What is a calling? And what it isn't

Definition of the term

If you turn to explanatory dictionaries, the meaning of the word “vocation” is deciphered as an ability or inclination to a particular type of activity. Often the same term is used to refer to a life’s work that is not the main profession. In psychology, a calling is a combination of the ability and desire to do something. This definition can be used to refer to what brings a person joy and satisfaction. At the same time, acquiring new skills within the framework of a vocation usually does not cause difficulties and occurs naturally. Often this term is also associated with inspiration and the presence of internal motivation for some type of activity.

vocation

CALLING, vocations, cf. (book).

1. only units Action under Ch. call-call, call, invitation (·obsolete·torzh.). Come to the friendly calling, come, O young traveler.

2. An inclination, an internal attraction to some business, some profession (with the possession or belief that one has the necessary abilities for this). Feel a calling to science. A calling to music. Follow your calling. Artist by vocation.

| Role, task, purpose. “You nobly understood the calling of an actress.” Nekrasov. “Oh, who will now remind a person of his high calling?” Nekrasov. The historical vocation of the proletariat is to build a socialist society.

Source: Explanatory Dictionary of the Russian Language by Ushakov on Gufo.me

Meanings in other dictionaries

1. vocation - vocation cf. 1. An inclination, an internal attraction to any business, any profession (if one has the necessary abilities). 2. Role, task, purpose. 3. outdated The process of action according to ch. call up Efremova's Explanatory Dictionary
2. vocation - Word-former. tracing paper of the 19th century German Beruf, an affix-free derivative of berufen "to call". Shansky Etymological Dictionary
3. vocation - This word, meaning “inclination towards any activity,” was formed using the tracing method from the German Beraf from the verb berafen - “to call, invite.” Krylov's etymological dictionary
4. calling - See calling Dahl's Explanatory Dictionary
5. vocation - spelling vocation, -I Lopatin's Spelling Dictionary
6. VOCATION - (English vocation) - see ADVANCE. Large psychological dictionary
7. vocation - Vocation, vocations, vocations, vocations, vocation, vocations, vocation, vocations, vocation, vocations, vocations, vocations Zaliznyak’s Grammar Dictionary
8. calling - calling Calquets mute. Beruf “calling, profession” (Unbegaun, RES 12, 39). German word original had a religious meaning: “God’s call to people” (Dornzeif 106; Paul, D. Wb. 74). Etymological Dictionary of Max Vasmer
9. VOCATION - VOCATION The number of Slavicisms that have experienced the semantic influence of Western European languages ​​is very large. The semantic history of the word vocation can serve as a striking example of the organic unification of Russian folk... Historical and etymological dictionary
10. vocation - see >> occupation, duty, ability Abramov's Dictionary of Synonyms
11. calling - noun, number of synonyms: 20 attraction 56 gift 30 talent 20 business 97 duty 19 vein 16 demand 8 dexterity 58 purpose 29 purpose 15 invitation 19 call 29 natural inclination 1 profession 336 craft 14 inclination 34 ability 27 string 10 talent 28 skill 28 Dictionary of synonyms of the Russian language
12. CALLING - CALLING - English. vocation/colling/mission; German Berufung. An inclination towards one thing or another; purpose. Sociological Dictionary
13. vocation - CALLING, I, cf. 1. An inclination towards a particular business or profession. P. to science. Doctor by vocation. 2. Life's work, purpose. Raising children became her calling. Ozhegov's Explanatory Dictionary
14. vocation - I, cf. 1. outdated Action according to verb. summon (in 1 value). - Tell me, what spells have power over you? - Everyone is good: I’m ready to fall from the sky for all callings. Pushkin, Sketches for a plan for Faust. The mullah left the alkoran, And his calling was not heard. Small academic dictionary
15. vocation - noun, p., used. compare often (not) what? vocations, why? calling, (I see) what? calling, what? calling, about what? about vocation; pl. What? vocation, (no) what? vocations, what? vocations, (I see) what? vocations, what? callings, about what? about vocations... Dmitriev's Explanatory Dictionary
16. calling - Pri/zv/a/ni/e [y/e]. Morphemic-spelling dictionary
17. vocation - CALLING, CALLING, -I; Wed Tendency, ability to do something. business, profession. P. to science. The stage is my place. Doctor, teacher, artist by vocation. // Purpose, purpose. Innate p. High, moral p. to serve people. Kuznetsov's Explanatory Dictionary

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Why is it useful to find your calling?

It is almost impossible to lead a decent lifestyle in the modern world without money. This means that work occupies a significant place in the life of every person. At the same time, not all of our contemporaries receive real pleasure from their professional activities. But this is true happiness and a guarantee of success in life - receiving positive emotions from your own work. The chosen profession should bring not only a stable income, but also moral satisfaction. In this case, one should evaluate not the prospects for career growth or the creative component of the work process, but directly the person’s personal attitude towards a specific type of activity. What is a calling? This is a joyful job. Feeling pleasure from your chosen profession, it is not at all difficult to be a happy person.

