"What do you do?"

When someone first meets me and asks the dreaded question, why do I feel compelled to (as many of us do) describe my job when the real question is "Who are you and why should I care?" I know that's why I ever ask such a lame question. Why do we attach ourselves to how we earn money? I'm trying to stop letting the first thing I say about "what I do" be "I manage a Volunteer Program, this is what that is, blah blah, blah." When I DO so many other things that have more value to me. I can't escape the fact though that my work needs to be more fulfilling because of the energy and time I spend on it. I must try to have it define who i am less.

I have spent a lot of years not really knowing the "what I want to do with my life" work piece, just floating from job to job as they came up. I finally feel now like I have a stronger, more self-determined road in front of me and committing to it, though a bit scary, has really calmed the voice inside that tells me how much I don't want to go to work today. I am still just coasting along at work, but I'm more at peace with staying there as long as i need to until I am further down the new path. It certainly has improved my mood anyway. And I can start answering "What do you do?" a lot more truthfully.