If you can answer “yes” to the following questions you have discovered the right career for yourself:
- Does this vocation support, express and fulfill my mission? Your mission is the number one positive difference in the world that you want to make. It is the mark or footprint you want to leave behind and the main work you came in this world to do. Other jobs that you had along the way will often serve as steppingstones and preparation for your true vocation.
- Does it allow me to use my best talents and favorite skills? Your talents are natural abilities which either come easily to you or you can develop them much easier than trying to acquire talents you don’t have.
- Does this work energize and inspire me? This career will make you feel alive and time will seem to fly when you are doing it?
- Does it benefit me and others? Both are necessary or you will lose interest after a while.
- Do I feel passionate about doing this work? Your heart will be in it and the work will be exciting. You will feel that this work really matters.
- Do I delight in doing this work? Do I love and do it well? The right livelihood will bring you much joy and you will do it well. There will be times when you feel as if the creativity and work are effortlessly flowing through you. It will be expressed from deep within and from the core of who you are.
If you answered “yes” to these questions you have found your true vocation. At least you know what it is even if you are still in pursuit of actually doing this work. If you have not discovered the work that is right for you, then keep searching. The answers are within you. Rumi, the mystic poet put it this way, “Everyone is born for some particular work and the desire for this work is in every heart.”
Self-knowledge will lead you to your right work. Self-reflect by examining your life experiences to see the clues. What are the lessons from your life? What do your life experiences reveal to you about what you love and do best?
Your true work and mission will bring out the best of your potential, your fears and obstacles will be overcome or will melt away and it will fulfill you. When you discover a purpose and mission larger than yourself it will change your life. Look at the example of Mahatma Gandhi who transformed his life and the lives of many others after discovering and pursuing his mission.
From childhood to early adulthood Gandhi felt painfully shy, awkward, lacked self-confidence and was full of many fears. Later in his life he was courageous, confident and was able to unite the Indian people to free India from British rule. Gandhi’s compassion for the Indian people and his opposition to injustice created a burning desire in him to free India and this mission transformed him into someone who was considered by others to be a “Mathatma” or great soul.
This is the power that a great mission can have on you and others. When you discover a career that can help you to fulfill your mission you will have also found your true calling and right work.
Copyright 2010. Raymond Gerson.
Best regards,
Raymond Gerson
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Credit Statement Example: Reproduced with permission from Raymond Gerson at www.achievecollegesuccess.com. Copyright 2010. Raymond Gerson. All rights reserved worldwide.
