Two weeks ago I left you with the question of why does focusing on your future job close the door on true vocation?
The biggest mistake I see when it comes to vocation is we automatically associate it with a certain job or occupation. “I am supposed to be a third-grade teacher”, or “I am called to be a radiologist” for example. True vocation is less job-oriented than this.
Doing what you’re good at and what makes you happy could take place in a variety of contexts. If you were born with the gift of listening to others, and taking in what others have to say is what makes you happy, you can do that in many different settings. True vocation is using your gifts for the benefit of others in a way that makes you happy. You don’t necessarily need a paying occupation to do that.
If you link vocation with a particular job you will view vocation more externally as opposed to looking inwards. If you’re trying to figure out which job you were born to do, I suppose it makes sense to search for it. And that’s what we do. We search and search and search. We spend all of our energy looking for it.
But here’s the thing: you cannot find your vocation, you have to develop it. You have to listen for it.
Your calling is not all of a sudden going to appear under the next rock you look under, or in the description of your next job application. It’s been with you your entire life. The tough part is realizing what it is. The tough part is listening.
In order for us to get a grip on vocation we have to first look internally. We have to start with our true self and go from there. We have to become familiar with who we are.
The frustrating thing is all of this takes time. As college students we are put in a tough spot; we are asked to make a big decision for our life, a decision that depends on knowing yourself, with the absence of experience. The truth is knowing your true inner self as you go into college isn’t the most realistic goal. In fact, you have to experience something like college in order to gain a clearer picture of who you are. Nonetheless, we are still stuck in rut. How are we supposed to know exactly who we are at only 20 years of age?
There are two sides of the coin when it comes to this. On one side, it’s easier for us to choose the wrong major or to make a dumb decision because we lack experience.
On the flip side, it can be good to just jump into something if you are uncertain of what path to take. If you don’t have anywhere to start from, you can always just start and go from there.
In other words, sometimes you have to experience one thing even if it’s not the best fit, so that you can learn what you want to experience next. That’s why I tell people it’s okay if you think you chose the “wrong” major, because now you know what the “right” one is. You learned something about yourself.
“Having a job is not a requirement for vocation, because vocation is not a job, it’s more than that. But at the same time the type of job you have, if you do have one, is important because it can affect whether the door to vocation is left open.”
Discussing vocation and the process of choosing a major in the same conversation can be risky. Your major is not going to decide whether or not you ever experience vocation in your life; we need to avoid putting that type of weight on choosing a major.
We also need to avoid associating our vocation with a particular occupation, because vocation is not a job. Vocation at its fundamental structure is not concerned with what you do as much as it’s concerned with how you do it.
Regardless of what job you have, you can go about it a certain way, a way that upholds your values, beliefs, and talents. So does this mean you can experience vocation no matter what you do? Not necessarily.
There is a certain level of significance in the “what you do” part. You have to be doing something that gives you the opportunity first and foremost to be yourself. You have to have that proper platform that enables vocation to take place. This platform has to allow you to do what you do best, in the only way you know how to do it.
Having a job is not a requirement for vocation, because vocation is not a job, it’s more than that. But at the same time the type of job you have, if you do have one, is important because it can affect whether the door to vocation is left open.
If your gift or calling is listening to others, technically you don’t need a job to do that. You do however need to make sure you have the opportunity or chance to interact with people in the first place. There are plenty of jobs you can do where you can utilize and focus on your passion of listening to others. But, going along with the example, if you have a job working in a cubicle all day then you’re closing the door on your true vocation.
The best way to summarize my last three articles, including this one, is through a metaphor.
Since you can’t find vocation, you have to grow it. Growing your true vocation is like growing a flower. First you must plant the seed. If you are planting the seed of vocation you are choosing a major that you enjoy and putting effort into learning more about yourself. What you’re really doing is beginning to listen. You’re listening to the life that wants to live itself through you, as Parker Palmer would put it. If you continue to listen, you will be watering the seed. This involves staying true to yourself and starting to understand how the world can benefit from you. If you take what you’ve listened to and apply it to the needs of others in a way that makes you happy, you have grown yourself a nice full-blooming vocation flower.
-Colin Rieke