I was having coffee with colleagues from different specialties when one of them asked the questions, do you think our jobs affect our personality and how we think.
The neurologist volunteered to answer first. He said that he often meets an elderly neighbour at the mosque, and seeing how she walks with slow and shuffling steps, he started to look at his hand for any tremors which may suggest a movement disorder.
The maxillofacial surgeon told us that when he attends social gatherings, he observes people's jaws and tries to guess who is related to home from the shape of their jaws. They both looked at me to share my answer. I explained that more often I get into therapist mode when my son shares his day in the office, without noticing I find myself asking, “Can you tell me more, or how did that make you feel?”We often think of our jobs as something that simply fills our time. But what if our work is quietly shaping who we are? What if the person we become is influenced not only by our personality, but also by how we earn a living?
Some sociologists once suggested an interesting idea about ancient Japan, where growing rice required people to work closely together. Entire communities had to share water, follow careful schedules, and depend on one another.
The theory is that this kind of farming helped shape certain national qualities such as patience, teamwork, and discipline.
Whether or not this idea is completely true, it points to a bigger truth. Our jobs do more than use our skills; they also train our minds.
Spending every day teaching children may encourage one set of habits. Working in advertising may encourage another. Being a therapist may encourage yet another.
The qualities that help us succeed at work can slowly become part of who we are in the rest of our lives. This gives us a reason to be a little more understanding of other people.
Sometimes the difficult parts of a person’s character may not be fixed traits; they may be shaped, at least in part, by what that person’s job asks of them day after day.
If we notice ourselves becoming impatient, suspicious, angry, or exhausted, it may help to ask an unusual question. Who is my job teaching me to be? We do not develop our personalities alone. They are shaped, little by little, by the environments we spend time in. And sometimes, the changes we most need in our lives may begin with the work we do.
Dr Hamed al Sinawi
The writer is a senior consultant psychiatrist, SQU Hospital
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