How to find a calling. Methods

If you are looking for a life’s work, it is important to answer the global question “Who am I?”, or more precisely, “Who am I here?”
It starts with understanding yourself. 5 ways of self-analysis:

1. Ask yourself questions.

The list of questions to find your calling is unlimited.
Here are some of them: Why do I need to work? What am I interested in doing every day? What am I good at? What would I do if I didn't have to work? What do I want to achieve in 10 years? What values ​​were instilled in me as a child? Do I agree with them now? Questions can be more specific: What books do I like to read most? Will I be able to find my way in an unfamiliar city? Do I like solving puzzles? Do I love animals? Is it easy to convince me? 2.

Ask your loved ones
the same .
They have been watching you for many years and can tell you unobvious things about your character and even superpowers. 3. Look for new activities and don’t be afraid of new groups.
An X-ray machine for your interests and abilities is a new team, in interaction with people your individuality is more clearly revealed.
You involuntarily compare yourself to others. For example, what do you do better, how easily do you get along with people, are you interested in the same things as new acquaintances? 4. Look into your childhood.
What did you like to do when you didn't have to think about making money?
And when did you not have to worry about school grades? Sculpt animals from plasticine, build a treehouse, or tease the neighbor's dog. This is where the origins of the calling lie in childhood. 5. Take online career tests.
A good test is an objective tool that helps you understand your abilities, interests and personality traits.

Remember what you wanted to become as a child...

Working according to your calling is true happiness, but how to find your place in life? First of all, you should try to understand your own feelings and emotions. Do you really dislike your profession? Often work does not bring joy due to the specifics of the organization of the work process in a particular company. A radical change of profession and/or field of activity in adulthood is a responsible step. If you are ready to do it, it's time to think about how to find your calling. Try to remember what you liked as a child. At an early age, many children choose professions following the example of their parents or other authoritative adults. It is not necessary to take your kindergarten dream of “becoming an actress or an astronaut” seriously. But if at school you liked the exact sciences most of all, and you dreamed of being an engineer, but became an economist, it is useful to remember this dream. Write down in one list all the activities and scientific disciplines that most interested you as a child. Having carefully studied the resulting list, you can identify several professions that are most attractive to you.

The meaning of the word calling

Examples of the use of the word vocation in literature.

Irrational intoxication and ecstatic vocation deprive the absurd of clarity of vision.
His mother consoled herself with the thought that Volodya had found his calling in the practice of law.

For me, my work is not so much midwifery practice as a specific mission, not so much a specific occupation as a vocation.

The world of temptations separates us from true existence, from the basic calling of man, and conceals the threat of the end of the world when environmental catastrophe, the threat of nuclear war and the madness of the senseless pursuit of consumer appearances merge into one.

Not to mention the fact that every morning he put on his best frock coat, his best overcoat, that his sideburns began to fit tightly to his cheeks again, since Haggai Nikitich kept them tightly tied with a white scarf all night long, but the very expression of his eyes and face was perfect something else: he seemed to blossom, come to life, and clearly let those know that loving and being loved was his main calling in life.

For others, this select circle of applicants for the highest positions in the hierarchy of the Game was, on the contrary, something hated and corrupted, a clique of arrogant slackers, witty naughty geniuses, ignorant of life and reality, a pretentious and essentially parasitic company of arrogant and careerists, whose calling and whose meaning of life is self-indulgence, fruitless self-indulgence of the spirit.

The activist came to the Yard together with the advanced staff and, having arranged the pedestrians in the form of a five-fold star, stood in the middle of everyone and said his word, instructing the pedestrians to go into the environment of the surrounding poverty and show him the property of the collective farm by calling for the socialist order, because in any case the future will be bad.

Many of the influential figures of the Tory party, who, fearing the restoration of Catholicism, agreed to the removal of James, now that their opponents, the Whigs, had gained the upper hand, began to think about calling back the exiled king.

Herodotus, in any case, many centuries before the calling of the princes, for already before their arrival the Eastern Slavs had managed to establish a rather complex and developed social system, molded into solid political forms.

Long years of painstaking gathering of strength, political training, theoretical study of experience - no, he had no calling for this.

Frankly, all members of the Guild doubted his choice of calling.

Perhaps urban planning was Chernomor’s calling, but for some reason he could not become an architect?

Let us be sublimely sad: in this black genre it is most convenient to tar the road to success with the ladies, for each of them is potentially a mother and wants to reconcile you with her calling.

For his part, Gilles de Nel recruited hired killers, thieves by vocation, all those who managed to escape from prison as young men with brutal faces who were ready to commit any crime, just so as not to bend their backs on the field.

Then the thought occurred to him that Amaranta Ursula was continuing her transformations because she did not want to admit the collapse of illusions, and he assembled his magnificent bicycle, whose front wheel was much larger than the back, and devoted his leisure time to catching and drying local insects: he sent them in jam jars to the old professor of natural history at the University of Liege, under whose leadership he had once been very seriously engaged in entomology, although his main vocation had always been aviation.

