Work is What You Do; Not Who You Are

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In American culture, we often speak about our relationship to work as if it were our identity as a person. Phrases such as, I’m a teacher, or I’m a salesperson, or I’m an engineer, are common ways we all communicate to others about what we do for a living. This way of speaking hints at our identity being bound up with our work.

Stop and think for a moment. Deep within your heart, you intuitively know that you are far more than the work you do for your living, right? So, why is it so common for people to think and speak as if their identity is all wrapped up in what they do for their living? Share your thoughts in the comments below. As for my thoughts on this question, read on...

Culturally, with very few exceptions, I submit that we’ve been unintentionally set up to think about our work’s relationship to our identity in this way since we were kids. Here's an example from my own life to illustrate my point: When I was a young father I asked my 10-year old daughter the common question, "What do you want to BE when you grow up?" ?

With a concerned expression on her face, she looked up at me and said, “Why can’t I just BE me?” ?That’s when it hit me like a ton of bricks. Linking one’s identity to the work you choose to do for your living can be dangerous on a number of levels, and as you can see from my example, it can happen quite innocently.

Simply accepting a cultural construct of identity that comes with a job is an easy way to have an answer to these often puzzling and intimidating questions of identity. Yet, this is no way to develop a career that supports optimizing all that you are, all that you can create, and all that you can become.

The good news is that each of us can fix this problem. We are not stuck with whatever our history might be or what our culture tells us we should be; we can choose who we are and who we become.

The first step to begin your journey of discovering who you are is to stop allowing your work to define you; stop unconsciously following what you’ve been socialized into. Instead, invest yourself in deciding for yourself who you really are and aspire to become. Then, go about intentionally creating that person day-by-day.

Whatever your career path, it will blossom from that foundation. Yes, the work will be challenging at times, but it will be yours and yours alone, and it will be worth it. ?

Excerpt from How To CRUSH That Career Thing, by Kirk Anderson, www.sfcsuite.com

YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@KirkAnderson-SFCSUITE/featured

ActionPointe LLC Website:? www.actionpointe.net??