“Career†is a nautical term. I never knew that. I do so love thesaurus.com…
Both careen and career are nautical terms. As nouns, they refer to the nature of a course moving forward. A careen is a course forward using a side-to-side trajectory, while a career is a course forward in a headlong and high-speed trajectory.
This really got me to thinking about my own “careerâ€, and the careers of most folks I know.
It starts early, when we’re encouraged to define what we’re going to be when we “grow upâ€, as if knowing that destination is a critical element, and as if defining that defines us and who we become. As we mature, there’s a steady set of cultural expectations built on the assumption that we’re all on a “course forward in a headlong and high-speed trajectory.†Continue reading “Career or Careen?”