Can Joy and Work Coexist?

Uncoupling ones "purpose" with "career".

When the product you’re selling is yourself—be it in a role as an entrepreneur, mother, philanthropist, or volunteer—things get tricky. Do your role well enough, and you may lose sight of where the real “you” ends and the culturally constructed “you” begins.

Have brunch with a group of forty-somethings, and by the second mimosa, someone is questioning every life choice they’ve made since college. “Get clear on your purpose and values. It’ll help clear all this up,” someone says. The books parrot the same advice. Find your purpose. Live your values. Crane your neck, look deep inside yourself, and you’ll find them, like a North Star pointing you toward a life of fulfillment. 

But what happens when that North Star never materializes?