Everyone wants to know where they fit in life.  With work consuming 2/3 of our waking life, the million dollar question is “What job out there will give me the greatest satisfaction and provide the best fit?”

Not too long ago, there was no science of psychology.  There was no consistent, accepted way to describe the various kinds of people.  There was no validated way to classify and measure psychological illnesses.  Only in the past eighty years has there been tangible progress in this arena, and mostly in the treatment of mental illness.  We have consistently tested, annotated, characterized and treated mental illnesses with increasing success.  However, if your waiting for some assessment to tell you where to concentrate your life’s work, you’ll be waiting a long time… 

What I’ve just said may surprise some people, especially since we are in the business of helping companies and job seekers increase the odds of finding a good job match.  But in doing what we do, we’ve found people to have several misconceptions that I have had to address over the last few years.  Last month while reading Fast Company, I ran across an article that practically read my mind.  Po Bronson, author of “What Should I do With My Life” had been bombarded with similar misconceptions, and addressed them in this follow-up article.  This guy nailed the misconceptions so well, that I had to pass some of my favorites on to you.  I’ve pieced them together from two of his articles and paraphrased his words below:

Myth #1: All It Takes is Passion

Pervasive in our society the last six years is what I call, “The Modern Dream Machine Industry.”  Media companies have made a killing selling content to consumers (#1 example: The Secret) that uses the term “passion” loosely and vaguely, and makes false claims that a dream life is right around the corner if you just dust off your fantasies and pursue them.  This is what I condemn as “selling transformation irresponsibly.”

I hear it all the time: “I’d love to quit my job to follow my purpose, but I’ve got responsibilities!”  This artificial distinction is misleading. Your responsibilities are not keeping you from your purpose, they are part of your purpose, often the very most important part. Envisioning your responsibilities as being outside the circle of “purpose” will lead you to make bad decisions about your life.

The above is just a taste of the misconceptions Mr. Bronson discusses in his articles.  Tomorrow I will share more of these career choice myths with you…