How to find your calling (new article from Oliver Emberton)

Life's work, calling, purpose - is it just a good job? Or something different? What do we look for when we look for a calling? In this article you will find tools for finding yourself, advice from a psychologist, 10+ questions that are important to answer in order to find yourself, and 3 high-quality free tests that will help you find your calling.

In finding a calling, it is important to start looking. Go!

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.

Day three. Write your ideal contract

Imagine that you are a star! You are so professional, in demand and popular that headhunters are chasing you, ready to do anything to get you. You are offered to sign a contract with an ideal salary, in which you are allowed to independently choose what you will do, in what area and under what conditions. Yes, you are such a lucky guy!

You, of course, guess that each of us actually has such an opportunity? If not, I’ll share a secret with you. The modern world offers a wide variety of professions and fields of activity to choose from, any options for work schedules and other conditions. Unfortunately, very often many people do not know what they want or do not want to put in the effort to achieve what they want. Or for some reason they don’t find the opportunity to sit down and think seriously about this issue.

So allow yourself to be puzzled by it right now and choose the ideal job. Let's think more broadly, because we ourselves are the authors of all our frameworks and limitations. Let your list have 100 items, or at least at least 20. By the way, this exercise is useful to do from time to time, since your preferences may change and it is important to adjust your ideal contract so that the work continues to inspire you.

It is worth not only drawing up your ideal contract, but also reviewing it from time to time. Our preferences may change, and it is important to make adjustments in time to ensure that our work continues to inspire us.

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.

Second day. Give yourself permission and dream

Very often our calling is hidden somewhere between the area of ​​our interests, the area of ​​our innermost desires and a few deeply hidden and forgotten childhood dreams. We are so afraid of this Pandora's box that we hide it away in the closet of our memory, so that later we can hastily push into it everything that we wanted, but did not come true, was planned, but did not come true. And then forget.

To lift the curtain and take another step towards your calling, you will need to take out this box, blow off the dust and carefully shake out everything that you have shoved into it. Think about all your dreams, desires, interests and everything you've ever wanted to try and write it down. To complete the picture, add to them a list of improbabilities. Don’t limit your imagination: the more points you write, even the most ridiculous ones, the better. Let there be 100 or more, but not less than 20.

By the way, this exercise has an interesting side effect. Save the list and check it after some time. Some of your wishes will come true by themselves, without your participation. In order for everything to come true, you will need to take some actions, but that is a completely different story.

When we were little, each of us knew our purpose. If you have forgotten what you dreamed of as a child, ask your family.

Online test for calling in life

We have several tests you can rely on to answer the question "Who am I?"
These tests can be the first step in finding yourself: ✔ Free “Personality and Professions” test.

Designed for high school students and applicants, but will also be of interest to adults.
After completing it, you will find out which professions from completely different areas suit your personality traits
. For example, the profession of an event manager requires communication skills; to become a doctor, you need to be patient and attentive; and to become an entrepreneur, it is important not to be afraid to take risks. As a result of testing, you will receive a list of professions that match your personality type. Number of questions: 50.

✔ Free test "Profperspective".

The test will help
assess interests and preferences in professional activities
. Find out which professional profile is closer to you: economics, natural science, artistic and creative, or some other. Number of questions: 32.

✔ Methods "Career Guidance Online"

(for grades 8-11) and
“Online Career Consultant”
(for adults) is
a comprehensive professional diagnosis and conversation with a psychologist, career guidance specialist
. As a result of the test and consultation, you will receive a list of the most suitable professions based on your abilities, interests and character traits. A consulting psychologist will tell you in detail about the chosen professions, their characteristics and the possibilities of obtaining the necessary education. Number of questions: 118. Duration of each service: 1 hour of testing + 1 hour of consultation via Skype. Complete “Online Career Guidance” >> Complete “Online Career Consultant” >>

The first day. Look into the future and imagine

Our fantasies are not only a storehouse of information about ourselves and our goals, but also a powerful source of motivation for their implementation. To make it easier to fantasize, let's play a game. Imagine that you are a lucky hundred-year-old dreamer. Not only did you survive in your mind and health until such a serious name day, but you were also incredibly lucky in life, and you achieved fantastic success in everything you undertook. Healthy, prosperous, living in abundance, in a word, prospering. Your family and friends have gathered to congratulate you and celebrate this significant event with you. Or maybe not only friends, but also reporters, the press, celebrities...

