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This is so important, but unfortunately almost everyone will need a crisis to understand. We are raised to be “something”, “make a living”. When we introduce ou

This is so important, but unfortunately almost everyone will need a crisis to understand. We are raised to be “something”, “make a living”. When we introduce ourselves, the profession is right there with the name. Of course, we dedicate the majority of our awake time to work, but work is *usually not* what one is proud of at the very end. To many people, work represents the majority of their identity. After dealing with so many unemployed/retired people you can really grasp the extent of their distress caused by this. My father retired years ago, but kept working as freelancer. He says he learned from his father that if/when he stops working, he’ll die sooner. This is so sad.

pm90 6y ago
As human beings we do need some kind of activity that provides fulfillment. Most people spend a large part of their lives at the workspace and the only skills they excel at, which are fulfilling are work related. So it’s not too surprising that they would want more of that.
- blacktriangle 6y ago
  Even then though, you can separate the work from the workplace. For example I absolutely identify as a programmer. Screw all this "never call yourself a programer, you're a business problem solver" advice, I LOVE programming. But that doesn't mean that the project I am currently working on or the company I work for defines me. Any given employment can be taken away from me at a moments notice for factors far outside of my control, but nobody can take away the skills and knowledge I accumulate.