You're More Than Your Job, Don't Forget It

Hello Fellow Creators 👋

I wrote a thread a few days back about the lesson I learned from my mentor.

To my surprise, it went viral.

So, I thought of going deep on the same topic today for my readers.

Let's start with this question?

Who are you, introduce yourself.

My mentor asked me this same question 6 years back and this was my answer.

My name is Gagan Thakur and I am a software engineer.

This sounded absolutely correct to me but he laughed and said nothing.

It made me nervous and curious at the same time, what's funny in my introduction?

Is it my pronunciation or the way I speak?

I waited for him to respond and he said

Never tie your identity to your job

Let’s dive deeper ⚡

Who are you?

You might be a writer, a freelancer, a mechanic, a magician, or a software developer just like me.

But that's not who we are, that's what we do.

Confused? Let me explain

• You are a son/daughter

• You are a human being first

• You can be husband/wife

• You can be a father/mother

• You are a friend.

These are not designations, these are our identities

You may switch careers, and a plumber can become a magician but you cannot change your identity.

Once a son, always a son.

Do you get the point?

If you tie your identity to your job, you feel shattered when you get fired.

A job cannot decide your success or failure.

It is important to have a job but this can never define you as a person.

We spend around 40 years of life in a job but we spend 60-80 years as a son, a father/a mother

Why do we identify with our job?

There are 3 major reasons

Social and Cultural Pressure to Achieve Professional Success

Job gives your credibility.

In India, when you meet someone, the first question they will ask is, what do you do?

If you don't have a job, you feel ashamed of it and your self-esteem drops.

A higher salary and a big designation give your more respect and credibility in society.

The Desire for Financial Stability and Security

Everyone is seeking financial stability and a job is a quickest and easiest way to attain that.

Food, Shelter, and Clothing is the basic necessity and you need money for them.

Job-guaranteed money.

Personal Fulfillment and Sense of Purpose

Finding purpose is not easy but with conscious efforts, one can find his/her purpose.

We are getting lazier day by day and no one wants to spend time and energy figuring out answers to complex problems.

So, we accept whatever we have and make it a purpose.

Job is the simplest hack.

Work hard to get a job and then

• It pays you

• Gives your social credibility

• You can call it your purpose too

This is one of the major reasons why attaching identity to a job seems like an easier choice.

The Negative Impact of Job-Identification

Neglecting other important aspects of life

Once we start defining our identity with job title, the job becomes a priority and everything else starts revolving around it.

You make the important decisions of your life based on your job and it starts hammering your personal life.

You spend less time with friends and family.

I will stop here and let you enjoy the thread 🧵

Cheers!!

P.S. If you enjoyed this piece, subscribe below ↓