Finding your true calling?
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Just curious, how many of you here think you have found your true calling? That is to say,
1) you are doing the work that makes you leap out of bed every morning...
2) you are doing what you love and loving what you do
3) your work satifys a need deep within to express yourself, your talents, your values, your unique and precious gifts?
I don't know if i'm worrying unduly. But i'm about to attain my passport of freedom i.e. 21 in about 5 months to come. And in 2 months to come, i'll be studying accountancy at a local u in 2 months. Even so, I aspire to be a banker, i believe that aspiration stems from the prestige and potential income that comes and not exactly from somewhere innated.
In this few months, i've been seeing so many different people. Some feeling lost in their late 20s, early 30s... still searching for their reason of existence. They've changed their career paths so many times and think their work is just work and not their career. They feel dismotivated and dread the routine.
And so, i just sat at the park alone just now for the past 2 hours, thinking of what i really want to do. Life is really so short and i guess like many of you, i don't really want to live life like a lost sheep till i hit the cradle. Feeling quite heavy so i thought i asked around here.
Has anyone of you found your true calling? If so, what has guided you towards finding it?
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I set my path every few years.
Now my path is to ORD.
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i reckon you won't be thinking of ORD all your life.
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Originally posted by thousandisland:
i reckon you won't be thinking of ORD all your life.
i think u have answered ur own question.. our surroundings are always changing, and the people ard us are always changing.. therefore, our plans, our goals, these are always changing..ur life may be working working working, but what u do after working is also important..
for a change, do something u have always wanted to do.. make an impact in the lives of ppl ard u... maybe that will lead to something more.. new events in ur life pushes u forward..
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banker not = prestige + income
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Originally posted by purpledragon84:
i think u have answered ur own question.. our surroundings are always changing, and the people ard us are always changing.. therefore, our plans, our goals, these are always changing..ur life may be working working working, but what u do after working is also important..
for a change, do something u have always wanted to do.. make an impact in the lives of ppl ard u... maybe that will lead to something more.. new events in ur life pushes u forward..
that notwithstanding, i still believe if you want to lead a fulfilled life, your goal in life should be unwavering. yes, the paths you take may change but ultimately the destination should be constant. isn't it so?i've been doing so many different things in my recent years. experienced couple of up and downs that ppl my age wouldn't have. but i'm still actively in search for answers.
alfagal: i mean Investment Banker
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who will wanna take in fresh grad to b investment banker?
u are handling cm profile of abv 1-3mil..
u still have to start somewhere..much lower....
income comes w sacrifices: sleep, weekends, after office hrs, committment, mental focusness...
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well i can't tell you what you want, but what i want is for the people ard me to be happy, to be healthy.. i want to make an impact to the ppl who matters to me.. my life is only as fulfilled as the that of the ppl close to me..
even though i cant do much for the people ard me, my family, my girlfriend, my friends, i try to be there for them as much as possible..
but if u want to talk abt happiness when it comes to work, i think u have to try to be committed i guess, for me, when i was in the army, i did quite abit of stuff for my department and pushed for many things, policies and plans to happen so that we won't be screwed when audit comes..
and ur still abt to go to uni nia.. dun be afraid to make a mess here and there, u cant possibly be right all the time.. and u noe most uni grads don't do the same job as their course.. it's ok to go thru the downs, to experience loss and bewilderment.. because eventually, time will tell u what ur true calling is..
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Originally posted by alfagal:
who will wanna take in fresh grad to b investment banker?
u are handling cm profile of abv 1-3mil..
u still have to start somewhere..much lower....
income comes w sacrifices: sleep, weekends, after office hrs, committment, mental focusness...
i'm not talking about the short term, but more about an eventuality. i'm talking about the end of the rat race, when i've slogged my guts out for the next 10-15 years, getting my fat pay cheque. will i be happy? hope i didn't sound myopic for you to have the misconception.
purpledragon84: thks for e consolation.
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good for u to know wat u wan in both short and long run...go and work for it!
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Originally posted by thousandisland:
In this few months, i've been seeing so many different people. Some feeling lost in their late 20s, early 30s... still searching for their reason of existence. They've changed their career paths so many times and think their work is just work and not their career. They feel dismotivated and dread the routine.
