Have you ever wondered what your sense of purpose in life (ikigai) is? Your career is what you spend the majority of your life engaged with and is what fulfils your day. There are many reasons one may choose to pursue a career and it is very important to understand that.
Either it is an activity that ‘energises’ you, is based on the hard skills that you possess – the knowledge that you have or is based on the soft skills and abilities that you have.
Hard skills refer to specific abilities that a person possesses, capabilities a person can demonstrate. Some of these may include SEO, marketing, social media, editing, writing, analytical skills, content management, copywriting or management.
On the other hand, soft skills refer to people’s skills. These include good communication and interpersonal skills, work ethic, problem-solving, leadership, time management, etc. These characteristics can be carried over to any position.
Another very important factor to take into account is whether you are working for the money or for making a difference in someone’s life. This is a hard assessment of why you work in the first place.
Your career is an activity that will challenge you daily and give you goals to work towards that, in turn, keep you motivated. Although having a career is very important it is not however the most important thing in one’s life. While your career is a technical fact in one’s life, your well-being is the most important aspect of your life.
For instance, you may be a full-time SEO content writer, an author, a stockbroker, a salesperson, a vet, etc. You may also be a freelance writer, vet, etc.
One thing that has to be kept in mind is that your career – whatever it may be is not just a job or refers to just an activity you are engaged in working in; it is your progress in life, your growth and also your development as a person. There is more to your identity than just your job; it also includes your interests, hobbies and passions.
Whatever your reason may be, we all need to feel energised, and productive and utilise our time. Even if we are engaged in voluntary (NGO) work, there is a sense of accomplishment at the end of the day.
Are you merely working so that you can learn new things, get more skills, make new friends or build a community of like-minded people? Teamwork, collaboration and open communication are very important components of a company’s culture and a part of your professional life. Fostering diversity of thought and creativity.
We all want to be part of a momentum, a momentum of change, energy and propagation of thought. Are you part of a digital revolution/era or financial revolution or word evolution? Progress is important in life and a career is an absolute necessity or impetus to ensure this happens. The only thing standing between you and outrageous success is continuous progress. Dan Waldschmidt
"I've come to believe that each of us has a personal calling that's as unique as a fingerprint and that the best way to succeed is to discover what you love and then find a way to offer it to others in the form of service, working hard and also allowing the energy of the universe to lead you." —Oprah Winfrey
This is an ideal world situation. In the sense that it would be ideal this way, but, the reality, more often than not, is quite different.
ReplyDeleteIn today’s world, a significant percentage of the working population are doing what they are doing neither for a purpose in life nor necessarily for the money (the money though plays a significant role in this), but just for survival (this is different than working for the money). What people are doing is also not (always) based on choice - it’s more complicated than that - for a significant percentage of that working population, a choice was never there. It’s is like being in a situation, and then trying to make the best out of it (for survival). For them, ikigai - finding the purpose, finding the balance, and everything it prophesies - is too utopian amidst the race of life.
See, conceptually, no philosophical idea can be in isolation of the socio-political backdrop, and (I feel) ikigai, as a concept (in relation to work) is more suited in (a) slow economies, (b) thinly populated regions, and (c) developed nations. In a large part of the world, mostly the developing nations (and also some highly populated developed nations), the choice itself is a privilege!
So true!
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