You are NOT your job

Why your work shouldn’t define who you are

November 15, 2021

Hey there —

When you ask kids what they want to be when they grow up, you usually get a one-word answer.

🚀 “Astronaut”
🤸‍♂️ “Gymnast”
🎬 “YouTuber”

But the reality is almost always a combination of things. And if you ask us, an “Astronaut-gymnast who vlogs,” sounds like a sweet gig.

There’s an unspoken expectation that we have to choose one thing to do with our life and stick with it forever.

But your job title is not your identity.

Who we really are is a byproduct of our values, interests, skills, and passions. It’s a dynamic combination that changes over time, and while our career(s) are important, they can (and should) change. A lot.

💃 Look at Taylor Swift.

She evolved from America’s country sweetheart to one of the biggest pop stars in the world. She didn’t stick to country because she wasn’t defined by one genre of music. Instead, she saw herself as an experimental singer-songwriter.

♟️ Or Alexandra Botez.

She’s a 25-year-old chess whiz and six-figure streamer on Twitch. But she didn’t stick to playing chess, because she’s not just a player. She’s an advocate. She uses Twitch to break the outdated stereotype that women are inferior chess players.

Figure out the “why” behind what drives you and use that as your reference point when you’re making decisions about what to do next.

As educator and graphic designer Chris Do says,

“You are not your work. Work is the residue of your creativity, thinking, point of view and a reflection of what you know at this moment in time. In a day, week, or year, you won’t even recognize the work as yours. Be open with the intent to learn.”

Who you are will change and evolve over time. Embrace that flexibility, and remember your life’s meaning is driven by your purpose — not your work.

Our Culture of Winning is Broken. It Almost Broke Me.

Article | by Zoë Ruhl

At 18-months-old, the majority of us were still figuring out how to walk. Meanwhile, Zoë Ruhl was shooting down ski slopes.

Zoë dedicated her entire childhood to the sport, and at age 16 she snagged the World Cup Race. She felt like she was on top of the world.

And then she quit.

Extreme working conditions paired with the crushing societal pressure of winning at all costs led Zoë to burnout. Concussion? Chronic back pain? She was still expected to ski. Skiing had to be over everything: friends, college (she's a third-year medical student at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine now BTW), and even Zoë’s mental health.

Zoë’s story behind her decision paves the path for a new kind of sports industry, one where athletes prioritize their wellbeing. And while she addresses elite competitors, her story is universal as our winning-at-all costs mentality is everywhere.

On and Off

Newsletter | by Bookbear Express

“I worked for 12-hours straight yesterday.”

We’ve all heard this at one point in our lives. Society encourages us to wear our long hours like a badge of honor, signaling our commitment to the grind. But long hours ≠ getting a lot done.

Ava, the author of the Substack, Bookbear Express, grew exhausted from working overtime and still feeling behind. Then she stumbled on a useful analogy: training the brain to operate like a light switch.

If you’re able to turn ‘on’ and focus on one task instead of attempting ‘constant productivity', you’d get much more done.

Ava writes:

“It turns out that you can get a lot done in four hours, which further fed my theory that you only have to be totally focused for a remarkably short period of time.”

Dive into her newsletter if you’re looking to rid yourself of the fetishization of long working hours.

The Size of Space

Tool | by Neal Agarwal

We dedicated this newsletter to our working identity and the winning-at-all-costs mentality.

But we’d also like to remind you that we are all sitting on a giant rock hurtling through outer space.

In short: work isn’t that important.

And what better way to hone in on this than Neal Agarwal’s “The Size of Space,” an interactive visualization that provides some perspective on our minuscule place in the universe?

Explore the increasingly massive moons, planets, stars, galaxies, and black holes within our observable universe. Prepare to feel wholly insignificant (in a good way).

Written by Alice Lemée