Pushkin

Imagine you're at a cocktail party and you're getting to know someone new.

You've just asked the strangers name and where they're from.

What's the next question out of your mouth?

Did you try to learn more about this person?

If you're like most people, you might have thought to ask,

so what do you do?

And you probably didn't mean that question as in,

what do you do for fun or what do you do to relax?

Or what do you do when you want to feel happier?

You probably meant that query to imply,

what do you do for work?

And we asked this question because,

at least implicitly, we think our jobs kind of matter for who we are.

And not just because being a doctor or a lawyer or a teacher or a podcaster

helps us put food on the table.

These days, we often think of our jobs not just as a means to an end,

but as a deep reflection of who we are.

More and more, our work identities wind up taking center stage

as a fundamental part of our identities,

of how we think of ourselves as people.

And lately, especially as I've been navigating my own sense of burnout and overwhelm,

...