Jordan Peterson: Why You Won't Have a Career

Doctor Peterson lucidly explains why you probably won't have a career. They are exceptionally demanding!

[ManOfAllCreation]

Hey everyone, ManOfAllCreation here. I made some thought-provoking t-shirt designs of sheep wearing masks. I think the designs are pretty awesome :D

[Ankit-zukp]

*"What the hell do you know when you're 19? 7 years ago you were 12."*

[pedazodeboludo]

Took me 15 years of working to realize 2 things:
1) I am not ambitious
2) That’s OK

[pekingenchilada]

This was cathartic and so reassuring. I'm 23 and these career worries have been haunting me every night since I graduated from high school. I felt broken because I don't necessarily want a career, I just want to support myself adequately and be happy. Thank you

[MorganBrown]

Points taken, but...if you’re a middle age man, with a family, and you have no career/job/utility, you’ll also be a miserable creature.

[GamercalledSTYREX]

*Q* : Should i aim at having a career
*A* : The answer isn't obvious its bloody serious, its no joke man, carl jung comented on this its beyond our comprehension.

[KennTollens]

I must have a mental illness. All want is to be left alone and people can't ever seem to leave me alone.

[vOcHaZOv]

I'm 20, single, unemployed/self employed, living with parents, I believe I'm one of the lucky ones to realise that I'm exceptional, throughout my early teens, I was certain that my career would be something to do with computer science and coding, I was fascinated by the huge salaries that come with that field. At the time, I was 100% convinced this would be my career path.

At 15, I had a mental breakdown that resulted in me completely losing all motivation and passion for the future. I went into a deep depression and came close to the brink of suicide. I felt lost. I started to ask myself questions that not a lot of people my age really even thought about. Will money solve my unhappiness? Am I even listening to the right people?

It got to the point where I picked up a guitar, started playing, and four and a bit years later I've started a band, studied music at college (no student loans, I'm from the UK), played live, and I have a sense of deep purpose in my life.

I'm convinced that my life, up until the day I die, will be significantly involved in the arts. I suppose my purpose in this world is to show my humanity, my flaws, my inner thoughts, the sweet, the sour, the grand, the wicked, and the evil. My purpose is to be me. I want people to be themselves, I want to make people experience emotions they never thought were once possible, I want to break down peoples mental blocks and view the world in a new and refreshing perspective. My favourite artists have done just that to myself.

It's hard, like anything in this life, but I'm so glad I went down the dirt road and started to really tune into my intuition four years ago, I don't have stability in terms of a career yes, but I don't think I could even want that stability, it just doesn't suit me. I'm happy, I can talk to almost anyone, just today a girl complemented my music taste in a town centre as I was playing music on my phone on a bench, spoke for a bit - little moments like that make me smile.

I'm not interested in forcing relationships, friendships, people will come and go, as they please according to our energies. It's a free spirited way of life and I love it.

[TheEMC]

I agree. I was a Respiratory Therapist for 7 years. When our first daughter was born we were both FT. I was commuting to work (90 minutes each way) and vomiting during pregnancy then commuting and pumping breastmilk for 7 months after she was born. Eventually my milk supply failed because of the stress and inconsistency. When I finally picked my daughter up at 7pm every night I got a whopping hour of exhausted interaction with her before her bed time came. It was miserable.

In addition my step-mother passed away and I became the primary caregiver for my father who had dementia. When we got pregnant 14 months later and I was again commuting and vomiting the whole way, we looked at daycare costs and decided it was more cost-effective and made more sense overall for me to stay at home. My heart was longing to be with my children all along. Why work so many hours away from home to finance their care (it costs anywhere from $1500 to $2000 a month for daycare with small children)?!

I resigned at the end of my pregnancy and it was the best decision we could've made.

I've grown in ways that are unbelievable. For the first time I feel like I'm walking in the role I was designed for. We lost upwards of 55K when I resigned but we completed Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University and life just keeps getting better. I started a small business from home and it's not bringing in a ton of profit... yet but it increases month over month and is surprisingly fruitful. More than that I love it!!! It's not easy with a 2 year old and an 8 month old but it's not impossible either. My husband is the sole provider as I grow my business and trust me a lot of people think you need to be making 100K to have one income. Not true. We have a family of 4 on half that and we are doing it!

You can live beyond your means and be miserable or you can live below them and have peace and joy.

