You Matter More than Your Job.

Most Americans, when asked about themselves in the course of meeting new people, will describe themselves by what they do for a living. In other parts of the world a self-description includes more basic, general, and personal information. When you describe yourself in terms of your job, you open yourself up to two negative consequences. First, you present a very limited image of yourself. There is much more to you than the job you happen to be performing. The second problem is that when you have a self-image that is based on your job, you are setting yourself up to be traumatized if you lose that job. There are many things that you could be doing for a living. It may have been a complete accident that led you to the position you now occupy. Spend some time thinking about what really matters to you and what you would really like to do or achieve in life. Start talking to people about those important things instead of talking about your job all the time, and you might find doors opening toward actually doing some of those other things.