Who Are You When the Professional In You Meets Baby?

Are you a professional?

Notice how the questions differs from, "Do you have a profession?"

To enter a profession, you invested an enormous amount of time, energy and money. Then you put great effort into earning the respect of clients and colleagues. Now you continually sharpen and update your professional skills.

Your profession has become a major part of your identity. Your profession is a key source -- maybe even the main source -- of meaning and purpose in your life. You feel good when others affirm your professional status and skills.

Your professional role is so woven into the fiber of your being that your don't merely HAVE a profession. You ARE a professional.

All well and good.

Your professional identity can bolster your integrity when you're facing difficult clients or temptations to cut corners. You can take pride in the high standards you set for yourself.

At the same time, your professional identity is only one part of you.

Overwork can unduly inflate the "professional" part of your ID equation. In Work to Live (The Berkley Publishing Group, 2003), author Joe Robinson notes that a job can become "the tail that wags the dog."

When that happens, "you're conditioned to feel as good, or as bad, as your latest performance, your worth always hanging in the balance," Robinson writes. "You have to prove yourself all over again with every task."

Much better if YOU call the tune.

A more resilient identity rests on the full range of who you are: devoted spouse, enthusiastic cook, avid reader, attentive mother, fearsome karate student, passionate gardener, loyal friend, seeker of spiritual truth.

Children are another reason to keep your professional identity from ballooning out of proportion. For one thing, you kids probably couldn't care less about it (though they enjoy the material perks that come with it). For another, attachment to the "strokes" your profession gets you can keep you stuck in work that doesn't work.

Learning to wear your professional identity more lightly is a shift that takes time, patience and a clear intention. You might want to set aside a few moments to reaquaint yourself with your non-professional values, goals and passions. Family members and friends can help you add to your list.

Robinson suggests creating a business card for your non-job identity, with a title related to your personality or a hobby, e.g., "Soulful Gourmet." Robinson recommends pulling out the card often "as a reminder of your real business: to partake in as much of this planet as you can while you can."

The reward is a world of fresh possibilities.

You are much, much bigger than the professional in you.

(c) 2004 Norma Schmidt, Coach, LLC

P.S. If you like the non-professional business card idea, you can choose from a variety of templates for free cards at www.vistaprint.com.

Norma Schmidt, Coach, LLC, specializes in helping working mothers create balance. She offers workshops, teleclasses and individual and group coaching. She also publishes "The Balance Point," a free e-mail newsletter. Visit http://www.NormaSchmidt.com to learn more.

---

Renee?s Mommy is Here

I still remember the scene vividly. I was getting out... Read More

How to Cope With Colic

When my oldest daughter was born, I walked the floor... Read More

Meningitis and Septicaemia

Meningitis is an inflammation of the membranes around the brain... Read More

The Seven Keys to Child Obedience

Learning obedience is an important part of child development. This... Read More

What Parents Should Do For Children To Do Their Best After Divorce?

Why do some children still do best after divorce and... Read More

Useful Jogger Stroller Accessories

There are many useful jogger stroller accessories out on the... Read More

Teaching Problem Solving Skills to Children with ADHD

Even though the "Stop and Think" movement in ADHD treatment... Read More

Andy Griffith Show Family Lessons

Although it might seem pretty corny to a lot of... Read More

Best Investment

Every week I write something about the stock market -... Read More

Aptitude, Achievement, Processing Deficit - What Does It All Mean?

You are sitting with the professionals who know about learning... Read More

Baptisms And Alternative Ways To Hold A Naming Ceremony

Traditionally, babies have been named at a christening/baptism.... Read More

Exposing the Damage: TV and Kids

There are millions of young children in this country who... Read More

Child ADHD - Deciding Where to Draw the Line

The wonderful adaptability of children in dealing with the challenges... Read More

A Little Love, Please?

Article based on a friend's experienceI just wanted to share... Read More

Breastfeeding, Its My Right

My name is Duncan and I'm 2 years old. I... Read More

Top 5 Characteristics of Good Leadership to Instill in Our Home School Children

I am sure that this list can be jogged and... Read More

Use Encouragement Instead of Criticism to Help Children Improve

Criticism is punitiveOur children judge themselves on the opinions we... Read More

Single Parenting: How The Challenge Of Single Parenting Affects Your Decision To Divorce

Single parenting has seemingly become an acceptable norm which is... Read More

Signs of Child Sexual Abuse

Many families do not want to believe their child is... Read More

Refresher Course on Diapering for Dads

It's among the top criticism wives have of their husbands:... Read More

Teaching Children Good Manners

Last week in my newsletter, I mentioned that... Read More

?Mommy, I Can?t Sleep!?: Sleep Disturbance in Children

Oh Please, Don't Say Maybe!!!!Are you often a participant in... Read More

War Declared On Instant Messenger: How to Stop Your Child from Wasting Their Life Away Online

Hey Parents! I hate to tell you, but there is... Read More

How to Assist Troubled Teens

What parents of a teen haven't wondered where their sweet... Read More

The Science of Mother Love

A growing body of scientific evidence shows that the way... Read More

Parenting: The Road I Chose

Tripping over the shoes and toys that seem to clutter... Read More

The Mystery of Child Beliefs, Spirit in Children, Understanding Spirtuality in Children

In the wonderment of childhood, it is easier for a... Read More

Pet Loss Can Be Just As Devastating!

'And all because of a damned cat! It's only a... Read More

How to Set Healthy Limits at Work

Back in college, I wrote for a five-day-a-week, award-winning campus... Read More

The Challenges of Single Parenting

Having worked with parents for the last 35 years and... Read More

Helpful Tips for the Adoptive Grandparent

Few things are more completely enjoyable than becoming a grandparent.... Read More

How to Take Charge of the TV

Many children enjoy TV, and they can learn from it.... Read More

How to Make Kids More Likeable?

Nothing touches the heartstrings of a parent more than the... Read More