GNT #41: You are more than your job. Don't let work define you.

read time: 4 minutes
 

Your job title? It's just a fraction of who you are.

In the U.S. hustle culture, many of us are guilty of letting work dominate our identities.

We chase after professional passion, often at the risk of losing ourselves.

I realized this for myself during COVID. When the world forced me to slow down, I realized I was killing myself to climb the corporate ladder.

But it wasn't actually what I wanted.

There's a balance to be struck—between doing meaningful work and ensuring it doesn't overshadow your existence.

Here are 5 ways to prevent your work from defining you.

Let's dig in.

1. Embrace Regular Detoxes from Work

"Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under trees on a summer's day, listening to the murmur of the water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of time." - From "Do Nothing" by Celeste Headlee

• Schedule unplug periods: Designate times when you're entirely disconnected from work-related communications. This doesn't have to be a sabbatical. This could look like a truly unplugged long weekend or evenings not connected to your phone email.
• Engage in restful activities: Whether it's a weekend hobby, hammock reading, meditation, or simply daydreaming, rest is a necessity we tend to forget. Are you getting physical rest, mental rest, and emotional rest?
  
  

2. Reassess Your Work-Life Framework

"What we know matters, but who we are matters more." - From "Designing Your Life" by Bill Burnett and Dave Evans

• Redefine success: Success isn't just your job title or paycheck. Consider success as living a life aligned with your values. This is something I'm continuously managing, as changing one's mindset isn't easy. After defining values can you align goals around them, keep them visible, and share them with supportive people in your life?
• Conduct a life audit: Sometimes it's hard to identify what is work and what's not when our work lives are so ingrained. List your activities for a week and categorize them into energy-boosting or energy-draining. It helps in understanding if your work is overshadowing other joy-bringing aspects of life.
  
  

3. Discover and Pursue Your Vocation

"If you can do what you do best and be happy, you're further along in life than most people." - From "The Art of Work" by Jeff Goins

In the race to "have it all," it's easy to confuse having a career with fulfilling your vocation. Unlike a job, a vocation is a calling—work that doesn't feel like work. It’s a pursuit that deeply resonates with your personal convictions, passions, and values. It's not just about financial gain or status but about finding purpose and meaning.

• Reflect on What Brings Joy: What you would do even if you weren't getting paid. What activities make you lose track of time? Pay attention to the things others often come to you for.
• Be open to a nonlinear path: Your vocation might not align with a conventional career - and that's okay. Your vocation is what fulfills you, not necessarily what you do to earn a paycheck. Join workshops, attend talks, or start side projects outside your job scope. Sometimes, your calling finds you in unexpected places.
  
  

4. Advocate for a Healthy Work Environment 

"Long hours, an excessive workload, a lack of control over work demands, the absence of a supportive community and the impossibility of work-life balance—these are the markers of the modern workplace and they're killing us." - From "Dying for a Paycheck" by Jeffrey Pfeffer

• Recognize unhealthy work practices: Are you consistently working long hours, skipping vacations, or never getting up from your desk? It's time to advocate for your well-being, whether you're an employee or running your own business.
• Encourage and practice self-care: Your physical and mental health focus are fundamental to your ability to navigate in the world (also a healthy employee is more productive, more creative, and more collaborative).
  
  

5. Define Your Identity Beyond Work

Your worth is more than your work. 

Our occupations, no matter how fulfilling, are just one slice of the pie that is our life.

Who are you? 

• Create 'non-work' goals: Listen to what you are naturally drawn towards - activities that spark joy and resonate with your core. Whether it's mastering a family recipe, joining a local community garden and growing specific fruits you're interested in, or delving into x number of historical novels this winter, these activities/goals support your individuality. 

• But also, just 'do': Engage in activities simply for the joy they bring. Paint without the aim of becoming an artist, read without the pressure of completing a book, spend time in nature without the need to call it hiking or camping. These are the moments that feed your soul, not a resume. For me, I love geology, identifying tree species, astronomy, espace/adventure box games, working on projects with my husband, writing, spending time in my imperfectly weeded vegetable garden, and reading children's book series with my kids. What does this look like for you?

TL;DR - You Are More

1. Unplug Often: Schedule downtime. No work emails, no calls. Just you recharging in whatever way feels right.
2. Redefine Success: It's not all about money or rank. Live by your values, and notice what truly energizes you.
3. Follow Your Heart: Your real calling might not be your 9-5 job. That's okay. Embrace what you love, even if it doesn't pay.
4. Demand Well-being: If work's burning you out, speak up. Health first, job second.
5. Live Outside Work: Set personal goals, or don't. Enjoy activities for fun. Celebrate the 'you' off the clock.

You are a whole, complex, and beautiful universe beyond your work.

Keep discovering and enjoying you. 

See you next week my dear friend.

Whenever you're ready, there are 3 ways I can help you:


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Other things I'm diggin' this week:

What I'm drinking:

I've embarked on a sober-curious journey for the better part of this past year. Replacing my drink of choice, hard seltzer, with sparkling water and different types of adaptogens. I love this one, Recess. It gives me an easy habit replacement and the adaptogens help me calm at the end of the day.

What's on my shirt:

I was inspired to don bright color and this statement tee for the RSP Fall Experience 2023 where I was speaking on a panel. Let this be your mantra. Grab it here.

Quote I'm pondering: 

"Life is very hard. It will subject us to pains and yearnings that no amount of philosophy can take away…but that’s OK. It’s OK to break under this pressure and pain–even the best of us do. So long as we figure out.. how to carry on. How to carry the memory of those we love forward. How to keep going." -- Daily Stoic