When I tell people I help them discover their calling, I get a lot of questions about the definition of a calling. People ask, “Is it my job or career? What is a calling?”
Job
Let me share from my experience. When I got my first job to help me get through college, it was just a way to make money. The only reason I was there was I got paid. For this purpose, it was great. I had hours that worked around my school schedule, and I had money for the car payment, gas for the car, tuition, and a little spending money.
In addition, this job required no real skills or thought. I could focus on my course work without the job getting in the way. I would classify this is as a J.O.B. (Just Over Broke) job.
If your work is just a source of funding for you, it is not your calling.
Career
After I graduated college, I got a different kind of job. I found a job where it required the skills that I had. I was good at it, I was successful at it, and I liked it. It also paid pretty darn great. This is what I call a career.
When you have a career, you don’t just work anywhere that has an opening. I remember that I was let go from my work once, and someone suggested that a local factory was looking for factory workers. That suggestion made no sense to me. I had a career, and I needed to find work in my career.
A career is great. A career combines strengths with a love for the work. I had this, and I thought I had life figured out. But then in 2005 when I had my heart attack, I suddenly found that a career isn’t good enough. A career by itself doesn’t automatically make a meaningful impact in the world.
If your work is just a source of enjoyment for you, it’s not your calling.
Calling
A calling on the other hand makes a meaningful impact in the world. I was contemplating my old career the other day and had the realization that everything I ever worked on is now gone. The products I built aren’t for sale any more. No on uses them any more. And as far as I can tell, none of them changed any one’s life. That makes me pretty sad.
One thing that trips people up is that our calling may or may not bring in money. Ideally it would be our profession as well, but sometimes that’s not realistic. And sometimes people feel like if they get paid then that somehow taints the work, and it can’t be a true calling. Don’t disparage people who get paid living their calling.
A key element of our calling is that it uniquely fits us. We are wired up to live out our calling. So if the work we are involved in saps the life out of us, and we have a hard time caring for the people we are serving, this is not our calling even if the impact we are creating is tremendous.
If your work (volunteer or paid) transforms people’s life, and you are fulfilled doing it, this is a calling for you.