Source: Maxim Moshkov library

Ask yourself the right questions

Each of us likes to do what we can do without excessive effort. You can understand what your calling is by taking a close look at your natural talents. This word is often understood to mean some kind of creative ability. But in fact, talent can also be natural literacy, the ability to quickly count in the head, developed logical thinking. The meaning of the word “vocation” is often interpreted as “the activity that a person likes most.” So why not spend some time exploring your own personality? Try to understand your strengths and weaknesses. A vocation is a person’s passion, an activity during which his soul truly rejoices and opens up. You can find your place in life by identifying the things that are most important to you. What life achievements are important to you personally? What would you like to achieve most? The answers to these questions can help you find your personal life path.

Profession or calling

Profession and vocation are different concepts in the Russian coordinate system. For example, we can say: “Raising children is her calling,” “A doctor is not just a profession, it’s a calling,” “Leading people is his calling.” But it sounds strange: “He found his calling - he became an auditor.”

If we break down the concept of “vocation” into its component parts, we will understand that there are several meanings hidden in it. The business that we call “calling” must:
✎
Be useful and necessary for people
✎
Arouse respect
✎
Meet the character and interests of a person, correspond to his “I”

The vocation is not considered from a financial point of view. It doesn’t matter whether you can get rich doing your chosen business or not. This is what distinguishes a “calling” from a profession that generates income. One can even notice in the word “calling” some element of the supernatural, because in Russian culture God “calls” or the people “call” the tsar to reign. As they say, when you don’t choose a job, but it chooses you, then the job becomes a calling.

Search formula

Some personal development specialists suggest their clients use a universal formula for finding a calling. In fact, calculating the type of activity in which you have every chance of achieving success is not at all difficult. The secret is that the calling of each of us is at the intersection of his talents and passion. You should look for “your” business among those types of activities for which you have visible abilities. It is also important that the chosen activity brings unconditional pleasure. If you find it difficult to rationally evaluate your own talents, listen to the opinions of others. Ask close friends and family in what areas they think you are most effective. Be prepared to be surprised by the answers. But it makes sense to carefully consider all the options voiced.

What is Destination and what is Vocation?

Topic No. 2 What is Purpose and what is Vocation?

Let's define the concepts! What do the words purpose, mission, purpose of life, calling, favorite thing, etc. mean? .

Vocation and Destination are two big topics and probably the most important ones in a person’s life. But for some unknown reason, we devote time to these two main issues on a residual basis, or even for many years we do not devote any time at all.

The first thing we will start with is defining the concepts of what is what. The purpose of a person is what is intended by God (the Higher Mind, the Universe, the Cosmic Consciousness, the Creator, the Source, the Absolute, the Higher Self or other names with this essence). Here everyone can substitute their name, what they believe in. This also includes the following concepts:

• soul purpose (if you believe you have one)
• mission
• main goal of life
• meaning of life
• self-realization

These are synonymous words, the meaning of which is only one thing - knowledge of the Truth, knowledge of God. Know yourself as a Soul. In Christianity this is called the achievement of the Kingdom of God, in Buddhism - the nature of Buddha, in Hinduism - moksha, enlightenment, liberation.

That is, the Destination of a person is the same for everyone - to know one’s true nature, to know oneself as a Soul or to know the Truth, to return to the Source, to return Home.

This is the main goal of every person, this is his one and only mission.

I didn't come up with this. This is said in all the scriptures of different peoples of the world, the sages of the past spoke about it, and modern teachers and saints speak about it. People who have achieved this goal, fulfilled their Destiny, are called realized Masters, Saints or Teachers.

It took me many years to understand and accept what was previously passed on through mother's milk, traditions and culture. So that we do not waste precious time and energy searching for and understanding the obvious truth. That we come into this world of our own free will and for only one purpose and you already know it.

I did not take it for granted immediately when I read or heard such statements. I don’t know where it came from, but it was in my subconscious that there must be an individual Destination for me personally. After all, every person is unique by nature and this is true. This means that everyone should have their own Purpose.

It doesn't mean anything.

Everyone has the same purpose.

You must also discover and accept this for yourself.

How to do it? Find out how those who walked this path before you did it. They made a road map. This is not the topic of our research. Only occasionally will I remind you that you always need to remember your Destination, because it is more important than your Vocation.

What then is the Calling?

Vocation is a natural inclination, ability for a certain activity (business, profession). These are abilities that are inherent in us from birth. And developed abilities are called talents. The development of abilities is a separate big topic and we will discuss it later.

The manifestation and realization of one’s talents in society is the realization of one’s Calling.

For example, the ability to draw. If you develop it, you might end up with not just a talented artist, but a brilliant artist. Genius is the next level of skill.

Ability for music and writing. Of those who developed their abilities from childhood, we then see famous poets, writers, musicians, composers, etc. These are the basic images that come to mind when we hear the word talent or genius.

There are also abilities for some kind of craft, trade or entrepreneurship, managing people, military art or politics, teaching, transferring knowledge to others, religious activities, philosophy. And all that is required of us is to identify our natural inclinations , to identify what our Soul is drawn to. They also say to find something you like.

Why?

Because on the path to realizing its talents, the Soul receives the necessary experience. And ultimately, this path will lead you to God and end with the realization of your Destination. to God what you do. He needs only one thing - your Heart, your Love . In fact, this is not for Him, you need it, for your own Good, you need a connection with Him. Whether you have found your calling or not, whether you are doing what you love or just doing your job well, it doesn’t matter to God if, while working, your Heart is with Him. This is the main thing!

