Who are you?

In the U.S. we tend to identify strongly with our careers.

It’s no coincidence that when we meet new people one of the first things we inquire of one another is: “What do you do?”

And even though we may in fact be doing a great many things, the first thing we generally respond with is specifically the job we perform to pay the bills.

While there’s nothing wrong with identifying with or taking great pride in our careers, exclusively doing so creates significant personal risk: for example, if you find yourself performing worse than you expected, making a mistake at work, or needing to find another job, your sense of worth can plummet overnight.

To that end, it helps to remember that you are made of many wonderful things, among which may be a job: you are also your hobbies, your relationships, and the outlook on life you choose to have.

Life is full of uncertainty which will likely shake one or more parts of our lives from time to time.

The more fully and richly we realize our identities, the more resilient we can be when this happens.