Saturday, January 19, 2008

Career Choices

http://www.fastcompany.com/online/66/mylife.html
If an article gives me one new idea to ponder, I think it's a good day. This article "What Should I Do With My Life?" by Po Bronson gives you several things to consider. The stock market gets people thinking in "Boom/Bust" mode wondering about what's coming next rather than focusing on what comes first. In NASA, the backup plans all lead to the same destination. I'd say the same thing is true in people's spiritual lives. It's easier to flow with whatever happens if life if you believe that all things are part of a path to get you to the destination. A big point that I picked up was to not ask people "What do you do?" The question is degrading, reductive and feels mercenary. She suggests that it is a strange North American phenomenon. No doubt we ask the question as a shortcut to getting to know someone. It gives us a starting point to a conversation and a clue of what to ask about next. The big problem is that in the past if you knew a person's occupation, you pretty much knew how they thought about a bunch of stuff - that's why demographics used to work. According to Bronson, "A status system has evolved that values being unique and true even more than being financially successful." It seems to me that that's what I learned at Sunday School - that I was a unique creation and what came first was God and that life lead to an ultimate destination.

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