A few months ago I lost what I thought was my dream job. I’ve been involved with that company since I was 16 and at 21 I could say that I was my own boss (within the company of course…I contracted a management position).
To say the least, I was totally depressed. Everything I loved doing, I stopped doing. I began to shut people out of my life and lash out to people who didn’t deserve it. I was a mess. And why? Because I felt like I lost a part of my identity – being a Special Projects Manager is who I was. After a few weeks of binge watching The Office on Netflix and befriending pizza as my BFF, I started to think: why do we link “career” with “purpose”? Why did my job mean so much to be other than the obvious benefit of routine and money? Does everyone really have a career that is meaningful or that makes them feel like they’re truly bettering the world?
No. Our purpose should be beyond that.
Your career does not define you, any more than your skin colour defines you (obviously the colour of your skin defines you a bit but it’s not your entire purpose). We live in a society that values labels and the ability to box people into their own squares, regardless of your true shape. I was dreading the question at any cocktail party of get together “so, what do you do for a living?” because without that question, how can society put you into your box?
I’m not suggesting that you shouldn’t follow your dreams—by all means, if you want to be a doctor, go to med school. If you want to be on Saturday Night Live, take an improv class. But what if that improv doesn’t lead to a career? What if you never make money from acting but it means more to you than your advertising job ever has? That’s okay, too. Your purpose on this earth might be making people laugh, fighting to save our crumbling world, being there for your sister who is fighting depression. Whether or not you get paid for that, that’s totally irrelevant.
Maybe your true purpose is more along the lines of making someone’s day a little better, whether it’s a homeless person or your mom. Maybe you’re that friend that others call at 2am in the morning because they need to talk to someone. Perhaps you’re that babe that notices when people need a hug.
You’re a superhero all day but you work in a cubicle from 9-5. That cubicle job does not define you. Being a person who is strong, loyal and resilient. A person who feels alive. That is your new purpose. At least, that is mine.