But the trick is when you have found your Calling. when you realize your talents, then God comes to you. Then all your attention is directed to action, then you are all in the process, you create, you are in the flow, in meditation. This state has different names, but its essence is the same. At this moment, your ego disappears, and God manifests through your actions, your talents. This is why they say that God has no hands but yours. Therefore, they say that a person puts his Soul into his favorite business.

How can he invest his Soul?

Only when there is no ego. And each of us always feels whether a person does his job with love or not. And it is for this reason that we are so attracted to talented, realized people. They say that they have a special energy or call it charisma and various other labels. But no matter what we call it, if a person realizes his talents, then God clearly manifests himself through him. Then your life is filled with meaning. Because no matter what you do, you have a positive impact on others, on the world. It would be more correct to say that you become a conductor, you provide the opportunity for God to manifest himself through you. And when you know your talents and realize them, it happens naturally, by itself. You don't have to think, “Oh, now God will enter into me and create through my body.” No.

If you think so, then you have problems; your ego has grown to incredible proportions.

It happens spontaneously. Perhaps a little preparation before work will only help.

All the stories about states of inspiration, enthusiasm, fullness, joy, that there is no fatigue, all this is for the same reason that at the moment of realizing your talents, divine energy passes through you. And you are ready to do this 24 hours a day and for free. At this moment you connect with the Source, with the Creator, and this fills you. Of course, no amount of money can measure this.

For this alone, it’s worth finding your Calling if you still haven’t realized it or maybe still have doubts.

There is a parable in the Gospel.

One master, going to a foreign country, called his slaves and entrusted them with his property: and to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his strength ; and immediately set off. The one who received five talents went and put them to work and acquired another five talents ; in the same way, the one who received two talents acquired the other two; He who received one talent went and buried it in the ground and hid his master’s money.

Upon his return, the master called the slaves to him and demanded from them an account of how they disposed of the money entrusted to them. He praised the slaves who used the money for business, saying, “Well done, good and faithful slave! You have been faithful in small things, I will put you over many things; enter into the joy of your master."

The last one to come was the slave, who had buried the money in the ground and said: “Mister! I knew you that you were a cruel man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter, and, being afraid, I went and hid your talent in the ground; here's yours"

In response, the master addressed him and those present with the following speech: wicked and lazy slave! You knew that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I did not scatter; Therefore, you should have given my silver to the merchants, and I, when I came, would have received mine with profit; So, take the talent from him and give it to the one who has ten talents, for to everyone who has it will be given and he will have an abundance, but from the one who does not have, even what he has will be taken away; and throw the worthless slave into outer darkness: there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Yes, in this parable, in those days, talents were called monetary units. But in a figurative sense we are, of course, talking about our abilities. And there is also a very important phrase that he gave to each according to his strength!

So, it depends only on you whether you bury your potential, your talents or realize them. Because you have been given exactly what you can realize, and the whole world expects this from you.

And in the Bhagavad Gita it says.

Fulfill your duty personally, no matter how poorly,

More important than performing someone else's superbly

To die while doing your duty is wonderful,

And serving someone else's duty is dangerous.

If death is better than not fulfilling your Calling, then it’s probably worth spending time and effort to identify your talents.

Finally, I will make a third argument. I hope he doesn't need any comments either.

All paths are the same: they lead to nowhere.

Only you follow the path of the Heart with joy.

Does your path have a Heart?

If there is, then this is a good Path; if not, then it is of no use.

One path makes the journey joyful:

No matter how much you wander, you and your path are inseparable.

The other way will make you curse your life.

One path gives you strength, the other destroys you.

Teachings of Don Juan

Hence the conclusion: we are given talents and we are given the strength to realize them, then to say that I don’t know, I can’t find, I don’t understand what my talent is or how to find my Calling is...

Write down what it's called yourself.

To encourage you, then, more than 2000 years ago, it was said: ask, and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you, for everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.

Very often people confuse Purpose and Vocation.

Why?

Because they don’t bother to find out what it really is. Maybe everything has already been invented and said before us. Someone takes a different approach, using different words, putting a similar meaning with “their opinion”, because it sells better, in order to differentiate themselves from colleagues or competitors, whoever thinks so. But most often due to ignorance.

synonymous words also appeared

• favourite buisness
• favorite work
• it's to your liking
• highly paid hobby
• Dream work
• career guidance for adults

Now, as we see, it all comes down to just two concepts:

Purpose and Vocation.

In the next topic, we will look at what myths or illusions, when searching for our calling, that hover in society, and we become infected with them.

The main topic of our research in these articles will be the search for one’s Vocation, that is, professional fulfillment in society.

Occasionally we will enter the territory of Destination, that is, the search for God or Truth, since this is inextricably linked with our Being, the very essence of Life. And that means with social, professional realization, the realization of one’s Vocation as well.

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Illustrations: Ekaterina Soakha

Trial and error works!

