Despite my Canandian ancestry I wouldn’t want to live anywhere but the good old USA. I have often wondered, however, if living in the land of opportunity doesn’t cause us an excess level of anxiety. There’s a lot of pressure that comes with freedom. Freedom of choice, freedom of decision making, freedom to become a millionaire and yes, freedom of career direction.
This thought provoking article from MSNBC online poses the question, “Can the pursuit of career happiness cause more unhappiness?” – http://on.msnbc.com/neUgoz.
Well, maybe freedom also allows us too much time to think.
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I think Eric Fromm had a lot to say about this dilemma in “Escape from Freedom”. The problem for modern man and especially Americans is with all of this freedom comes responsibility. Perhaps our generation has contributed to the idea that “someone else” (government?) can cure our existential woes! As a career coach and talent developer, I try to keep my claims modest … and remind folks that their career is one, albeit a central, role in their lives…God and family provide balance.
Margaret – I couldn’t agree more; people who focus too much on career tend to lose their identity. It is about finding balance. Thanks for the comment.
Amen, Duncan. As I’ve told my students many times over the years, sometimes you have a week of “Five Mondays in a Row,” but you still have to get the work done by the end of the week. If every week is like that, you should leave, but to assume you’ll never have difficult days or weeks on the job is to be unrealistic. As you say, work IS work.
Aneil