You are your own p r o f e s s i o n.

When you get to know new people, they ask you “What are you doing? Do you study, what do you study? Do you work?”. I realized that these conversations are always about our professions. Why are we not asking about hobbies anymore? Is our profession our calling, too? I admit, I am asking the same questions, but why are we asking these questions?

Earlier, our hobbies, our friends, our freetime characterized us. Is it now our job or our course of study, that reflects who we really are?

“I quit my economy studies, because I don’t see myself in it, that’s just not who I am. I want to do something creative, that really materializes me.”

One of my friends told me that yesterday and I nodded. In this very moment I could understand that this was an very important issue for him and now I am asking myself, is this really important?

The generation of our parents had their job and their life. There was a clear division. They came home after work and cared for their private lives. I have the impression, that nowadays this happened to merge more and more. These days a profession is not just a profession, our profession claims for being our calling. Does this count for me aswell? I am asking myself this question and I do not know the answer. I am studying Englisch and History to become a teacher. Is being a teacher my calling? Is this the quality that characterizes me? For me, I think it is not! But I realize, that it is for others. When I get to know people, I have the impression, that teaching is not the profession people find most interesting. They always say “Wow, History is awesome, I have always been interested”. I often just agree, but sometimes I am honest and respond that I have never been interested in History much, but now I find it interesting and I am excited to teach it. Do I say this to not let History be my calling, but teaching even though many people do not find this interesting? Why is it all about what we are doing? Does this really matter to us?

We have all been raised with the feeling of being something special, of doing something special and the feeling of individuality. No generation before had a stronger desire of materializing as ours.

Our profession or our course of study are now standing strongly for the expression of our personality, our dreams and goals in life. Job and life is not divided anymore. Our generation wants to fulfill their dreams, so that the job or our studies are not experienced as a profession but as a passion. It seems that nowadays noone distinguishes between work and private life, not only because job and course of study characterizes oneself, but also the boundaries have been dissolved, because of the constant accessibility due to the use of smartphones. The focal point of life has shifted to the focus of professional success.

One’s own self is the big project of each of us. The aim is individuality, we all want to be individually perfect in a way that we constantly work on our self-optimization. But than: Noone is perfect! So can we get lucky and content in this continuing situation of optimizing ourselves? Can an universal self-realization until perfection be reached at all?

The world is spinning faster and faster and we are trying to be better and better. Maybe we just need to take a deep breath, lean back and look at ourselves from the outside. We will probably realize that we can all be very content. This may help to slow down our striving for perfection and to become more content with ourselves. Are you content?