It has been quite a long time since I started re-evaluating the choices I have made regarding my profession.
I can't remember what initiated it, I think it was when I started feeling less and less satisfied with my job a few years ago. Every morning I would drag myself out of home to work dreading the day, as if I was going to a forced labor camp!
It was somewhere around that time when I first looked for personality and aptitude tests; I began reading books and articles about how one should choose a profession. I attended workshops and sought career counselling.
Those tests and books and workshops were useful, generally speaking. I mean they were good at labeling groups of people and occupations; But, honestly nothing definite came out of it for me, because I usually landed in the boundary of two or more categories. I never ended up in an extreme end of any definition. Well if I did, there would not be any need for all those speculations from the start!
In the hope of finding a clue, I dug my childhood memories, then I talked to my parents and brother, then I did some soul searching, then I sat down with my husband and made him describe me, my strengths and weaknesses. I read some more books, took some more tests, then..., you get the picture!
Alas, after all that hard work there was no revelation awaiting me.
But this extensive research was not completely unfruitful either. What I am about to outline here is what I learned from this journey: The main ingredients for a balanced life and a successful career, "Talent, Passion, and Harmony". I will describe each one in more detail.
Talent, is the natural ability or quality of a person, something that s/he can do with no effort. Something we call it a gift. To have a successful career, one has to have a talent in that area. As an example, one can't be a renowned mathematician without being talented in math. This is quite straightforward and doesn't need more explanation.
Passion, is a burning desire one feels for something, in our case a field of work. The strong tendency for working in that area is evident in every aspect of the person's life. There is no boundary between work and home, job and hobby. To that person they are all the same. Time is meaningless when he is working, because to him working is playing. Now if talent and passion come hand in hand, it will be a match made in heaven! This is the distinguishing factor between one who is good at something and one who is exceptional.
Now the third ingredient, Harmony, comes to play. Harmony is the congruence between the work and other aspects of a person's life. What I mean is that the work, its environment and requirements should be compatible with other wants and needs and obligations present in life of a person. This is really important for ultimate happiness of that individual.
For example, consider a female attorney who is involved in a big lawsuit in the company that she works for. She has to fly all the way across the country to attend courts and present cases. She likes her work and is very good at what she does. At home though, she has two little children who she loves so dearly. Every time she has to fly away on business, she gets torn into pieces. Every time she questions her choice of profession and evaluates her options... Do you see what I mean? The ultimate happiness of this person, who is very talented in her field and have a strong passion for it, is dependant on this third ingredient. Her work and life are not in harmony, and no matter how much talented or passionate she is about her work, she won't feel content.
I remember when I was younger and still in school, if someone would suggest that I should pursue a teaching career, I would get really offended! My feminist side would kick in instantly and I would criticize them for stereotyping women in particular professions. Now that I am a mother, I understand what they were trying to say! They were talking about the missing harmony between personal and professional lives of women in some other fields.
This is as much true for men; you just need to look around to find some examples.
So my final point is that regardless of gender, if you want to choose a profession for yourself or advise younger ones in doing so, keep the bigger picture in mind. Pay great attention to talent and passion, but at the same time look a bit further into the future and visualize the person's work and life, and the harmony between the two.
