WHO ARE YOU WITHOUT YOUR TITLES?
I thought I’d take this first blog to introduce myself a bit further. In short, I’m Sara McInerney Hauck. I gained a new last name in May 2020 when my husband, Jacob, and I turned the lemons life threw at us into champagne when we got married in quarantine.
Fitness, adrenaline adventures and travel keep my blood moving while writing, reading and yoga bring me immense peace. I take pride in the titles I hold including wife, sister, daughter, friend and Indianapolis resident.
Let’s pause there. Titles. Those little words we tend to collect throughout life that can end up being oh, so powerful, when we think of who we really are. They shape how we see ourselves, how the world categorizes us and they assign us stereotypes of whatever is “normal” for those specific titles.
After college, I moved to Indianapolis. Upon arriving, I signed up for networking event after networking event. I had to know everyone in the city if I was going to be successful, right!? It was exhausting and unfulfilling. I remember being asked over and over, “And what do you do for work?” And finding myself asking that same question back to everyone I met.
I realized I was meeting and judging people off their work titles. And that’s usually as far as the conversation went. I do this job at this company I’ve been at for this many years. It was very surface level and I began to realize something.
Our lives are not defined by just one title. And it’s not fair to judge or be judged by that one title.
We are more than our jobs. We are more than our parenting role. We are more than where we grew up or came from. We are more than employees, caretakers, coaches, or whatever title it is that you carry.
Instead of asking, “What do you do for work?” I started to ask, “What makes you excited in life?” It took a bit of courage to ask this nontraditional question, but everyone had an answer that led to much more engaging conversation.
I learned an area manager of Finish Line loves skydiving (we share this as I’ve jumped twice). I learned a fellow volunteer at church has three daughters who redefined “house divided” with their enrollments at Indiana, Purdue and Ball State University. I learned a coworker I used to pass in the hallways is a successful musician.
Without my titles, I describe myself as an ever-evolving badass female on a mission to inspire others to face fear in pursuit of their own unapologetically authentic life.
PROMPT
How would you describe yourself without using parent, sibling, boss, athlete, student, employee, etc? Spend some time this month thinking about who you are underneath all of those titles.
Please feel free to share your answer with me in the comments below. It always feels good to write it out!
