I found a recent article rather amusing; the title of the article was, “Outsourcing Your Life,” which related various ways that people are using the services of others. Most of these outsourcing services seem rather bizarre and extravagant, such as someone to maintain a grave site, shop for your food or train your child to ride a bike; you can even rent-a-friend or rent-a- mom (or grandma). But one “occupation” listed raised my eyebrows since it closely parallels the services I, and countless others like me, provide. The title of “Wantologist” has me scratching my head. You can hire someone to help you figure out what you want!
What has me confused is the occupational name – wantologist. To me, it is no different than what I, and my fellow coaches, do to help people who help in navigating areas in their life. Helping individuals who ‘want’ a new job or ‘want’ a relationship’ (or a slew of other needs) are areas that coaches work with. In researching this definition, it seems to actually be a new term coined this year and taken from the coaching world, but renamed so that those who reject many of the societal values can embrace these services. Traditional titles, that have held fast for years, are no longer trendy.
For me, I get clients in daily who have difficulty in deciding what it is exactly that they want in regards to their career path or for their life; they feel ‘something’ is missing but they are not exactly sure what. Through our work, we have to distinguish between a want and a need to help them expand their mind and to focus on the importance of what they uncover. I help them to see the possibilities‘ of what it is they want and then how to go about getting them.
Regardless of the name, I respect the services they provide but why do we need such odd names. If that is the case, I guess I can call myself a “Possibilitologist!”
What do you think? I’d love to hear your thoughts or experiences!
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