Life is a Journey – and Your Vocation is No Different

After college, I immediately settled into what I thought would be my lifelong career at a large regional bank. And, for about 11 years, it was my career. My time at the bank taught me a number of lessons about what I loved to do, what I hated doing, and what I longed for.  I felt most fulfilled when I was helping people – when I was making a difference.  I learned that this was a deep intrinsic need of mine. I also found that I loved the thrill of developing processes and implementing new systems.  I found deep satisfaction in seeing something that I pictured in my head come to life in the processes and systems around me.  I found that I deeply loved seeing people grow and develop. I was most joyful when I was developing my team. 

In 2008, when the economy took a turn and there was not a lot of funding for new technologies, I found myself in a role that had me working as an independent contributor (no direct reports) on a project called application consolidation. It was as painful as it sounded. I was neither developing new technologies, nor developing people.  I was no longer making a difference. A few weeks later, I quit. Surprised?  I’m not. I was no longer meeting my intrinsic needs.  

My next job, also a career, was in politics. It is not as scary as it sounds. I was able to help get an amazing man elected to the Senate and I was back to developing people and making a difference. When I transitioned to his Federal Office, I was able to manage a team (still developing people), making a direct difference in the lives of constituents, and was able to have the thrill of developing processes for a new office.  Was I happy?  You bet. I was meeting my intrinsic needs and I was further learning what I needed to thrive. I would say this career was a vocation.  Career + Purpose = Vocation.

In 2012, I knew it was time to move on from my Senate position. Though I was still managing people, the office had largely settled into routine. For me, routine is a dirty word. I got bored. Hmmm, was that a clue? Yes. Note to self: do not work in a place that feels routine. 

Again, I started searching for vocation. I had gained some additional clues about what was necessary for me to thrive in my vocation. I started working through our unique coaching process with my coach. This process created further clarification. I saw my strengths and motivations emerge clearly. After completing my LifePlan, which put all of the pieces and lessons into perspective, I had my action steps forward. A LifePlan uses several constructs to point you in the direction of vocation.  It used life clues and learnings to pare down the choices. We whittled down my learnings into a purpose statement. The process was transformative. I now had a purpose statement, a vision, and action steps forward. My LifePlan directly led me to my vocation. It was a journey to get here, and I believe this journey will continue to be clarified for as long as I have breath.