I recently watched the movie Gloria Bell. It depicts a slice of the main character’s life and captures the idea of life roles brilliantly. Think of life roles as the different hats we wear in our everyday lives or the many strands that when woven together make up an individual. In the movie, we see Gloria as a mother of grown up children, an ex-wife, a daughter of an aging parent, a supportive colleague, a loyal employee, tolerant neighbour, and a fan of disco dancing in her leisure time. Just as with our own lives, Gloria’s life roles often conflicted with each other. Looking for fulfillment in the role of partner caused conflict with her role as mother and daughter. When she met someone, his role of father affected his ability to commit to the role of being her partner.
As a career coach I often ask my clients to think about their life roles and how they interact with each other. A useful exercise is to compare how much time you currently commit to each role with what your ideal would look like. This can highlight neglected areas of your life as well as areas where you may need to think about ways to reduce your time and energy commitments.
The really interesting part for me is helping my clients gain perspective on their life roles and how they are impacting on their working lives. I have so many questions I would love to ask Gloria…