Young people facing their first professional jobs (and during them) worry endlessly if it is right for them. With so many options of how to invest their time, they experience deep uncertainty about if the job they are is the best one.
This isn’t unique to young professionals–we all wonder at points if our unique abilities fit with how we invest our time—but for young people, the question is much more frequent and prominent.
The other day I wrote about getting stuck on The Hero’s Journey. That post covered the lessons you gain by looking at your dissatisfaction with work through the lens of the hero’s journey. That same lens can bring a lot of clarity to the”is this the right job for me” anxiety that so many people experience.
The Hero is Incomplete By Necessity
The hero in any story is never sure he is ready for the challenge he is facing. He faces self-doubt and obstacles that push him to his breaking point.
Think of how weak and whiny Luke is during the first half of A New Hope, or how emo and reckless Harry is during most of the Harry Potter series. They are both incomplete and rightfully unsure if they can succeed in their coming ordeals.
The hero in any story–including your own–is incomplete. The uncertainty about the hero’s fit for the task is what makes the story compelling. And if you embrace it, it is what will make your life and your work compelling.
The hero does not know if he has what it takes to succeed. He must pass through a great ordeal to find out. Frodo must destroy the ring; Harry must kill Voldemort, Luke must defeat Vader.
In the same way, when you are learning to be a professional, you will not know if you have what it takes until you pass through your ordeal.
Before that time you should feel insecure and incomplete because you are. You aren’t ready. You have a lot to learn. The fact that you are facing that feeling is how you know you are in the right place.
You have accepted the call to adventure and so long as you stick with it you will pass through your ordeal and become the confident hero, you wish you could be now.
Leave a Reply