Don’t Ask Me What I Do For A Living.

It is without a doubt my least favorite question. But I ask other people just as much as they ask me. It’s an ice breaker, a way to get to know  someone in one simple question.

But here’s why I dislike it so much.

It ultimately tells us very little about the other person.

What someone does from 9-5 is only a small part of who they are.

If all someone ever asked me was what I do for a living, they would get an answer disconnected from who I am. But if someone asked me what I love or what I am passionate about, they would know that I am a writer, a creator, passionate about vulnerability and loving the broken.

In fact most of my favorite people have boring jobs that they don’t love and that have nothing to do with what they are passionate about. That’s just how they pay the bills. What happens when they are not at work is what makes them so fascinating.

When I am out and about, I often wonder about the the people that I meet. The cash register at the grocery store, the bus driver I pass every morning, the barista making my coffee. What do the rest of their lives look like? Are they a single parent raising three young ones on their own? A cancer survivor? A future doctor putting themselves through medical school?

What they currently do for a living would tell me so little about them.

From now on, when I meet someone, I am going to ask them what they’re passionate about. Because there is so much more to people than what they do for a living.