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i'm not talking about the short term, but more about an eventuality. i'm talking about the end of the rat race, when i've slogged my guts out for the next 10-15 years, getting my fat pay cheque. will i be happy? hope i didn't sound myopic for you to have the misconception.
Im sure u hav read somethin abt Marslow Law? It's abt different levels of needs / satisfactions of humans. This is wat everybody whom u hav seen is doin now - searchin for their needs in order to fullfill their satisfaction.
In fact, no matter wat we work as, we are always in the rat race. Being an Investment Banker may b ur "inspiration" now, tat's a good thing - at least u hav an "inspiration". But once u hav start workin, u wll experience a different situation from wat u imagine it to be. Till then, will u still b as clear as u r with ur direction now?
True calling is defined differently by every individual human - dependable on whether u hav accept wat u are havin now & goin to be in future. If not, we wll keep searchin til we hav found it. I jus hope tat after u hav step into the workin world, ur focus in life wll remain as clear as u are now.
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i hear a little voice in my head telling me what to do
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work is work...
you will not be judged by how many hours you put in the office but by the love and care to those you love and love you back...
work is just a means to an end.. the end being that which you give to your family, your friends, your loved ones and your community...
in the end, no one ever lamented spending insufficient time at the office, almost all lament spending insufficient time with their loved ones...
perhaps, that is the greatest of all callings..
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I used to think I wanted to bring happiness to people. To help them where I can. Then I ran into this bunch of girls who played me like a clown to keep themselves entertained. It hurt to find out that I was not even treated like a human being in their eyes. I turned overnight and decided just to take care of myself. But at one point where I felt so at peace, I recalled I reach a state I had never reached before. It was a beautiful moment, of light, warmth and clarity.
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can't afford to attain to my own's "true calling". Have alot of factors to consider - family, $$... otherwise, would have dropped everything and go...
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thousandisland, i believe i'm quite aligned with what you are feeling now. Just turned 21 and waiting to get into a university in 2 months. These questions have been drifting in my mind for a quite some time already, i myself have not found a clear direction.
However, I believe the mission in life relates to how your existance in this world is valuable to the rest of our community. It is something that we slowly explore and discover, and gets more refined as we experience and grow. Bringing happiness to your family and friends is just but a way to satisfy emotional needs, it cannot constitue to your personal mission in life. Contribution to others and personal mission has its differences.
Your personal mission has the capacity and potential to influence people at large, because contribution in lined with mission is supported by an endless stream of emotional energy that drives actions, and recharges itself as a consequence of your actions. Personal mission drives you towards success and emotional fulfilment.
I also believe that working for another person will not get you closer to your mission. When you are working, you are providing value to the top management, your value and contribution would always be limited by how the system in the organisation work. The top management are the people who are the one in lined with their missions and bringing value to the community, not you. When you limit your freedom to serve, you limit tremendous amount of potential value you could bring to your community, and thus the community will not reward you back with the big paycheck. Your life will be dependent on the paycheck of your employer, and you will never be free.
However in this society we live in, many will question and challenge the practicality of minding your own business. Many are heldback by the fear of uncertainty and rejection that comes along with serving the community at large. The prospect of not having a stable paycheck and facing rejection that comes along with it is real. But if you are truly keen on finding that path, you will find courage to break away from the main steam ideals, and become the few people in their lifetime to have found durable filfulment; people who can smile in their deathbed because they know they have fulfilled the reason for existance in this world.
I'm personally from a low income family and have secured myself a double degree programme in NTU. However, i also recognise that getting myself a high paying job in the future will not drive me towards my mission.
I believe, to find your mission out, you must first overcome your fears which dictates your future actions. Simply because a mission drafts actions as a consequence to serve, not as a consequence of fears.
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Originally posted by Ray87:
thousandisland, i believe i'm quite aligned with what you are feeling now. Just turned 21 and waiting to get into a university in 2 months. These questions have been drifting in my mind for a quite some time already, i myself have not found a clear direction.
However, I believe the mission in life relates to how your existance in this world is valuable to the rest of our community. It is something that we slowly explore and discover, and gets more refined as we experience and grow. Bringing happiness to your family and friends is just but a way to satisfy emotional needs, it cannot constitue to your personal mission in life. Contribution to others and personal mission has its differences.
