Pursuing your calling in 2020 and why that is NOT a ridiculously stupid idea, Part 2

Do you truly understand the difference between vocation and job/career? The word ‘vocation’ comes from the word ‘voice’ and it is your calling: the thing you are called to do by the universe, your true essence, spirit, God, or whatever you believe in. It is the thing that, when done or tended to, puts your mind and spirit completely at ease and fills you with joy, satisfaction, and happiness. Right there, we see that there is – for most people - a significant and important difference between vocation and job. Pursuit of vocation is fulfilling; pursuit of job/career tends to fall short. At least it does for most of us – and certainly for those who are chasing a paycheck at the end of the day and not a greater sense of purpose. 

I talked about this in my previous post, so I encourage you to take a look at that to get a better grounding in the difference between vocation and job, and where you fall on the spectrum. Most of us only attain snatches of happiness during our working day; some people go so far as hating every waking moment of their jobs; while others, a small percentage only, absolutely love their work. It’s the latter category of people who have managed to grow their career in the fecund soils of their vocation. Isn’t that the dream? To be able to do what you love? To wake up each morning and actually look forward to the working week? To come home at night and feel fulfilled, accomplished, and happy?

Yes, you can. Thanks, Obama.

The message I want to convey with the fanfare of a thousand orchestras is that - this new year and new decade - you can and you must pursue your vocation. And here are a few super easy steps you can take to move towards that much higher and happier state of being:

Step # 1: Figure it out

What is your vocation? What is that thing that sets your soul on fire and salves your frustration? Some people have known what they wanted to do since they were children. When I was a kid, I wanted to be a bricklayer so that was never going to work. For others, the path is not quite as clear. You’ve got to figure it out and it might take a little trial and error but that doesn’t matter.

Think about what it is you are doing when you are at your happiest and most calm and “oneness” with yourself. Don’t be reasonable, rational, or sensible about it either; don’t focus on the things you like doing that you could turn into a job. Just focus on the activities that make you feel happy, curious, fulfilled, and passionate. My father has successfully built a career based upon his vocation: restoring vintage/classic cars. It’s the thing he loves the most and when I ask him about his projects, you can just see it written across his face. As he talks, he sheds two decades in two seconds.

Other examples of vocations may be writing, making music, helping people, helping animals, working with numbers, engaging in intellectual debate, travel, spending time with children, reading etc. Don’t be “realistic” when thinking about it. Be you. What is realistic but a manmade construct anyway?

Step # 2: An hour a day keeps the Xanax away

Once you’ve determined that thing (or many things) that you think could be your vocation, it’s time to shuffle it to the top of your list of priorities, which means making time for it. Not just once a week or month. Every day. All I’m talking about here is sixty measly minutes. One hour per day at least four times per week. Can you do that? 

Let’s say, for example, that you really like working with your hands and making things: practical things like furniture. Instead of watching Netflix after dinner, turn off the TV and turn your attention to your calling. Go to the garage and get stuck in. Alternatively, if you love writing and have an idea for a book, get up an hour earlier than usual – before the household erupts into noisy children and needy spouses – and sit down to write. Just one hour. 

Don’t impose any pressures on the project. The goal here is not to achieve an outcome (a piece of furniture or a published book). It is simply and purely to immerse yourself in what you love doing for one hour a day. This devotion to one’s calling is a more potent drug for depression and anxiety than any chemical.

It’s important to break this time up into one-hour parcels because one hour is achievable, both physically and psychologically. Spending time on your vocation for one hour, several days a week also allows you to “get into the groove” – it establishes a steady and consistent drip-feed of soul food and helps you establish routines around this time.

Step # 3: Focus on your daily goals

The title I chose – “pursuing your calling in 2020 and why that is NOT a ridiculously stupid idea” - might sound like I’m encouraging you to pack in your job and chase after pie-in-the-sky ideas about becoming an astronaut (although, all the best to you if it is and you have the financial resources!) Actually, I’m encouraging you to answer the call; to dedicate a little bit of your time every week to your vocation. Wherever that leads you is a great mystery but do not allow your journey to be defined by the destination. 

In any creative endeavor, the artist almost always arrives at a different picture, sculpture, poem, or book than the one he or she imagined at the outset. If the artist allowed him or herself to be discouraged by any deviations from this initial vision, they would never have finished. Ergo, you must focus only on the next hour you spend on your vocation. And the one after that… and the one after that. Don’t worry about whether this is a book you can publish; a piece of furniture anyone will want to buy; or whether or not you’ll ever be able to speak Russian (and therefore join the Space Programme). 

If you focus on your daily goals, one hour at a time, you will find, after many months, that you have arrived at a place where you can potentially transform your vocation into your nine-to-five. I am fully aware that I sound like some kind of self-help guru but this is all true according to my own experience and the experience of thought leaders like Elizabeth Gilbert, Brené Brown, and even Arnold Schwarzenegger (watch his YouTube video titled ‘The speech that broke the internet’.

The take-home message here is simple:

Your job is a verb. It’s what you do.

Your calling is a noun. It’s what you are.

Do what you are called to do and you will be happier and lead a more impactful, satisfying existence. What better time to start than the present? Now excuse me, I have to spend an hour looking into a social working courses so that I can become a rehab counselor.