Choosing the Right Vocation

The need to create value and the desire to make a difference in the grander scheme of things; these are two things that haunt most people. For some this need to define themselves and their purpose starts at a very early age and somehow magically the right career and vocation finds them instead of it being other way around. For a lot of people, however, it is a constant challenge to find their ultimate purpose in life. They change jobs, get promoted, are good at what they do, but something is always lacking. Is it really possible to combine your career and your vocation aka your true calling? Or will the career always remain something you “have to” do to pay the bills and the vocation will always remain a passion area / creative pursuit?

In order to find one’s true calling or vocation, it is important to correctly define it first. The term vocation is always confused with other correlated terms like job, work profile or career. All these terms, however, mean different things to different people. A job is something you do in order to get a paycheque at the end of every month; in short it is a means to an end kind of proposition. A career on the other hand can be best described as a ladder –promotion, more responsibilities, higher designation are all steps ahead. The rewards in a career are definitely higher than rewards in a job, where you don’t exactly have a sense of direction.

A vocation is something you may invest time, money and effort in, even if it is not really adding to your job or career. It is something that you are really, really passionate about and something that you want to do without snoozing the alarm three times before rolling out of bed.

Everyone is born with a unique set of skills that differentiates them from the crowd. These are gifts that people are born with, but they may take time to identify these gifts in themselves and turn them into a passion or a career. Choosing a vocation has a lot to do with having access to these gifts – it could be attention to detail, time management, being in charge of plans or simply throwing magnificent parties at home. These are the same people that become highly successful in everything from e-commerce ventures to running a cute little bakery to mastering the business of event management.

It can be really frustrating to find satisfaction in what you are doing professionally while you are still trying to figure out your vocation. That’s why it is important to be patient; it is also essential to hold on to your day job till you know exactly where you are headed.