How to find your calling if you have identified your own talents and inclinations? It's time to understand how all this can help you realize yourself in a professional environment. Having identified one or more specialties that are most interesting to you, it’s time to try your hand. If you do not have enough experience or qualifications to get hired for your dream job, you can try to apply for a nearby vacancy with less stringent requirements. At the same time, you can take advanced training courses or intensively engage in self-development. It is difficult to clearly formulate an answer to the question: “What is a vocation?” But once you find your “life’s work”, you will definitely experience special feelings. If, when working within the specialty chosen according to the vocation formula, you do not experience any special emotions, it makes sense to try to change everything again. Don't be afraid of change, be afraid of living your life surrounded by things that don't bring you joy.

Vocation: myths and reality

Purpose, mission, calling of a person - these concepts are becoming more and more firmly established in our vocabulary.

On the one hand, we can’t help but be glad that we are waking up - after many years of restoring the national economy, building communism, and then a dizzying career. On the other hand, their frequent and sometimes openly speculative use is alarming, mentally referring to worn-out analogues that have lost their original meaning.

This was the case, for example, with personal growth, then with spirituality, where often the external ritualism of actions and shifting responsibility to the guru replaced the need for serious internal work. As a result, many are disappointed in both. I would really not like for the same fate to befall the concepts we are talking about today. I'm doing my bit to debunk some myths.

I’ll say right away that the search or, in other words, awareness of purpose and its implementation in the profession is my favorite topic and the most interesting task of all that I work with! Why? I see this as my own mission and it inspires me incredibly! Just imagine what the level of service, quality of goods, breakthroughs in science, works of art and overall satisfaction of people with the quality of life will be like if we ALL do what we were born to do! And this is not a utopia! It’s not for nothing that the topic has gained such popularity in recent years, and the number of people wishing to find their life’s work is growing at the same rapid pace as the statistics of those dissatisfied with their own professional activities, burnt out and lost in meaning.

Believe me: the wise Universe sends each of us into this world with certain tasks, making sure to provide us with the necessary “options” in the form of talents and strengths. Moreover, the ratio of future representatives of various professions is also initially set in the system of human reproduction - well, they cannot all be born farmers, sellers or economists, otherwise society will not survive. I have been studying this issue for many years, observing the destinies of people, and I do not know of a single case in which a person did not have the appropriate abilities to realize his vocation. Our basic inclination, the most intense interest in some activity, serves as a built-in compass that does not allow us to stray from the path of our calling.

Consequently, the vocation formula includes the quantities:

• Purpose, mission
• Interest, passion for some activity
• Talents, abilities, skills, strengths
• The ability to create value, be useful and make money from it

All this must be in accordance with the goals and internal values ​​of the person. And when this puzzle comes together, all the doubts - “is this mine or not?”, rushing from one professional field to another without an inspiring result will remain a thing of the past. You will definitely understand that here, at this point, a new stage of life will begin. With a “plus” or “minus” sign - it depends entirely on you, but more on that below.

Let's understand the concepts

Purpose is the tasks of our soul in current life, which from the point of view of social benefit act as a mission. Vocation or life's work is the realization of one's own destiny through professional activity. For example, a person’s mission is to save people, to help them in crisis moments of life. Who can he work for? An employee of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, a psychologist on a helpline, an ambulance doctor, a resuscitator, a spiritual mentor, etc. Thus, the main difference between vocation and destiny is that it is of a professional nature and, therefore, acts as a means of earning money. If we do something and we are not paid for it, then it is something else - charity as the realization of a purpose, a hobby as pleasure for ourselves, selfless help to friends, etc. Over time, if there is a desire, all this can develop into professional activity and be monetized.

Therefore, understanding your purpose is certainly important, but this is only half the battle; then you still need to be able to put it on a practical plane, formulating it in the form of a vocation and choosing the most suitable profession or field for it. Making a bridge from one person to another is not very easy - I am convinced of this in almost every project I undertake. Therefore, we ask for advice: when choosing a seminar or services to find a purpose, check with the organizers what you will get as a result - an abstract answer to the question of what benefit you should bring to society from the series “making people happy”, or specific knowledge of what professional activity it is in can be implemented in the best way for you. Again, not a 10-point list of areas that suit you, from a doctor to a marketer, as is often the case with career guidance testing, but a clear understanding of where and as whom it is best for you to work.

Now there is a lot of debate about which verb is better applicable to the word “calling” - find, understand, realize, come to it, choose, etc. In my opinion, these are just different words to denote the same phenomenon; the difference is purely in the conceptual apparatus. If you look for a calling somewhere outside, then this activity is doomed to failure, since the answer to the question matures within us, although trying yourself in different types of activities for comparison and experience can be very useful. Will this insight, awareness happen spontaneously? It’s unlikely if we are not interested in finding something we like, but out of habit we work for money or status. Consequently, the moment of truth is preceded by tests of the pen on the outside, questions to oneself within, reflection on talents, skills and life goals and - what is extremely important - the onset of a certain personal maturity in order to come to the desire to create and benefit others. Some people do not use these concepts at all - purpose, calling - in their vocabulary, but at the same time, very clearly, from childhood, they hear themselves and strive to realize their own potential, following the path of service.

How far have you gone from your calling and where to look for it?

