn't about abandoning the notes you've been playing.

It's about expanding your range.

What becomes possible when you explore new identities beyond teaching

When you start playing keys you've never touched—when you give yourself permission to explore brand new identities—here's what becomes possible:

You stop feeling stuck.

You're not playing the same notes on repeat anymore. You're creating new melodies, discovering new sounds. Stuckness dissolves when you're in motion.

You gain clarity about what you actually want.

You're not guessing or overthinking. You have real data from real experiments. You KNOW what energizes you and what doesn't because you've tried it.

You make better career decisions.

Whether you stay in teaching or explore something new, you're choosing based on your whole self—including parts of you that you've only just discovered.

You feel more alive.

Because you're expressing more of who you are, not just the safe, familiar, comfortable parts. You're growing. You're expanding. You're becoming.

You stop asking "Who am I without teaching?"

And you start asking: "What kind of music do I want to make with my life?"

You're not a one octave pianist

You have keys you've never played.

Identities you've been curious about but never tried. Ways of being in the world that might fit you perfectly—you just don't know it yet because you've never experimented.

You can't think your way to knowing if they fit. You have to try.

And sometimes, the key you've never touched is exactly the one that helps you understand what's been missing all along.

Getting unstuck—in your career, in your life—isn't about abandoning who you are.

It's about finally playing the whole instrument. Including the keys you've been too afraid, too busy, or too uncertain to try.

What's one new identity you'd like to explore this week?

Ready to explore your full range?

This article is the last in a series of three about your identity as a teacher and human. Here's the previous two:

1. Teacher Identity Crisis: "Who Am I Without Teaching" Isn't the Right Question

2. How to Rediscover Yourself Outside of Teaching: The Piano Keyboard Metaphor

I've also created a free Identity Constellation Worksheet that walks you through:

• Teasing apart the bundle of identities hiding inside your "teacher" label

• Mapping who you are right now beyond the classroom

• Excavating past identities you've lost touch with

• Giving yourself permission to want things you've filed under "not realistic"

• Synthesizing it all into a visual identity constellation and a single through-line sentence

• Using your identities to generate new career possibilities you might never have considered

You contain so much more range than you've been allowing yourself to express.

The keys are there. It's time to play them.

**Clicking on this link also means that you'll receive my weekly e-newsletter for teachers exploring a career change. You can unsubscribe at any time.

I'm Laura, a coach for teachers exploring a career change

I help teachers at a career crossroads figure out what’s next, especially if you have no idea if you actually want to leave teaching, or what that next move could be!

I offer 1:1 coaching, a group program, & an online course