Nothing left to prove is usually discussed in the context of accomplishment. I’ve come to find the virtues of this concept is the personal context. As in, my personality has been so thoroughly proven, deviations from it are seen as just that: deviations. Just as the professional experiencing a career bump isn’t viewed as the “bump,” so too is the person who no longer, for whatever the reason, can live up to being himself viewed as being this new, lesser form.

This safe space is only available to those who were so true for so long. The accomplished professional doesn’t actually covet the excuse – he wants to still be performing – and neither does the person who wants to reclaim who he is, but there is still comfort in the leeway.