I will not mystify the process by saying that it is only for initiates. A calling is not something that is somewhere in another galaxy, and it needs to be found and brought as a curiosity, rejecting everything that came before. No, absolutely not. Usually it is somewhere nearby, and we, one way or another, get closer to it throughout our lives. Often our current profession can serve as a basis for future self-realization in a related field, as happened, for example, with the famous TV presenter Elena Malysheva. Vocation reminds us of ourselves in the form of constant interests, hobbies, information on the Internet to which the eye clings, and the onset of peaks of highest inspiration during certain activities.

An example from practice: a woman has been working as a lawyer for many years, she does a good job, but she does not receive satisfaction from her work. We find out that all her life she loves mathematics - numbers, formulas, problems that she solves even in her free time. In addition, he is interested in architecture, has spatial thinking, and a penchant for synthesis. As a result of our work, she puts her puzzle together and suddenly understands that her calling is a design engineer in construction! And then she remembers that several years ago she was already planning to get a second degree in civil engineering, but her parents dissuaded her, arguing that this was not a woman’s job. The man walked away, and now it’s time to return.

There is nothing surprising in this example! All the answers are within us, and not someone will bring them to us as secret knowledge. If a person’s ability to feel is not completely atrophied, then sooner or later his soul sends calls, and at certain periods of his life he takes steps in the direction of his passion. And the task of a coach or consultant in this case is to help the client better understand himself, “remember everything,” and not broadcast his own fantasies to him.

What will help you realize your calling and believe in it?

1. Pluck up courage, throw away the attitudes of society and the expectations of others and honestly admit to yourself that yes, this long-term bright interest of mine is what it is. This can be especially difficult for those who have held leadership positions for a long time, and now suddenly find out that their calling is, for example, some kind of craft or needlework. The soul is drawn to, but it doesn’t seem very cool?;) Again, I’m used to a certain social status and level of income, but here I have to start everything from scratch... Observing the destinies of people, I came to the conclusion that when the realization came, I decided to go you need to go your own way, because sooner or later life will present the bill, and unloved work will result in stress, illness, depression and other unpleasant things. Here, as in the process of personal and spiritual development, there is no turning back without serious consequences for the psyche and health.

2. If there are several interests and hobbies, and they are diverse, turn on your creativity and ability to synthesize to the fullest and try to put the pieces of the puzzle together. What if you are on the verge of inventing a new profession or type of activity that is built at the junction of others that already exist? This is how the professions of a business coach, realtor, healthy lifestyle consultant and many others appeared in due time. I also went through this path myself. Until quite recently, there were no career consultants in our country, and in search of my calling, for a long time I tried to figure out what to choose from what I love and want to do in three areas known to me: HR, customer service and psychological counseling. I tossed around for several years until the idea arose not to prefer one or the other, but to combine them together. And when this happened, I suddenly remembered that even before entering the field of personnel management, I voluntarily helped my friends decide on a profession and a suitable employer, admired those who revealed their talents and were fully realized, that is, I was a de facto career consultant, and de- legally - financial director and chief accountant. I concluded: purpose is not something you can do. This is something you CAN'T NOT do.

3. When it seems that there are no obvious interests or hobbies that would indicate a calling, you need to dig deep into yourself. This is perhaps the most difficult task of all. If a person has forgotten how to hear himself and is accustomed to living by other people’s guidelines, his own desires and magnets of the soul have lost their strength and are under such a layer of silt that in order to get to the bottom of them, it will take a lot of time and focused effort. And then it will be even more interesting, because having got to the bottom of it, he will need to “write himself permission” to recognize this as his life’s work. Yes Yes exactly! From my practice as a career consultant, I learned that our task as consultants is not only to help the client understand himself and determine himself professionally, but also to literally act as the one who will give him the “okay” to follow the path of his calling. This also works when a person in his soul knows what he should do, but is not ready to allow himself to do it because of artificial restrictions once established by someone.

They found their purpose, they defined their calling. What's next?

Now there are different, sometimes polar, points of view on the topic of destiny. Someone enthusiastically and in purely positive tones talks about what happiness it is to find it, because then, as if at the snap of a finger, life will become easy, everything will work out by itself without obstacles and daily efforts. Others, on the contrary, down-to-earthly oppose them that constant rushing and searching in this direction is irresponsibility, an escape from problems and the inability of a particular individual to work regularly. That in principle there is no purpose, but only choice and its consequences. What can I say? People are at different levels of development and degrees of self-actualization. Some are idealists, some are materialists, we are all different. Personally, I am convinced and I observe this every day in my work that everyone has a mission, but not everyone strives to live in accordance with it. They have a right. Some people, in pursuit of other people's goals, simply do not have enough life to come to an understanding of the importance of this. For those who authoritatively declare that destiny does not exist, I would like to remind you of a well-known aphorism: if there is no sun in the sky now, this does not mean that it is not there at all;) Or an alternative option: if I don’t see it, I won’t believe it (doesn’t work), you will believe it - you'll see (it works!).

