Reclaim Your Power- Beyond Job Titles
- gauriraosharma
- Oct 4, 2024
- 2 min read
Updated: Oct 29, 2024
Feel a knot in your stomach when someone asks, "What do you do?" You're not alone.
According to this article in the Wall Street Journal (https://www.wsj.com/lifestyle/careers/stop-asking-people-what-do-you-do-cf5a4902?reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink), this seemingly benign question, "what do you do?" is found to provoke dread amongst people, especially those out of work, But why does it feel so uncomfortable?
We live in a real world, our jobs usually consume most of our waking hours. Our work provides us the means to pay our bills, enjoy vacations and buy the stuff we like. In short, our work is often a huge source of power- income, expertise, job title, hierarchical position, authority, social status, affiliations and so on. While these are significant, there’s a risk in becoming overly reliant on work alone, to feel powerful. We forget that our job is just an aspect of who we are, not our entire self. So losing our job or retiring can feel like an existential crisis.
The good news is that it doesn't have to be this way. The secret lies in our personal power- an intrinsic strength that belongs to us, goes with us and makes us feel powerful even where we don't have the power of our job title, hierarchical position, authority or status.
Moreover, we can’t change the way things are a lot of times, we have to play by the rules of the system we’re in. "What do you do" is a common icebreaker and those who ask us that don't intend to make us feel small. When we expect the world to behave the way we want it to behave, we are giving up our agency- to do our bit of work on the inside to change what's on the outside. Our autonomy lies in doing our inner work and developing our personal power. It lies in asking ourselves:
➡ Where can I take power?
➡ Where can I find my agency?
There will be times when we are criticized, provoked, disappointed, and in the context of this article- being asked "what do you do?" When we're not on top of our game, such situations can easily trigger anger and hurt. Developing personal power is not about winning all the time or making ourselves immune to attacks. It's about being resilient in the face of inevitable setbacks, responding differently to change the outcome of the situation. Personal power enables us to continue having meaningful conversations, foster healthy relationships and build networks- despite not having a job, hierarchical position, title or any other external factor to bolster our confidence.
This doesn’t mean we abandon efforts to reform injustices of a system or become complacent about how people treat us. It means recognizing our insecurities and triggers to be able to tap into our inalienable, innate personal power.
I'm a Leadership and Personal Development Coach. I help people navigate change and develop their personal power through self awareness.
If you're interested in the effective use of power and developing your use of power, reach out to me for a free, no obligations exploratory call:
Email: gauri.raosharma@gmail.com
Comments