Some Questions about Calling

Perhaps my favorite grad school subject I’ve run across is “calling,” because it’s something church taught me eons ago. In church, “calling” meant something like “a task or role God is directing you towards.”

In grad school (or as we say in our ivory tower, “in ze literature”) “calling” is a (buckle up for ze jargon) “transcendent, yet not necessarily religious, engagement . . . . often toward an other-oriented or pro-social purpose . . .initiated by internal or external summons, duty, or ‘urgency’ . . . that manifests in an individualized manner” (Berkelaar & Buzzanell, 2014).

Translation: Though it appears to involve altruism and might come from God, “calling” is a nebulous term at best, applied in a different way by everyone.

So, I want to know how you apply the term to your own life. I’ve sent these questions out to a few trusted souls, but I’m looking for as many answers as you can give me. Answer a question or two in the comments, message me, or maybe post a question to your facebook world and watch the opinions unfurl. Next week I’ll wrangle a post together on what people have said.

Ze research questions:

      1.      Do you have a calling? Has it ever changed?

      2.      Should everyone have a “calling”? Should a “calling” lead to financial gain?

      3.      Is personal control an important aspect to your “calling”?

      4.      What is the role of submission to your personal calling in life?

      5.      How do you know if you’ve fulfilled a calling? What does that look like?

My not-so-ivory tower.

Burkelaar, B. L. & Buzzanell, P. M. (2014). Bait and switch or double-edged sword? The (sometimes) failed promises of calling. Human Relations, 1-22.