Talked to my daughter's friend and she made me rethink how I talk about my work

Her friend is 22 and works at a coffee shop. She asked what I do and I gave my usual spiel about being a project manager. Then she asked if I actually like it. Not what my job is, not what I make, but if I like it. I kind of froze. Nobody has ever asked me that before in 15 years. I've been thinking about it all week. Has anyone else had a young person ask a question that made you stop and really think?

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the_holly1h ago

Oh man, that question hits different when it comes from someone who hasn't been ground down by the corporate machine yet. I mean, I used to think the whole "do you like it" thing was just something young people said because they hadn't figured out how the real world works yet. But honestly, after reading your post and thinking about it, I totally see what she meant. We get so caught up in titles and paychecks that we forget to check in with ourselves about whether the actual day-to-day is making us happy or just keeping us busy. It's kind of unsettling to realize you've been missing that question for years.