If we talk about the ease of existence of those who have found a calling, and the desertion of others who allegedly provided an ideological basis for their own laziness and powerlessness, then both statements are extremes. The truth, I think, as usual, is in the middle. A calling is not an end goal where you come and relax, it is a path. Seeing it is just the beginning, remember the quote from the movie “The Matrix”: knowing your path and walking it are not the same thing? And it is definitely not a means of avoiding difficulties in professional activity if there is no desire to work through them. On the contrary, only by learning to cope with them can we become fully mature personally and professionally, and then apply the experience gained in the work of our lives.

If we try to define the concept of purpose in one word, then it will be the existential word “meaning”. The meaning of what you do and why or who you do it for. Its presence does not guarantee carefreeness, a queue of clients or a top spot on the Forbes list the very next day after leaving the “sofa search for purpose” mode. Not at all! Mastery takes years to develop, and material well-being is the equivalent of the effort invested, the energy expended and the benefit that we bring to the world. There will always be moments of testing, tests of strength and seriousness of intentions, in any activity. But the mission, like a flashlight on a miner’s helmet, illuminates your path and leads you to your goal, helping you to be energized, cope with difficulties more successfully, and recover faster. Well, professional success in what you love is a separate category of life’s pleasures with a high degree. They flash brightly, burn for a long time, and warm in moments of doubt.

At the same time, no one canceled self-discipline, patience and constant polishing of one’s skills. A couple of years ago, at the festival of contemporary literature in Moscow, the famous French writer Bernard Werber, in my opinion, gave a wonderful answer to the question of what helps him find inspiration, maintain his talent and continue writing. He said that our talents are muscles that need regular exercise. Don't sit and wait for the muse to visit you, act! And then she will come more and more often.

It is especially difficult for those who have to jump over the gap between many years of habitual hired labor and the creation of their own project to take the path of vocation. According to my personal statistics, full-fledged self-realization in a calling in more than half of the cases in our time turns out to be possible precisely in the format of working for oneself. I think it is unnecessary to say what kind of internal and external transformations such a breakthrough will require, starting from a change in the paradigm of thinking, taking on all risks and ending with organizational moments associated with creating and running a business. And again I want to focus on the fact that starting a project for the sake of income, profits and other material goals is one level of complexity and the amount of drive to overcome it, but creating your life’s work for the sake of fulfilling your own mission is a completely different scale. Here the energy is looped - you invest it in the development of your brainchild, and it returns with interest in multiples after the completion of each stage or project. Don't believe me? Check it out ;)

How to deal with competition

People whom I help find a calling often express doubts: will they be able to start in a new capacity when there is such competition in the market? Especially considering the fact that, as a rule, they are already quite old to be in the status of debutants. They say that those who started earlier already have a name, reputation and regular customers. What should I do? My answer is this: you should not care how many people or companies are doing what is your calling. They came to this for different reasons, and not always related to their own mission. The most favored nation mode turns on when your method of self-realization is consonant with it, therefore eighty percent of the market is not your competition. Remember any situation where a real professional was needed - a good lawyer, doctor, equipment repairman, teacher for a child, etc. There are a lot of different specialists on the market, but we ask for recommendations and find one or two that we are ready to contact. They are all well known - masters of their craft. Does the number of their colleagues (read: competitors) matter to them? It’s unlikely - they usually have a lot of clients anyway. Remember, at the beginning of the article I wrote that the proportions of representatives of various professions in society are set initially, during the reproduction of the population? Take your place without trying to claim someone else’s, and everything will be as it should.

The second point is related to possible competition. To avoid it, everyone—both businesses and private practitioners—needs not to copy, but to adapt. In other words, look for and develop your own uniqueness, those very “tricks” that will set you apart from hundreds of similar offers. Why duplicate something of which there is already so much, and in which you are not particularly strong? Find what you love and can do better than others, and build your personal brand around it. I assure you: you definitely have this difference. Covering the entire population of the country or making all existing organizations clients is hardly a feasible task. You need YOUR people or companies as customers. When you build your offer on the basis of your own uniqueness, express yourself, you thereby attract your consumers without wasting resources on those with whom you are not on the same path.

And one last thing. As you know, one of the laws of the Universe is the law of abundance. It says that there is enough in the world to provide for each of us. Our main task is to live in harmony with ourselves and the world around us, without encroaching on someone else’s. When a person exists and manifests himself from a state of need - “there is not enough of everything, there won’t be enough for everyone, you have to fight and push with your elbows” - he, firstly, programs himself for difficulties and deficits, and, secondly, he isolates himself and loses touch with others and, in general, with the energy flow. The result is a self-fulfilling prophecy. And vice versa, if you professionally do what you love, pursue worthy goals, benefit others, be open to the world and all its resources and opportunities, the reward in the form of numerous grateful customers will definitely come. And the desire to embrace the immensity atrophies as unnecessary. I hope I have convinced you that following the path of your calling is the best cure for competition?

