How to Embrace Your True Purpose When You Feel Stuck in Life Roles
At some point in midlife, many women find themselves asking the same quiet question: What's next? Whether prompted by burnout, a layoff or an empty nest, the search for something more fulfilling—more you—can be both liberating and overwhelming.
During the Flow Space Women's Health Summit LA on May 14, three powerhouse women gathered to help answer that question. Moderated by SHE Media CEO Samantha Skey, the 'Design a Life You Love' panel featured psychologist and 'optimism doctor' Dr. Deepika Chopra, New York Times best-selling author of Fair Play and Find Your Unicorn Space Eve Rodsky, and THE BOARD founder April Uchitel. Together, they shared hard-earned wisdom about resilience, reinvention and reclaiming creativity—especially when you feel like you've lost it.
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For Uchitel, the moment of truth came after walking away from a CEO role in the midst of the pandemic.
'I left a CEO role during the pandemic and wasn't sure what my next thing was going to be,' she said. 'So many people were reaching out to me saying, 'I'm out. I moved upstate. I left LA. I got laid off. I'm consulting.'' That wave of women in flux led her to launch THE BOARD, a curated network of women supporting one another's next chapter.
'It was created primarily to resource each other and to share learnings and knowledge and networks,' Uchitel explained. 'I joke that we're the black Amex of LinkedIn, but we're a food co-op at the same time.'
Rodsky brought the fire—backed by data and her signature humor—pointing out that creativity doesn't stand a chance without acknowledging the burden of unpaid labor.
'You cannot talk about creativity without understanding unpaid labour,' she said. 'If I had written a book that told you to all have two uninterrupted days a week [to get into a flow state and spark creativity], you should throw me out and stone me.'
Her call to action?
Put your own name back on your life. Literally.
'We're given the 'mom' necklace the second we get back from the hospital,' she said. 'Start to take off your kids' names from your jewelry, your neck. Put your own initial on as a reminder [for your family] that they should know who you are… You are not just a parent, partner and professional on repeat.'
That theme of personal reconnection carried through Chopra's insights, too.
Known for her science-backed approach to optimism, she reminded the audience that resilience doesn't require a reinvention of your entire life. Sometimes, it's about taking just 12 seconds to celebrate a win.
'If you can focus on feeling a sense of joy for 12 seconds—that is enough time to rewire your brain,' Chopra said. 'It sounds simple, but all the research shows that we are our most resilient and productive selves, when we are celebrating our wins.'
So, if you're in the middle of a career shift, a caregiving stretch or simply trying to remember who you were before the responsibilities stacked up, take this as your reminder: You're allowed to want more. You're allowed to evolve. And you're definitely allowed to take your name back.
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