Does Your Job Define You?

picture from withanopenheart.org

Hi guys, today I want to ask you two main questions, ok, three actually; 1. How are you darlings? Hope you’re great. 2. Does your job define you? 3. Is it a good or a bad thing if it does?

Are you one of those people who find yourself needing to always mention that you are a doctor, lawyer, teacher, farmer, banker… within two seconds of a conversation? Do you feel it is necessary in validating who you are to the person and or to yourself? Let’s take it in different perspectives; say, you do absolutely love your job; it’s all you've ever dreamed of becoming and can’t think of doing or succeeding in anything else. You are at peace with this job and the only change in your career would be advancement or relocation, not an actual change in job per say. In this case, I can honestly expect that, who you are would definitely be linked with your job, because truthfully, it is part of who you are and not just what you do-even though you should have a life outside your work.  Now, second scene; say you are a “successful” banker/doctor or whatever, you are great at your job and get good pay and nonmaterial incentives as well but you absolutely hate your job for reasons best known to you. Would you still spurt out your job within 2 seconds of a discussion? If you do, would it be because you don’t find anything else interesting about yourself or you think that’s the information the person would like to know or you feel that gives you “points” in the person’s mental judgment book? 

I feel many people lately, have lost themselves in their jobs, consciously and unconsciously. I speak now about those whose intent in taking that job in the first place was to buy time till the dream job comes or just something better comes. Yes, I know this is how some people discover their passion. All well and good if that is the case with you, but if it is not, then what are you doing? Why are you still there after 3 years complaining everyday yet not applying for anything?

I know of many people also, who feel inadequate because they don’t have a place to go to every morning , a boss to report to, like the “normal” people do. They feel this way, even if they earn more (financially and otherwise) from their personal businesses than their neighbor who goes to work daily, whom they envy. Someone I know once told me it is just better to have somewhere to be dressing to every morning when I talked about the idleness at work and lack of salary as a result. Look, it is not that the said person was learning anything, or doing anything, or getting regular pay for just showing up at work. In all of this, the person still preferred to just dress and show than find something you love to do and make a living out of it while you look for a steadier job. My worry is that many people feel the same. I think it is a thing of social status; that somehow the society says you are more important or smarter only if you have an office where you work or what’s the deal please? You can’t tell me you just don’t want to be idle because you are going to the office to just sit idle while you can use your hands and brain to do something else! If you were even going to use free internet to do something constructive, I wouldn’t be so mad, maybe the transport fare would almost be worth it. These are the people that make MSC. holders jobless or make them settle for 8-6 mad serious jobs for 20k monthly, madness- I know right? Forget all that preaching people give, everyone wants to work to make money to survive and sometimes, most times actually enjoy the good and beautiful things of life. Of course you are blessed to be doing that which you love and almost can’t live without because of how much you love it, but don’t kid yourself, money has to be made! How else are we to survive?

Anyway, my advice; if you have a job you absolutely love, please keep giving your best and soar to the peak of that field. If you are working just to survive, please while you are at it, find out what you love and try all the things you need to get there; is it a training course, an exam. It is super fulfilling to work where and at what you love, honestly, the feeling is priceless. If you are working and not getting paid (with no explanation or view in sight of when you will eventually be paid), please get out and use your time to do something that will help you, well except there’s a serious loyalty bond keeping you, I can’t talk for that one. Here, I’m referring to those people who work their asses off and their bosses pay them no mind plus they aren’t getting paid. You just slave and your boss will scream at you for making only two copies of the excellent proposal you spent all night working on because he needed it for a meeting with himself first thing tomorrow morning.  I don’t see how this makes sense at all. People just get trapped in routine and can’t find the courage to actually leave their comfort zones, dare to step on new grounds and explore for something greater. It’s a sad thing. May the Lord bless your loyalty (I’m not being sarcastic!).

So again, does your job define you? Where do you fall?