Make friends who don’t see you as a professional object

It makes me feel good when a person I meet for the first time recognizes me as a columnist for The Atlantic rather than as some random guy—but can easily become a barrier to the formation of healthy friendships, which we all need. By self-objectifying in your friendships, you can make it easier for your friends to objectify you.

This is why having friends outside your professional circles is so important. Striking up friendships with people who don’t have any connection to your professional life encourages you to develop nonwork interests and virtues, and thus be a fuller person. The way to do this goes hand in hand with recommendation No. 1: Don’t just spend time away from work; spend it with people who have no connection to your work. 

You are not your job, and I am not mine. Take your eyes off the distorted reflection, and have the courage to experience your full life and true self.

Arthur C. Brooks writing in The Atlantic