In conclusion , I want to say that the world is steadily moving towards processes that are the opposite of those that occurred in the 19th and 20th centuries, such as: mass industrial production, consolidation of enterprises, the primacy of capital, the perception of the employee as a resource, etc. In the future, we expect a profound change in worldview, an ever-increasing desire for professional self-identification and self-realization, which are possible mainly in the format of self-employment - private practice, crafts and small family businesses. Large enterprises and government agencies will remain, but their role in the country’s economy will decrease, and the number of people working for them will decrease. The crisis we are experiencing now is a clear signal that the time to change has come. It has already been called a “crisis of underinvestment in human capital” and a consequence of a lack of creative activity. Those who strive to emerge from it not with losses, but with gains, need to analyze their own professional role - how satisfying it is, consistent with their personal mission and allows them to fully realize their own potential. If the answer is no, think about whether you are ready to take on with full responsibility the task of finding your calling, and then serious work in this direction. It will hardly be easy, but it will be interesting and exciting - for sure!

I wish everyone wisdom, will, and patience in following the path of vocation!

Galina Bobkova, career and self-realization consultant, www.ccgb.ru

Do all callings have to be fulfilled?

Do each of us really have only one calling and life path? Psychologists and personal development specialists agree that every person has several talents, many of which remain undiscovered. So what is a true calling? This is an activity that brings complete satisfaction and does not make you doubt the correctness of your chosen path in life. At the same time, one person may be interested and have a propensity for several types of activities at once. We are talking about happy people who work at a job they love and manage to devote a lot of time to their own hobbies. A vocation can also be raising children or charity. The situation is difficult when a person has a number of talents that are difficult to combine with each other. This is the case when you need to weigh all the pros and cons and make a choice in favor of one thing. Knowing what a person’s calling is, it’s not at all difficult to find the main thing in your own life.

How to understand your calling?

Unlike destiny, which is sacred in nature, vocation is a rather pragmatic concept. It can be determined by a person’s internal inclinations, his genetics, upbringing and a number of other factors. In order not to get confused in self-analysis, we recommend that you familiarize yourself with a few simple tips on how to understand your calling. The main thing is to know that every person has it. It’s just easier for some to see it, and harder for others.

Analyze your interests.

A good way to determine your calling is to understand what you like to do. You should listen to your inner voice. Hear it and correctly interpret the clues received. To do this, you need to understand what in daily affairs does not cause a feeling of laziness. What does the soul lie to? What causes happiness hormones to be produced in the body? After all, by doing what you love, you can achieve more than in any other profession. It is not uncommon for a hobby to turn into a lifelong goal, replacing routine work and even bringing in much more money.

Critically evaluate your abilities.

When trying to find out your calling, it is very important to draw a clear line between “I want” and “I can”. Perhaps someone wants to be a football player, but has been limping since childhood. Of course, this will not stop him from playing for himself. But, of course, they won’t take him to the major league. Another annoys his neighbors all his life by playing his grandfather’s piano, without ever going on the big stage.

Even if you don’t have the opportunity to do what you love, you shouldn’t despair. After all, very often a person has not one, but several inclinations. And among them it is worth choosing the one that works best.

Put aside commercialism.

When choosing a future profession, the financial prospects of the job play a significant role. People look for a calling not where it is more interesting, but where it is more profitable. And then they spend their whole lives doing something they don’t like, in an uncomfortable office, with unpleasant employees.

To avoid this, it is advisable to plan your future not only in terms of earnings, but also your preferences. It is enough for a person to imagine himself, at least for a while, to be very rich and independent. And then analyze what he would like to do if he had everything. Perhaps the thoughts that come to mind at such a moment will be the key to solving this problem.

Talk to others.

A sincere conversation with family or friends also helps you understand yourself better. It’s not for nothing that they say that you know better from the outside. Most likely, they will pay attention to details that the person has not even thought about.

Reminiscences of relatives about our hobbies in childhood can be especially useful. Because it is during this period of life that we are the most sincere. Some liked to help dad in the garage, another liked to help mom in the garden, and a third and grandpa looked after the pets. Perhaps these childhood activities lay the foundation for the future choice of an engineer, agronomist or veterinarian.

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Expand your knowledge about professions.

Sometimes difficulties in finding your calling are associated with a person’s low level of knowledge. He simply does not have the information necessary to make a choice. Often, upon starting one job, an employee gradually retrains in a completely different direction. The person simply did not know that there was such a specialty that would help him fully realize himself.

The most important thing is that obtaining such information does not require special expenses. It is enough to search the Internet, read books or watch thematic documentaries.

Understand what our benefit is.

Since man is a social phenomenon, his calling cannot be considered separately from society. In the end, even by ear this word sounds like something noble and necessary. Moreover, by bringing benefit to others, a person increases his personal relevance and recognition. So, the benefit is mutual. Based on the principle of competent employment. At first, it is not so important how the employer can be useful to the applicant, the main thing is how the applicant can benefit the company.

The main clue in this case can be the requests of others. What kind of orders do they most often handle? Perhaps this is precisely our main feature.

Remember your idols.

We all have people we would like to be like. Real life examples, or favorite movie characters, book characters, etc. It is worth thinking about the question of what unites them all. What profession and lifestyle? After all, very often, such idols are an unrealized dream of ourselves. Most likely, our calling may lie precisely in their line of work.

We looked at ways to understand your calling. There may be many more of them. But even the seven techniques listed can help everyone better understand themselves and their talents. It is better to use all these tips, and then choose the most common tips.

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