Everybody has an opinion about what you should do with your life. Parents tell you to pick the most professional sounding job title. They think you will be happy that way. They don’t know that sometimes the most professional sounding job title carries with it the shittiest job description.
But you stick with it anyway because that’s what you should do, right?
I don’t think parents mean any harm. Their goal is to protect you, but I think we should think twice before believing in truths that are drawn from a world view so different from our own.
Friends make you feel like…
you should impress them. Every school reunion is like high school or college all over again. It’s as though everyone is taking out their report card of life and comparing to see who got an A and who failed.
“I’m a banker at a big bank now,” one might say another, “What are you?”
“I’m a writer,” another might say.
Who’s got a better job?
It usually the one with a more popular company and a more important-sounding job title.
I think these comparisons don’t make sense. It’s like when a monkey meets an elephant and the monkey asks, “What are you?” and the elephant answers, “An elephant”, and the monkey is unimpressed.
So what SHOULD you do with your life?
I’m 26. I don’t have the best answer yet. But if you’re willing to read ‘advice’ from a 26 year old about what you should do with your life, then read this:
You should never do anything just to impress people. Sure, you impress them. Then what? What if that thing you do is killing you inside?
Believe in this one truth: all jobs are equal. Prestige is made up for people who feel insecure about themselves. Pick the job or business which makes most sense to you – the one you think you were meant to do.
The happiest people I know don’t have important sounding job titles. Instead, they have interesting sounding job titles. “Storyteller”, “MADman”, “Sales Warrior” – they don’t necessarily sound important, but they’re interesting. They make me want to know more about what they do. They make me want to connect.
Conclusion
People can make you feel like they know what you should be doing with your life, but it’s really you who can decide what you should do. You know yourself best. Though tools can show you your strengths, it’s up to you to believe in yourself and take action on these strengths.
You make the biggest contribution to this world by being yourself and doing only what you can uniquely do.