Why Your Job Doesn't Determine Your Self Worth

For a while now we have felt the pressure from society to perform a certain way. When we are in school we are constantly reminded about the future and how our grades determine the kind of path we take in life. Not only does this put immense pressure on young people, but it creates this ideology that we won’t succeed in life if we don’t achieve certain grades. It’s very damaging and it’s something that needs to be stopped. 

Yes, it’s important to work hard and have goals, but if it means sacrificing your mental health in the process then it’s certainly not worth it. When deciding what career path you’re going to take, you need to think about what’s best for you and you only. It’s easy to let other people’s opinions sway you from making the decision that you know is right. But the only opinion that really matters if your own. If there’s a certain career that you’d like to pursue but you lack support from the people around you, then you should go ahead and follow that path anyway. You need to do whatever is right for you, and that means taking the necessary steps to get there. That could mean standing your ground and defending your actions to family members and friends. It could mean distancing yourself from the people who aren’t supportive of your choices.

Here’s a few things to remember:

You won’t always be in the same job.

Choosing a different career can be overwhelming, especially if you’re unsure if it’s something that you want to do long term. But the truth is most people don’t know what job they want to spend the rest of their life doing. For many, they hop from job to job because they want to experience different working environments to determine the right one from them. Some people just love to challenge themselves. Either way, the job you are in right now isn’t guaranteed, and you might decide after a while that you’d like to pursue something else. That’s very normal. And once you realise that your decisions aren’t final, it opens up all kinds of possibilities. 

You don’t need to use your qualifications

Something that happens very often is job seekers feeling disappointed in themselves for not following the path that they initially intended to take. You might study a subject for years, only to decide after finishing the course you feel you are best suited for something else. Again, this is common. It can be frustrating if you’ve spent a lot of money in the process, but try not to see it as a total waste. If you consider it, you probably gained a lot from the experience; learning several things that you can carry with you forever. Not everything is a waste. But everything does teach us something.

Your existence is valid whether you work or not

A very important message to raise here is that you don’t need to have a job to be a member of society. There are many reasons why you might not work. It could be due to physical or mental illness or it could be for reasons that you don’t feel comfortable sharing, and that’s okay too. No one should feel like their existence revolves around finding a job. As long as you are trying your best, that’s all you can ever expect of yourself.

Written by,

Coralle Skye