Why on earth would you want to be a designer?
Have you ever been asked this question? or more importantly, has someone personally ever asked you this question. Someone you know intimately… yourself perhaps? Until we are truly honest with ourselves, we will always be running from one of the greatest parts of humanity, choice.
I recently watched this intriguing video narrated by Alan Watts (6 January 1915 – 16 November 1973) who was a British born philosopher, writer, and speaker.
HE ASKS STUDENTS QUITE SIMPLY:
What if money wasn’t an object?
(you dont want to miss out on watching this video)
Besides the obvious, It’s fair to say that getting paid to do something creative and be good enough to make a living out of it, is a pretty sweet gig. Many may call it a dream job.
That’s all well and good you say, “but i’ve heard it’s highly stressful, it’s long hours, there’s a lot of pressure, it’s too competitive, deadlines are unrealistic, it’s a lifetime of constant training, the list goes on…”.
Based on my own personal experience and collaborative feedback of many influential industry peers, the answers are all consistent in pointing to one thing:
It’s always important to stop every now and again. Take a breath and re-assess. Question what you’re doing, why you’re doing it and where you’re heading.
The reasons will vary for everyone, simply because we are all different. We are all made up of different cells, we are all taking different breaths, we are all on different journeys.
The video above reminded me to question why I personally chose this path as a designer. In summary, the best way I can put it, is that it’s the vehicle I chose that meets my “Six Human Needs” (identified by Anthony Robbins):
- CERTAINTY/COMFORT:
We all want comfort. And much of this comfort comes from certainty. Of course there is no ABSOLUTE certainty, but we want certainty the car will start, the water will flow from the tap when we turn it on and we know what time our regular appointments are.
- VARIETY/SURPRISE:
At the same time we want certainty, we also crave variety. Paradoxically, there needs to be enough UNcertainty to provide spice, adventure and excitement in our lives.
- SIGNIFICANCE:
Deep down, we all want to be important. We want our life to have meaning and significance. I can imagine no worse a death than to think my life didn’t matter.
- CONNECTION/LOVE:
It would be hard to argue against the need for love. We want to feel part of a community. We want to be cared for and cared about.
- GROWTH:
There could be some people who say they don’t want to grow, but I think they’re simply fearful of doing so—or perhaps NOT doing so. To become better, to improve our skills, to stretch and excel may be more evident in some than others, but it’s there.
- CONTRIBUTION:
The desire to contribute something of value—to help others, to make the world a better place than we found it is in all of us.
So why on earth do/did you want to be a designer? or if you are not a designer, I’d love to know why you do what you do anyway! The floor is open to all!…
For more, pick up a copy of Ram Castillo’s internationally and industry-acclaimed book
‘How to Get a Job as a Designer, Guaranteed’.
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