It’s easy for work to take up more space in your life than it should.
At first, you just want to do well. But over time, how you perform starts to feel like a reflection of who you are. When things go well, you feel like you’re on top of the world. When they don’t, it messes with your confidence.
I’ve been there. Early in my career, I’d bring bad workdays home with me, replay conversations in my head, and let one small mistake ruin my night. My mood started to depend on how work was going that week.
Now things are different. Lately, I’ve been told I’m killing it at work, and sure, it feels good. I’d always rather be doing well than not. But I try not to read too much into it. The highs and lows come and go, so I don’t take either too seriously.
That’s something people don’t talk about. It’s not just the bad moments that affect you. The good ones can throw you off too, if you start depending on them too much.
You can care about your job without making it your identity. You can be proud of your work without letting it decide how you feel about yourself.
Because at the end of the day, you’re not your job. You’re a person who happens to have one.
💌 Like this essay? I write stuff like this every week in the GradSimple newsletter. Subscribe here →.
