Tuesday 23 October 2012

The importance of profession for identity.

I know so many people whom I’ve never asked what they do for a living. Their profession never entered into my perception of them as persons, or into our ‘relationship’ which centered around other, more immediate concerns.

On the other hand here am I, and here are most of my peers, going slightly crazy about what they’re going to do for a living and how it will affect their lives - and that is, in more than just a financial sense. And I think quite justly so. I mean it’s obvious that you wouldn’t spend most of your time doing something that you thought wasn’t congruent with who (you think) you are.

But arguably, a job is not the same job when two different people do it. So you’re always you, whatever job you do, you’re simply you-doing-that-job.

And moreover, people are more than their jobs. (Arguably, some are less. But let’s curb the misanthropy for a while ...)


I don’t know what I’m getting at with these paragraphs ... Possibly preparing mentally for and rationalising doing that one job that will definitely not be me. Possibly just blathering.

BRB.

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