Cup of Inspiration

This post for January 10th is inspired by today’s quote in my Franklin planner:

• “Don’t ever confuse the two, your life and your work. The second is only part of the first.” – Anna Quindlen

It can be all too easy to identify yourself by what you do for work. In a party, after giving your name, you are probably next asked what do you do for a living? The normal response then is “I’m a lawyer”, “I’m a project manager”, “I work at ABC” and so forth. This isn’t surprising because our work takes up so much of our day.

One big downside of this is the tendency then to define ourselves by our work. We are left with a loss if we should lose our jobs or retire. No longer having that job as part of your everyday life can leave you feeling at a loss for who you are.

The next time someone asks what you do, wouldn’t it be nice to answer, “I am an individual striving to be the best I can be.” How about “I am a Christian woman who daily prays to get through each day in this crazy world.” “I am a father raising a daughter to know she is smart and beautiful.”

Our identity can be tied to several things, but it shouldn’t be how we earn a paycheck. This can be very hard to accomplish. I know because I am still struggling. During my career transition, I will still feel at a loss at times to not have the name of a big company and job title to use as a response in those icebreaker questions. However, shedding the feeling that my identity is tied to the name on a monthly paycheck has helped my stress level incredibly.

How I earn a paycheck is just a part of my life, it isn’t my life. How would you answer the question “Who are you?” or “What do you do?”