One Question Which Can Help You Find a Fulfilling Career
What is the question you get asked the most often when you meet someone new? Besides a friendly “how are you?”, the question “what do you do?” is probably the most commonly asked. Who knew that this little question can have so many implications on our happiness?
J.T. O’Donnell spent 15 years researching what separates someone who is happy with their job from someone who is not, and what she found is quite interesting. She states, “Work defines us as people, i.e., when we aren't happy at work, other areas of our life suffer. Yet more than 70 percent of workers say they don't feel satisfied with their career choices, and I believe we have serious epidemic on our hands.”
Why aren’t people happy with their career choices? It is because we as a society suffer from ‘praise addiction’. This is a desire to seek out incentives, rewards and praise from our peers.
The problem is that it may lead us to choose careers that are not in our best interests, but because of the validation associated with them. So that when people ask us the one question: “what do you do?”, we can impress them.
Instead, the goal should be on focusing on self-reflection and not judging ourselves or others in relation to their career. As O’Donnell explains, “The good news is, if you can free yourself of this bad habit, you can finally focus on finding your intrinsic motivation for work, the work that makes you feel engaged and happy.” And if you’re happy at work, you can more easily transfer this happiness to all aspects of your life.
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