Finding Meaningful Work:

10 ways to recover a sense of calling in your life.

by Jason E. Smith, M.A.

A calling consists of meaningful work that reflects who we are and not just what we do. Before we go out into the world to do our work, we need to turn inward and discover what that work might be. It is inside where we begin to make meaning in our lives. It is inside where we meet our deepest longings, our unique gifts, our truest self. It is inside where we find the twin gifts of purpose and passion that become the core of our working lives.

1.      Do nothing.

“Part of the work cannot be made, it must be received”

—Lewis Hyde

Our lives are so busy that we never have any time to check in with ourselves and reconnect to our innermost being.  There are so many external voices trying to tell us who we should be and what we should like that we cannot hear our own still, small voice within that reminds us who we really are and what we really love.  It is essential that we take time on a regular basis just to be with ourselves. Shut off the TV and the computer, unplug the phone, set aside the magazine and do nothing. We cannot know what we want if we don’t know who we are.

2.      Ask yourself the question, “Why do I work?”

“The way we imagine our lives is the way we will go on living our lives.”

– James Hillman

Work is one of the great, unexamined assumptions of our lives.  To most of us it seems obvious that we work because we have to, because that’s just what you do, that’s what people have always done.  However, if we define work chiefly in terms of money-making, we lose the possibility of understanding the deeper dimensions of work, the meaning of work and the many ways it can nourish us – spiritually, psychologically, emotionally, physically, as well as economically.  If you haven’t answered this question for yourself, then you may find yourself stuck in survival mode.  To find meaningful work, you need to know what work means to you. 

3.      Get lost in something.

“What did you do as a child that caused you  to forget time?

There lies the myth to live by.”

— Joseph Campbell

Too often our days become ruled by the daytimer.  If every moment of our lives is scheduled, we cut ourselves off from the inspiration that an unexpected event or spontaneous action can bring. We have all experienced the feeling of being so caught up in something that we forget everything else. Some activities are more likely to put us in this state than others. Conversely, work that has us watching the clock can leave us drained and depressed. The feeling of getting lost in an activity is exhilarating and refreshing. The things that cause us to lose track of time are those things that connect us to a sense of the eternal in our lives and thus to a sense of meaning.

4.      Remember to play.

“Play enables us to rearrange our capacities and our very identity

so that they can be used in unforeseen ways”

– Stephen Nachmanovitch

Play is not frivolous.  Play keeps us connected to a sense of joy and pleasure.  When we forget how to play, the things we do become rigid and stilted.  In today’s world our leisure activities have become excessively work-like.  If we go for a walk or ride a bike, it is not to take in the view, but to meet our weight-loss goals.  We go to a concert to “get culture.”  We go to a party to network.  We have turned our play into work, when we should be turning our work into play.  By playing we can resurrect our sense of creativity and remember how it feels to enjoy what we do. 

5.      Pay attention to your dreams and fantasies.

“The center that I cannot find is known to my unconscious mind.”

– W. H. Auden

Dreams are spontaneous and candid portraits of who we are.  Dreams can help us to uncover those aspects of our being that have not yet found expression in our lives. The images of a dream present aspects of ourselves that have been denied or forgotten.  Dreams and fantasies reveal to us things that are hidden to our conscious minds, thus they are good guides for discovering the life that wants live through us.  By paying attention to our dreams and noticing any themes, figures, or repeating images, we can get important information regarding our career exploration.

6.      Read. 

“Everyone takes the limits of his own vision for the limits of the world.”

– Arthur Schopenhauer

If we want our work to be filled with passion, we need to first awaken the possibility of passion in our lives.  It is important to explore different ideas and different ways of thinking about work and about life.  Ideas are ways of perceiving the world.  They provide us with the means to understand the various facts of our daily lives.  The way that we approach our work is determined by the ideas that we hold about it.  Expand your horizons and you will expand the possibilities that are open and available to you. 

7.      Explore new areas of interest. 

“If we all did the things we are capable of doing,

we would literally astound ourselves.”

– Thomas Edison

Explore subjects and activities that catch your attention. We cannot know if we like something—or how much we like it—until we’ve tried it.  Passion is born of experience, not just theory.  When our bodies and minds are engaged, they become highly sensitive instruments that can guide us in making the right choices for ourselves.  If there is anything that you have ever been curious about, take it for a test drive.  Volunteer.  Take classes.  Experiment.  Imagine each class or each situation as a kind of laboratory in which you can test the chemical reaction between you and a given activity.

8.      Trust yourself.

“Just trust yourself, then you will know how to live.”

– Goethe

Our world is saturated with advertising trying to convince us of the importance of liking the right products, the right music, the right lifestyle.  We are told that if we don't fit in, we will be left behind.  Soon we come to believe that if we don’t follow the tastes of the crowd, we will be ridiculed and rejected.  Over time we completely forget how to recognize our own preferences. It is essential to stay true to what you like whether or not it is acceptable to others, whether or not it is in fashion, and whether or not it is “cool.”  Learn to say “yes” to what you like and “no” to what you don’t like.  Learn to love what you love.  When you are able to admit and give room to the little callings of each day, it becomes easier to hear and enact the larger calling of your life.

9.      Throw out job titles.

“Do not go where the path may lead,

go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.”

— Ralph Waldo Emerson

It’s easy to get bogged down in our preconceived notion of what a job entails.  If we start with a job title, we may reject something that is a good fit for us.  Instead, we might ask ourselves, “How would I identify myself if there were no job titles? How would I define myself if there was no such thing as work?”  Before we can find work that fits us, we need to know who we are and how we want to be in the world.  We  need to identify the things to which we want to give our time and attention.  Each of us has our true identity no matter what our job title might be. 

10.  Work with a career counselor.

“It's time to start living the life you've imagined.”

– Henry James

Work with someone who can help you explore the idea of meaningful work. Don’t be satisfied with just finding a job.  It is not enough to try to fit yourself into some job description.  Meaningful work is work that fits you.  Depth-oriented career counseling is meant to get you in touch with the deeper patterns in your life.  When you have a deep understanding of who you are and how you want to be in the world, you can then begin the process of translating that knowledge into a satisfying, real-world work situation.  Be sure you feel comfortable with your counselor.  Remember: You are not just a resume.  You are a complex and unique human being.