I recommend anyone contemplating to complete FPU, get the Every Dollar budgeting app and be shocked at what life can be like. Go check out some "DEBT FREE SCREAMS" get excited and change your life. The Proverbs 31 woman knew how to work with her hands as well as caring for her home. Being a mother is a seriously demanding gift but once you are one it pays in spades! Aspire to more. Ladies you can do it!

[OrganicGem]

I was very happy at 40 with my career; I am a teacher and travel around the world to do what I love. I was also happy living and being by myself without kids. I was grateful everyday for being able to do the things I wanted without compromise and just fulfilling what made me happy and healthy as a human being. I found my husband two years later and now have a kid but I don’t think what you say is necessarily true. I do admire you and listen to your talks though… ❤️

[tertiuscarstens]

I’ve studied film after school. I never had a solid job in the industry. I went from one thing to another. I had a freelance job every second year before moving on to the next. I’m 37 and my dream to make movies is but a memory. I’m now studying to become an English teacher just to get an income. I have no idea where that road will lead me to. But all I really want is just to be with my family. That’s all.

[aatsw]

I think one of the reasons for Peterson's view on the importance of needing a family is that he has a happy family. Unfortunately, most families are unhappy, and for those stuck in unhappy families and relationships, it would become nothing but a shackle & torment. Rather far away from fulfillment. As Tolstoy's famous opening quote in Anna Karenina: "Happy families are all alike, every unhappy family is unhappy in his own way." Not everyone can, in fact most people won't, be as lucky as Dr. Peterson, who married his childhood sweetheart and is still happy after all these years.

[ivanbarbosa]

he is a bit harsh on people who are not in a relationship. sometimes you just dont find a suitable partner.

[thewebshopstudio]

Not having children will make you a dead end to the universe? What about contributing a gift, inspiring young people, spending your life doing something meaningful for more than just one or two humans in your life? And by the way, F that thought of being lonely later. Learn how to play bridge, be fun to be around, just enjoy life and anyway, how many old people in old folks homes who are devastatingly lonely because their children don’t visit them. Thats a worse fate in my opinion.

[danm]

I think it's important to point out though that being alone or isolated DOES NOT guarantee misery. Some prefer to be isolated and some don't.

[hllnite]

I’ve always told my daughter that she’d make a great mother. However, I’ve also told her I’ll never badger her to get married and have children. That must be her decision.
I just wish for her to explore the world a bit before she settles down.
Then if she can find a good match, children are then an option.

[vaughndunstan]

Love Jordan Peterson and usually agree with what he says.. However unequivocally disagree that you can't be happy and hopeful as a single 40 year old male.. I'm not one but if you can't firstly be happy alone being in a relationship with a family is just a bandaid..

[Hipppogrifff]

Well I love JP but this area is where I don’t quite agree with him, maybe I will change my mind later on, not sure. But now I’m in my 30’s and still think and I’m even more confident that the one standard formula for life doesn’t work for everyone, maybe works for majority, but not everyone. It’s interesting because I didn’t think this way when I was 19, I didn’t even think about serious stuff back then, as he says what the hell do you know when you’re 19! But as I grew up more, I realized that I never wanted to follow that path he lays out as the way to live. I find strong meanings in other things in life and I believe I can tailor my own path, it’s very difficult but it’s worth it for me. But as I said earlier, I never take myself too serious and always leave room to change my opinion later on.

[SKF]

"Life is miserable, so produce a family so more people can be miserable." Yeah, that's the ticket.

[SuperAlfaDogg]

About a career. By default (dropping out of college) I had gotten into carpentry. My dad was heartbroken that I had not gotten a University education at the time. But fast forwarding decades I really really enjoy my craft. I really enjoy (most of the time) building things. My skill level had improved and still is improving. I've had the good fortune of working on some of the finest homes in my city and building high end cabinetry.

Also had the thought that as a younger man I had the capabilities of doing work in any house or building on any street in the USA!!!

Starting out was not always easy, but one can constantly improve his or her skill level and job desirability.

And I have heard many times the innuendos that universities are the more upper crust and trade schools are for DUMMIES and those not smart enough (yeah, that's pretty much my accurate interpretation), but the reality is virtually everybody really enjoys living in a home.

Let's not ignore the building trades. With discipline and entrepreneurship a person can go far. And even enjoy his or her work!