Introduced? Now remember your entire happy life, full of interesting and exciting events. What were you doing? What they were doing? Where, in what setting? Who was next to you? How did you feel? Describe your lifestyle, everything that was important to you, all areas of your life. Preferably on paper or in a text editor.

Then read your text, preferably out loud, paying attention to your feelings and the sound of your voice. Do you really want these fantasies to become reality? Are you ready to try?

To be where you want to be in 100 years, you need to start in your chosen direction right now.

How to find your calling, your favorite job or your business

When choosing a profession, the question helps: “How will I be useful to people?” It seems that this altruistic approach has nothing to do with the real world, where people go to work to earn money. But studies show that representatives of those professions that benefit society

. To find your business, it is important to understand the world of professions. You may not even know that the profession that is perfect for you exists. See information about professions here >> Ratings and latest labor market research can be found in this section of the site >>

The importance of life goals

A little talk about goals will help us better understand the essence of the above. For example, you already know what you want from life. You love life, strive to develop and learn new things. You want to be independent and free, so it is important for you to live and enjoy life, get to know yourself, communicate, travel and explore the world around you. You want your actions to make the world a better place, at least a little.

These are your life goals. But what can you do to realize them? What social role suits you: writer, teacher, psychologist, director? Which profession and business suits your main needs? As you can see, the answer is difficult to give. But what if you try to come up with a profession that suits you? What kind of profession will it be?

First of all, your work shouldn't consume all your time. You will start a family and have children, and naturally you will want to spend more time with your loved ones. Therefore, your calling should leave you more time than what your regular job allows. In addition, you have a desire to devote your time to hobbies and hobbies, such as self-development, hiking, reading books, sports, cinema, music, chatting with friends, etc.

You have absolutely no desire to be “attached” to your workplace, and spend 5-6 days a week there from morning to evening, come home angry and tired, have two measly weeks of vacation for 6 months of endless work. Your favorite job or life's work should allow you to enjoy every day, relax regularly, discover new places and communicate with your family. Based on this, it is better to make your source of income remote and autonomous, at least in part.

But you do not prioritize independence and freedom, and are quite ready to devote as much time and effort to your calling as necessary. But this is only true if the activity allows you to realize your plans, receive inspiration and feedback. Therefore, it is best that your business belongs to you, but if this is not the case, it in any case should give you the freedom that you dream of.

You probably noticed that so far we are only talking about working conditions, but its content remains in question. So what exactly should you do? You can become a programmer or copywriter (or choose another direction of freelancing), or you can start developing your business. The most important thing here is that this business allows you to earn money and remain free.

But what about personal preference and benefiting people? And here lies the trick - no one actually says that it depends on the job. Think for yourself: once you start doing the ideal business that gives you freedom and prosperity, you will get a lot of time that you can devote to what interests you.

Of course, it would be good if the source of income itself already allowed you to do this, but, firstly, today’s realities are such that there is very little such “work”, and secondly, this is not necessary. For example, you can become a writer and try to monetize this business in order to achieve your goals. But at the same time, you can master the art of photography and start selling your services as a photographer. For this, of course, you also need to work hard, but then you will have time to write.

We can develop what has been said for a very long time, but now we can draw one fundamental conclusion: calling must necessarily be subordinated to life goals. And here the question of choosing this vocation, both in life and in profession, deserves special attention.

How to find your calling if you're 15

Adolescence is a period of self-identification when the question “Who am I here?” becomes central to a person. The search for oneself and the desire for self-realization pushes one to choose a profession. Why then is it so difficult for a high school student to find a calling?

At the age of 13-16, a person has very little information about professions; he is used to studying and, as a rule, has never worked. He has little idea what a logistician or SEO specialist does, and how a design engineer differs from a test engineer.

How to find your calling if you are over 40

Feelings of being lost can be encountered at any age. And in the same way, you can find your calling at 5 years old and at 85. As an adult, finding your favorite thing can be even more difficult than as a teenager. There are professions, such as a doctor, a professional athlete or a musician, that are difficult to “get into” as an adult. They require early career guidance and long-term training. And for those who chose these professions as adults, it is more difficult to make up for lost time and achieve success. That’s why finding yourself in adolescence is so important.

If you now doubt whether you are in the right business, or whether you have chosen the right profession, then take our free online test for adults who are already working, “Is it time to change your profession.”
TAKE THE FREE TEST “IS IT TIME TO CHANGE YOUR PROFESSION” >>