From the Career Opportunities Archives…
Among all the side effects of losing your job, the feeling of losing your way is probably the worst. Many of us have allowed our work to become the sole defining aspect of our lives. In the worst cases, we lose our individuality. We become a cog in the machine instead of a unique and human individual. Even if you haven’t lost your job recently, you can probably imagine the immense distress such a situation might cause. Still, many of us are in direct danger of losing our way, but there are methods to define yourself as “containing multitudes” and avoid some of the dangers. This is as equally important when your are in a stable job as when you find yourself on the receiving end of a layoff notice.
Who are you?No matter how much time you might spend at work, there are still parts of you — parts of your life — that exist outside your office. If you are a severe workaholic, these might be difficult to locate, but I can assure you they are there. Like me, you may be a husband, father, son, nephew, sports player, musician, etc. How are these roles different from your work persona? How are they similar? How can you start to pay more attention to these other roles? How can you use them to define yourself beyond xxx worker in yyy department at zzz company for 27 years?
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Read this entire column – Losing Your Way
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