What Happens When You Name Your Calling?
This week on the Higher Purpose Podcast, I had the opportunity to speak with Paul Sohn, author of the Quarter Life Calling, and founder of QARA.We talked about what it means to have a calling, and the experiences we have in our lives as younger people inform and influence that calling - you can listen to the full interview here. Paul experienced what he calls a ‘quarter-life crisis’ when he was in his twenties. He spent a lot of time reflecting on what he was truly called to do.Through prayer and reflection, Paul left a high-paying job at a Fortune 500 company. He devoted his time and energy to help and support the next generation of leaders in the world. But it wasn’t right. He might have taken the world’s ‘right’ path to wealth and success, but it was wrong for Paul.It wasn’t his calling.Paul began to follow his true path and everything changed. It was more than how he made his living; it was his peace, satisfaction, and sense of direction. He found fulfillment in his work that didn’t exist before, because he was finally able to NAME his calling.[clickToTweet tweet="Do you know the difference between a having a calling and being driven? http://bit.ly/2wBxk5f" quote="Do you know the difference between a having a calling and being driven? "]It’s overlooked in so many discussions around purpose but there’s a simple distinction. If you are being called, someone is the caller. And that caller is God.If you want to put a name to your calling, live in a way that is mindful of God’s purpose for you and pursue that path mindfully. Paul’s realization of this allows him to help others avoid that quarter life crises and to achieve their goals and truly flourish.You might be wondering, “What if I’ve already passed the first quarter of my life?” You’ve already experienced most if not all the major milestones: marriage, moving out, going to college, starting a career. What do you do if you haven’t found YOUR calling yet?Just because you already experienced those things doesn’t mean they can’t reach across the years and touch your life now. You’ve had time to reflect and learn. You’ve gained new insights and you have the hindsight that only experience can bring. When you look back at your path and choices, you do so with clarity you couldn’t have managed back then.You can use all of this to identify, to NAME your calling, no matter what your age is.The growth (and the pain that comes with it) never stops. Neither does our ability to learn from it and discover where we are meant to be, what we are meant to be doing, and why.That’s what I want you to reflect on this week. Are you driven or are you being called? How has your path transformed who you are? Are you living in alignment with your calling?This is just a glimpse of everything we covered in the podcast. Some of the other ideas we pulled apart are:
- Looking at your habits, from nutrition to fitness, to help you better follow your calling
- How writing a book is like getting naked in front of the world
- Growing in character can be painful, so we should seek out that pain or we will never grow
You can listen to the full podcast episode here, and if you want to discuss this theme in more detail, join the Higher Purpose Facebook Community. We’ll be holding a discussion this coming Thursday! Don't forget to subscribe on iTunes - and if you like the podcast, please rate and leave us a review!