Are you a professional?
Notice how the questions differs from, "Do you have a profession?"
To enter a profession, you invested an enormous amount of time, energy and money. Then you put great effort into earning the respect of clients and colleagues. Now you continually sharpen and update your professional skills.
Your profession has become a major part of your identity. Your profession is a key source -- maybe even the main source -- of meaning and purpose in your life. You feel good when others affirm your professional status and skills.
Your professional role is so woven into the fiber of your being that your don't merely HAVE a profession. You ARE a professional.
All well and good.
Your professional identity can bolster your integrity when you're facing difficult clients or temptations to cut corners. You can take pride in the high standards you set for yourself.
At the same time, your professional identity is only one part of you.
Overwork can unduly inflate the "professional" part of your ID equation. In Work to Live (The Berkley Publishing Group, 2003), author Joe Robinson notes that a job can become "the tail that wags the dog."
When that happens, "you're conditioned to feel as good, or as bad, as your latest performance, your worth always hanging in the balance," Robinson writes. "You have to prove yourself all over again with every task."
Much better if YOU call the tune.
A more resilient identity rests on the full range of who you are: devoted spouse, enthusiastic cook, avid reader, attentive mother, fearsome karate student, passionate gardener, loyal friend, seeker of spiritual truth.
Children are another reason to keep your professional identity from ballooning out of proportion. For one thing, you kids probably couldn't care less about it (though they enjoy the material perks that come with it). For another, attachment to the "strokes" your profession gets you can keep you stuck in work that doesn't work.
Learning to wear your professional identity more lightly is a shift that takes time, patience and a clear intention. You might want to set aside a few moments to reaquaint yourself with your non-professional values, goals and passions. Family members and friends can help you add to your list.
Robinson suggests creating a business card for your non-job identity, with a title related to your personality or a hobby, e.g., "Soulful Gourmet." Robinson recommends pulling out the card often "as a reminder of your real business: to partake in as much of this planet as you can while you can."
The reward is a world of fresh possibilities.
You are much, much bigger than the professional in you.
(c) 2004 Norma Schmidt, Coach, LLC
P.S. If you like the non-professional business card idea, you can choose from a variety of templates for free cards at www.vistaprint.com.
Norma Schmidt, Coach, LLC, specializes in helping working mothers create balance. She offers workshops, teleclasses and individual and group coaching. She also publishes "The Balance Point," a free e-mail newsletter. Visit http://www.normaschmidt.com to learn more.
Wood Dale Chicago prom limo .. Lockport Chicago limo O’HareWhat a dreamer I am when thinking about parenthood. Most... Read More
Keith is now in the fourth grade and he dislikes... Read More
Did you know that the number of twin births have... Read More
There may really be a real monster under your kid???s... Read More
People always ask my wife and I: "How did you... Read More
Cardiovascular endurance is one of the five health-related components of... Read More
"Before every action, ask yourself: Will this bring more monkeys... Read More
Public education in the United States has never been equal... Read More
Late vs. Too LateEvery now and then, I'll hear a... Read More
Many parental units are not "techies" and openly admit they... Read More
We've got spirit, yes we do! We've got spirit how... Read More
In the movie, Finding Nemo, Nemo's father, Marlyn asks the... Read More
What one word best sums up summer fun? Water. I... Read More
Here in Kansas, where we live, the leaves are turning... Read More
Vacations and trips are great family events, but how do... Read More
Is there anything wrong with lying, cheating, stealing, shop-lifting, taking... Read More
Start some gardening traditions with your kids. Give them their... Read More
Q: Our son has been in honors classes all through... Read More
Jason Meridith's two-year old son whines when he wants more... Read More
MYTH: All teens have to rebel, and the teen years... Read More
You've just received a call from your child's teacher. As... Read More
Some public schools try to turn children against their parents... Read More
I wanted to share with you one of the most... Read More
Blink. That's all we did, blink, and summer is ending... Read More
It was at that time when our marriage was falling... Read More
Antigo wedding limo ..Loving your step-child can be both simple and hard. It... Read More
Recess has begun disappearing in states all around the country.... Read More
The 'phone conversation had nothing at all to do with... Read More
There are several treatment options available to help improve the... Read More
A parent writes in, ``We are having a hard time... Read More
Bath time can be fun or it can be a... Read More
Many parents struggle to know which foods are healthy for... Read More
In a single dose of children's television, I was bombarded... Read More
I remember when my daughter was born, later my son.... Read More
It was blisteringly hot last Saturday. As I took that... Read More
Certainly we all want our children to excel. But it... Read More
From criticizing a spouse, to claming up about one's own... Read More
Unfortunately each year many young children drown in swimming pools,... Read More
In today's mental health system there is a pattern of... Read More
Elana, born in Russia, was told "We really don't know... Read More
Have you ever sat and watch a child struggle with... Read More
If there are any parents reading this who are thinking... Read More
One of the few decisions you'll make during pregnancy that... Read More
As the new school year begins, parents play a pivotal... Read More
There are many reasons for treating your twins as individuals... Read More
As parents, we want our children and teens to grow... Read More
Are you a professional?Notice how the questions differs from, "Do... Read More
The back-to-school shopping is done. Brand new pencils, colored markers,... Read More
The great thing about children is they absorb knowledge like... Read More
To protect children's self-esteem or deflect complaints by parents, many... Read More
Parenting |