(no subject)
Dec. 11th, 2006 01:06 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mrsbrownI was reading this article and I noticed the following paragraph:
The Balancing Work and Family report demonstrates how our identities and sense of self are grounded in the job we do, not who we are. When you are asked what you do, you don't answer that you are a mother or a husband. You say you are a lawyer, a builder; you define yourself by your work.
It resonates with me in a way that I suspect was not intended by the author.
I don't just define myself by my work, I identify as an engineer and a mother, and, lately, I've started identifying as Baroness Stormhold. Unfortunately, when people ask about who I am, or what I do, I'm not supposed to tell them about the Baroness part of me. I'm not very good at that. Worse, I'm a lot like Basil Fawlty when the Germans visit, it spews out of me in inappropriate ways.
How can I acknowledge my other self as I go about my daily life, without coming across as a crazy person and without undermining it's importance to me?
I'm guessing this isn't a problem unique to me. How do people who are proud of their peerages, or winning crown manage this stuff?
BTW I also like this article for pointing out that a report that is supposed to be about work-life balance mainly addresses how to get people working more. The author also suggests that government isn't forward thinking enough about ways to influence society, instead of just work or childcare practices.
The Balancing Work and Family report demonstrates how our identities and sense of self are grounded in the job we do, not who we are. When you are asked what you do, you don't answer that you are a mother or a husband. You say you are a lawyer, a builder; you define yourself by your work.
It resonates with me in a way that I suspect was not intended by the author.
I don't just define myself by my work, I identify as an engineer and a mother, and, lately, I've started identifying as Baroness Stormhold. Unfortunately, when people ask about who I am, or what I do, I'm not supposed to tell them about the Baroness part of me. I'm not very good at that. Worse, I'm a lot like Basil Fawlty when the Germans visit, it spews out of me in inappropriate ways.
How can I acknowledge my other self as I go about my daily life, without coming across as a crazy person and without undermining it's importance to me?
I'm guessing this isn't a problem unique to me. How do people who are proud of their peerages, or winning crown manage this stuff?
BTW I also like this article for pointing out that a report that is supposed to be about work-life balance mainly addresses how to get people working more. The author also suggests that government isn't forward thinking enough about ways to influence society, instead of just work or childcare practices.
