There are few questions harder or lonelier than: 'What should I do with the rest of my working life?' We are often simply meant to know the answer and a lot of people might be invested in us continuing along the safe and predictable path. But in private, some of us are acutely aware that we aren't happy where we are, and would love to find a way towards a job that is truly fulfilling.

Tantalisingly, many of the answers we need to better direct our futures are inside us, but we need help in getting them out, in making sense of them and in assembling them into a plan. This box contains a series of prompts, questions and essays designed to help us systematically understand more about our working identities and to guide us (with something like the skill of a great career therapist) towards the kind of jobs that will honour our talents and allow us to thrive.

The School of Life was founded in London in 2008. They are devoted to allowing people to think intelligently ab