Living Your Calling

Greetings, friends.

We are in the midst of the holiday season and nearing the end of another calendar year, a time for resolutions and contemplations about the year ahead. I would like to add a proverbial yule log to the fire for you to consider during your seasonal reflections.

I happen to work in a role that allows me to interact with ministers and clergy from many faith traditions. Often in a coffeehouse chat we will discuss their path of service. This often includes a reference to their “calling,” a deep knowing within of what they were to do.

Now, not all of us want to be ministers. But I’d like us to consider that we all do have a deep calling from within, and I think it is important to honor it.

H2: When You Live Outside Your Calling

Today millions of us have jobs or roles that are unfulfilling, sometimes woefully so. You might be thinking, “Yeah, so? No one really likes their job, Jim.” To which I reply: That doesn’t make it okay!

Consider for a moment the profound impact of spending the majority of your time in a role that is ungratifying. Every day it impacts your moods, causes mental and physical stress, negative thinking, and constant dissatisfaction.

We know scientifically that our thinking has a direct impact on the cells in our bodies. This means doing something we don’t feel inspired or called to do affects our overall mental health and physical well-being!

So given this knowledge, I would like us to consider very seriously the age-old question: If money were no object, what would feed my spirit and align me with the deep calling I might have ignored or considered impossible for as long as I can remember?

Once you have identified the calling, no matter how impossible it may seem, take a few minutes and simply write a few steps you could take toward your more fulfilling and gratifying life.

What Improves When You Live Your Calling

Friends, life is short. Every one of us deserves to do what we truly love. When we are doing what feeds our spirit, we will arise each day with enthusiasm and optimism and be our most successful and joyful selves.

That doesn’t mean we won’t have tough days, but when we do, the bigger picture of honoring our calling will move us through those days with much less resistance and suffering.

Not convinced? Let’s dig a little deeper into the benefits of identifying and honoring your calling.

Passion Returns. Honoring your individual calling awakens your true passion. That passion is fuel to achieve your most extraordinary life. It helps you stay fulfilled on many levels.

So Gratified! You will be joyful and content in carrying out tasks backed by passion. This, coupled with gratitude for doing what you truly love, leads to a feeling of satisfaction that contributes to overall peace and well-being.

Bring on the Fun. There’s the old saying that when you do what you love, you never work a day in your life. When we are able to find and live out our true callings, we enjoy every minute of it. We actually have great pleasure in the work we do and have a sense of satisfaction and joy.

Focus and Clarity. Doing what we have always wanted to do creates focus, like sunlight through a magnifying glass. You will have tremendous clarity about what matters and what is most important in your role, allowing you to avoid distraction.

Your power and passion will be magnified because you are in alignment with what you have been called to do, creating a natural compass that helps guide your every decision.

Living in the flow. When we honor our true calling, we live in flow of life. We seem to be always in the right place at the right time, with the right people and solutions showing up to help us along the way. We allow and are more tolerant of change and things that happen in our lives, rather than being in a constant state of resistance.

I invite you to begin the practice of working toward the deep, unexamined or yet-unfulfilled calling that may exist in your life so that you can live fully, joyfully, and with a sense of peace and satisfaction.

May this be our practice, for practice makes progress.

Jim Blake is CEO of Unity World Headquarters at Unity Village. You can follow Jim on Facebook and Twitter: @iamjimblake or on Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/iamjimblake