You are more than your job

According to a study by Gettysburg College (2019), the average person will spend about 90,000 hours at work over the course of their lifetime. With so much of our lives given to our jobs, it’s no wonder it becomes so easy to blur the line between what we do and who we are.

Think about it, when someone asks, "What do you do?" how often is your first answer your job title or something tied to your work?

As we have more conversations about navigating our work lives, it’s important to carry this truth with us: your job is not your identity. It is not the core of who you are, and it is certainly not where your worth begins or ends.

The truth is, everything changes — and that includes your career. No role is fail-safe. Funding dries up, companies restructure, priorities shift. If your whole sense of self is built on your work, what happens when that foundation is taken away?

This isn’t to say you shouldn’t feel proud of your professional accomplishments; you absolutely should! You’ve worked hard, and your success is worth celebrating. But even in the brightest seasons of achievement, hold tight to this deeper truth: you are more than your job or any milestone.

Everything can change, even your career. And when it does, who you are will still remain.

Approach your work with that knowing. Holding a healthy distance between who you are and what you do can soften the blows when the tide is low, and keep your perspective steady when the tide is high. If a mistake happens, or a role comes to an end, it doesn’t mean you are a failure. It simply means life has shifted — as it always does.

This is why it’s so important to pour into your life outside of work or the pursuit of work. And while that can feel nearly impossible sometimes, especially when financial pressures are real, even small moments of connection, joy, creativity, and rest can protect your sense of self in ways no job ever could.

You are valuable simply because you are here. Never forget that.