Your personal mission has the capacity and potential to influence people at large, because contribution in lined with mission is supported by an endless stream of emotional energy that drives actions, and recharges itself as a consequence of your actions. Personal mission drives you towards success and emotional fulfilment.
I also believe that working for another person will not get you closer to your mission. When you are working, you are providing value to the top management, your value and contribution would always be limited by how the system in the organisation work. The top management are the people who are the one in lined with their missions and bringing value to the community, not you. When you limit your freedom to serve, you limit tremendous amount of potential value you could bring to your community, and thus the community will not reward you back with the big paycheck. Your life will be dependent on the paycheck of your employer, and you will never be free.
However in this society we live in, many will question and challenge the practicality of minding your own business. Many are heldback by the fear of uncertainty and rejection that comes along with serving the community at large. The prospect of not having a stable paycheck and facing rejection that comes along with it is real. But if you are truly keen on finding that path, you will find courage to break away from the main steam ideals, and become the few people in their lifetime to have found durable filfulment; people who can smile in their deathbed because they know they have fulfilled the reason for existance in this world.
I'm personally from a low income family and have secured myself a double degree programme in NTU. However, i also recognise that getting myself a high paying job in the future will not drive me towards my mission.
I believe, to find your mission out, you must first overcome your fears which dictates your future actions. Simply because a mission drafts actions as a consequence to serve, not as a consequence of fears.
Very intriguing and insightful. That being said, I'm too like you searching for the mission of our lives.
Especially agree with your 4th para on not working for others. That's why my parents always frown upon my desires not to commit to a 9-5 office work solely for the fat pay cheque. But to quell their "fears", i'm just going through the motion to get a bachelors and then forge my paths ahead.
Interestingly, i have friends from both spectrums. One of them are contended with status quo for now and perhaps for dont know how many years to come. The other has friends who have lofty ambitions but are obviously not rooted to the ground.
Take for e.g. one friend of mine who's in sunshine empire (and now, emmax). I don't want to bring in the whole debate on MLM but apparently he thinks his "comrades" in SE are the most ideal business partners he can find. Almost everytime i meet him, he will be sharing about his grandeur business plans. Well, he said he's seen James Phang in flesh and has faith in the emmax platform.
Worse thing, he told me that university education is totally worthless and the only point he's studying is to pacify his parents. That being said, i need to qualify that although i haven't started my education in uni, i believe the rigorous training in terms of thinking and the exposure is a prep for my life ahead.
To make things more interesting, he's also qt a seminar junkie going for national achiever's congress and an upcoming forex course. He told me after graduating from the forex course, he will receive a trader's cert. Said that will be equivalent to a MBA and that will grant him better chance into an investment bank. I can't help but feel skeptical about his claims.
At the end of the day, in the capacity of his friend, I'll still wish him all the best in whatever he does. If he falls and licks his wounds, i will fetch him some tissues. If he rises above the rest, i'll be happy for him deep down.
Ultimately, for myself my fears driving my search - i don't want to be in either spectrum. I don't want to contend with a life I'm not interested in, considering we both are already in our quarter life crisises. Neither do i want to rush into believing i've foudn my first pot of gold and acting motivated. I like to believe true motivation comes innately.
So till then, i guess we'll still be searching.
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Originally posted by thousandisland:
To make things more interesting, he's also qt a seminar junkie going for national achiever's congress and an upcoming forex course. He told me after graduating from the forex course, he will receive a trader's cert. Said that will be equivalent to a MBA and that will grant him better chance into an investment bank. I can't help but feel skeptical about his claims.
Let your friend know it's not easy to be a trader. Speaking from personal experience. If not, everyone will be a forex trader by now.
PS: A trader and an investment banker are totally unrelated.
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well. i would like to know why he has this belief that knowing how to trade can land him in IB too.
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I hear the calling to awaken and destroy Innocence and Excorcists.
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Originally posted by 16/f/lonely:
I hear the calling to awaken and destroy Innocence and Excorcists.
Are you Noahnoah?
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i dun really work, i just wait for my prince charming to appear.
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I found 1 but later quit after there is no challenge in it.
I guess it depends on one's motivation, drive and positive thinking
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Originally posted by xavier1979:
Are you Noahnoah?
Are you an Excorcist??????
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I dont think many people will find their true calling in life .
Cause most singaporeans life is work eat sleep and maybe dota .
For me i think i finish army then see how it goes .