At a bookstore – ‘can I help? What do you do?’ At a hair salon – ‘try a new style. What do you do?’ At a restaurant – ‘nice to see you again. What do you do?’
Why do we default to asking people ‘what do they do’? Is our job title the main source of our identity? Modern culture equates who we are, with what we do! We may be a talented writer, dancer, singer, but we are still expected to reply with our occupation or position. Career is an important part of our identity, but not the whole. If we have a great career, we must be great too? If we have a boring career, we must be boring too?
We can be brilliant bankers by the day & marvellous musicians by the night. Terrific teachers by the day & delightful dancers by the night. Can music & dancing be our main identity or is the pay-check most significant? Will our value & worth be determined by our income or job profile?
I want to be remembered as a writer, not just a director at company X. We have the power to decide who we are, what constitutes our identity, how we present ourselves & what we stand for!