What do you do? 🙋🏾♂️
You’re at a party. Or a barbecue. Or a housewarming. It doesn’t really matter — some social gathering. And someone asks what do you do?
What are they asking for?
It’s a good question. Perhaps they’re trying to make conversation, or show an interest in you, or quickly size you up — are you a doctor, accountant, or engineer1.
And how do you respond?
People mostly respond with how they earn money to live — their job title, and maybe a brief about the company they work for.
But is this a good answer?
If you’re lucky, your avocation is your vocation — your work is what you love, in the words of the great Steve Jobs2. I’m fortunate to be in one of these positions, but crucially it’s not all of me.
Part of becoming a better thinker is learning how to simultaneously holding multiple truths in your mind3. Sometimes these truths support one another, and sometimes they conflict. But importantly, these truths include your identity.
What you do to earn a living is only part of who you are.
You’re a multi-faceted, multi-hyphenated self. As Walt Whitman wrote, You contain multitudes4, far beyond what you do for work, from your personality, race, social status, and much else. And each of these facets don’t sit in opposition, but extend5 one another to tell a much more fascinating story.
I once asked this question to a stranger and heard the most wonderful response: I’ve been climbing up a lot of walls this week.
It was a delightful reply — what he did for a living might have been interesting to hear, but knowing that he liked bouldering completely changed the energy of the conversation. It was something we could bond over, and a way to make a real friend. And we had a great conversation about climbing and falling off walls thereafter.
So if you’re asked this question, think carefully about your answer.
What do you do?
Have a great week folks 😄
Inspired by KN and JE — thank you for the prompt!
