The Vocation Shift: Valuing the Work Beyond Your Career

Is it a struggle to recognize, value and manage the full extent of work required of you both at work and home?

I mostly leave naming the shift a client needs to make in the capable hands of my clients as it is their life they're living, not mine. However, the reason I believe clients choose to work with me is that I do offer perspective, some insight on work/life balance, and even a willingness to challenge them on the type of shift needed or at least to be considered - especially the shift needed for achievement-oriented professionals.?

With that said, the client I want to introduce you to today is that kind of client. She’s an Ivy League graduate with an accomplished resume, and her drive for achievement has served her well - that is until she and her husband had their first child, and now their second. Her work in life suddenly became a bit more complex, and so the shift I’m helping her explore is what I call the Vocation Shift where her work is not just defined by resume building tasks – better yet, her work is holistic and fully encompasses the contributions she’s paid for with a salary as well as those she’s paid for with a legacy.

Tamara, let’s name her for the sake of confidentiality, is not only building a career, she’s building a legacy in raising her children. She’s also working to maintain the health and vitality of her marriage and other familial relationships. She’s working to build a home that is nurturing and restful. She’s working on meals and now working on herself. That’s a lot of work. So, why is it that it’s just the work she’s paid for that gets to define her??

What work defines Tamara is entirely up to her. The problem is that in college, and likely even back in grade school, it was Tamara’s disciplined ability to make sacrifices that allowed her to excel with career-building achievements. That served her through school and her early career, but today she’s suffering from multiple stress-induced physical symptoms (recurring headaches, sickness, etc.). The prolonged stress is taking its toll to the point that her doctor is advising she take a leave of absence. Yea, this is certainly where I start fighting for my client by being willing to fight with her. I’m helping her listen to her doctor, helping her listen to what she knows is true herself - the inconvenient truth that she can’t keep driving through life in gear 6. The physical symptoms she’s experiencing are her body’s built in alarm system (as described by my personal favorite psychologist, Dr. John Delony). The feelings of insecurity, isolation, and the fear of insignificance are messengers of the personal needs she’s neglected and sacrificed on the road to her successful career.

The truth is that she CAN afford rest. It would be easier to allow herself rest if she were to recognize and begin valuing the full extent of work she's responsible for in life. She has to begin recognizing that her work, or valuable contribution, includes the work that won’t show up on her resume or LinkedIn profile - and to recognize that it’s that kind of work that truly pays dividends - the dividends you can’t buy or cheaply manufacture.?

A warm, home-cooked meal enjoyed with loved ones who are well-nurtured and whom you share a deep connection with is what’s truly rewarding in life. And every part of that experience requires work. The work that makes those moments is what the “work-work” is supposed to provide for, serve and secure.

As Tamara is no longer a student or young professional seeking to cultivate and prove her worth with the highest of career achievements, she can indeed afford to down-shift her work hours. As I’ve written about before, greater rest will likely improve her work performance as rest is a partner, not a threat to work. It will be uncomfortable and scary for her, but as she begins to listen to what her body is literally telling her, she will build the courage to ask for help and assert boundaries that allow for rest and allow for her to value the full scale of work required of her - both at “work” and at home.

I know we all can relate on some level with Tamara as I know I can. So, I ask you:

• What are all the roles you're playing in life?
• Who are you responsible to?
• What duties are you responsible for fulfilling?
• Is the stress you've been experiencing possibly your body messaging to you that you're doing too much?
• What limits do you need to accept? What boundaries do you need?
• Who can you ask for help or understanding from? Who can you share your load with?
• As the Latin word for vocation is vocare, meaning "to call," who is it that you feel called to be in this life?
• What do you want your legacy to be, and who is it you're really living for?

Some of this you'll be paid for, but no employer expects you to only be accountable to them. Like Tamara, the work that defines us is entirely up to us. Recognize and figure out what needs to change to start valuing and enjoying the full extent of your life's work and expression of who you've been called to be in life and what your ultimate legacy will be.

This is what I call the Vocation Shift, where we recognize the calling on our lives as holistic and being-oriented more than doing-oriented valuing only the contribution we’re paid for at the expense of the life we’re building and legacy we’ll leave. I’ve written about this shift in more depth in a short ebook, and I’m designing resources around this in my Allies membership. If you’ve not been to my website before or recently, I invite you to visit and download the free ebook. And please reach out if considering a Vocation Shift could be helpful for you as well.

If this has been helpful, please subscribe to stay tuned in for future articles designed to equip you to make the shift towards seizing the day at both work and home living life to the fullest. And fill out the Make the Shift Declaration today if you’re ready to make a change. Last, please note any client details shared have been altered to maintain confidentiality.