| Are you a professional?Notice how the questions | | | | truth.Children are another reason to keep your |
| differs from, "Do you have a profession?"To enter a | | | | professional identity from |
| profession, you invested an enormous amount of | | | | ballooning out of proportion. For one thing, you kids |
| time, | | | | probably couldn't |
| energy and money. Then you put great effort into | | | | care less about it (though they enjoy the material |
| earning the respect of | | | | perks that come with |
| clients and colleagues. Now you continually sharpen | | | | it). For another, attachment to the "strokes" your |
| and update your | | | | profession gets you can |
| professional skills.Your profession has become a | | | | keep you stuck in work that doesn't work.Learning |
| major part of your identity. Your | | | | to wear your professional identity more lightly is a |
| profession is a key source -- maybe even the main | | | | shift that |
| source -- of meaning | | | | takes time, patience and a clear intention. You might |
| and purpose in your life. You feel good when others | | | | want to set aside a |
| affirm your | | | | few moments to reaquaint yourself with your |
| professional status and skills.Your professional role is | | | | non-professional values, |
| so woven into the fiber of your being that your | | | | goals and passions. Family members and friends can |
| don't merely HAVE a profession. You ARE a | | | | help you add to |
| professional.All well and good.Your professional | | | | your list.Robinson suggests creating a business card |
| identity can bolster your integrity when you're facing | | | | for your non-job identity, |
| difficult clients or temptations to cut corners. You | | | | with a title related to your personality or a hobby, |
| can take pride in the | | | | e.g., "Soulful Gourmet." |
| high standards you set for yourself.At the same | | | | Robinson recommends pulling out the card often "as |
| time, your professional identity is only one part of | | | | a reminder of your |
| you.Overwork can unduly inflate the "professional" | | | | real business: to partake in as much of this planet as |
| part of your ID equation. | | | | you can while you |
| In Work to Live (The Berkley Publishing Group, | | | | can."The reward is a world of fresh possibilities.You |
| 2003), author Joe | | | | are much, much bigger than the professional in |
| Robinson notes that a job can become "the tail that | | | | you.(c) Norma Schmidt, LLCP.S. If you like the |
| wags the dog."When that happens, "you're | | | | non-professional business card idea, you can choose |
| conditioned to feel as good, or as bad, as | | | | from a variety of templates for free cards at |
| your latest performance, your worth always hanging | | | | Schmidt is a parent of two and a former Lutheran |
| in the balance," | | | | minister. Her |
| Robinson writes. "You have to prove yourself all | | | | career includes serving as a pastor, campus minister |
| over again with every | | | | and cancer center |
| task."Much better if YOU call the tune.A more | | | | chaplain. She has also worked with children with |
| resilient identity rests on the full range of who you | | | | disabilities. Norma |
| are: devoted | | | | offers workshops on parenting and on living with |
| spouse, enthusiastic cook, avid reader, attentive | | | | serious illness. Her |
| mother, fearsome | | | | writing has appeared in "Coping with Cancer" |
| karate student, passionate gardener, loyal friend, | | | | magazine. |
| seeker of spiritual | | | | |