A Loaded Question
High school students and young adults are always being asked, “So what are you going to do next?”
- What kind of jobs are you looking for?
- What are you doing after graduation?
- What are you doing in the summer?
- What are you going to major in?
- What are you going to minor in?
Students I have worked with typically avoid this question at all costs. And I understand why. First, they get this same question over and over again from family, friends, and annoying people like me. In addition, I’ve come to realize this is a LOADED question. Why? Because the answer to this question encompasses not only where a person wants to attend school or what their next job title will be, but bigger questions of identity and purpose.
When people think the type of job they want, they have to think through a few practical questions. Yet, as I’ll explain, these simple questions can often lead to bigger questions. One of the first questions is what are you good at? What are your strengths and talents? What do you bring to the table? We all need to develop our strengths, but it is also clear that each person is wired differently, with innate strengths and natural capabilities. It’s part of who you are. Now all of a sudden we are thinking through questions of identity (who am I?). And if we go a step further and think through WHY we are wired with a unique set of gifts, we may get to questions of purpose (why am I here?).
“What are you doing next?” Even though this is, in fact, a loaded question that could lead to fruitful conversations, we typically don’t even bring up the ideas of identity and purpose in college and career planning conversations. They are sitting there just below the surface, but we haven’t been given the tools to get to that level.
The Great Divide
There is a great divide between the idea of purpose and the idea of work. People of faith often relegate questions of purpose to church and religious activities but struggle to see how their beliefs relate to their careers or other pieces of their lives. If we are not intentional, we all compartmentalize. We go to work and do work things. We go to church and do church things. We go home and do family things.
So how do we bridge this divide? How do we think through our college and career plans, while doing so in a way that connects with our purpose and our faith? For me, the only way these questions and concepts connect in a coherent and compelling way is in the framework of a story.
Your Subplot
In a story framework, a subplot is a secondary story that supports the overarching plotline. I like to think we are all being invited to write great subplots with our lives. Our lives are secondary yet important narratives that are somehow connected to this big, grand story about God rescuing his beloved humanity. And God, even though he could have done it himself, has given each of us a part to play in this story. It is your subplot in God’s big story. This has significant implications for each person’s personal and professional life.
When we realize we can play a unique and important role in a story much bigger than ourselves, this can infuse purpose and meaning into our careers and every part of our lives.
What if we made this the starting point? What if, before changing our major or going to work another day and going through the motions, we reminded ourselves that we have a part to play in a story much bigger than ourselves? And what if we reminded ourselves that we have been given a unique set of gifts in order to make an impact and be a part of what God is doing in the world? When we begin with the big picture in mind, then we can approach college and career questions (and really anything in life) with the right frame of mind. We could start with questions of identity and purpose, and then allow that to inform everything we do, including our career choices.
Start with the Big Story
Instead of beginning the college and career planning process with questions like “what am I good at,” or “what jobs do I want,” we could start with the big picture in mind.
- What is the big story that I am a part of?
- What role can I play in this story?
- What are some unique gifts that I have been given to play my role well?
- How can I use my unique gifts to support myself and my family, and also use them to be a part of what God is doing in the world?
- What kind of careers or roles at work would allow me to put these gifts to use?
Notice that in the end, we arrived at the same basic questions, but from a completely different angle. If we know that we play a unique and important role in a story much bigger than ourselves, we already have our identity and purpose. The rest is identifying and developing our gifts so that we can apply them at work, support ourselves and our families financially, and be a part of what God is doing in the world.
College and Career Planning with the Big Picture in Mind
Let’s face it, “What are you doing next” IS a loaded question. Let’s not avoid it. Let’s find better ways to talk about it. Let’s begin with the big picture in mind.
