Calling: What Are the Prerequisites?

Everyone has a calling.  He or she may not call it that, but we all have a cause or a calling in our professional and private lives that improves the lives of those around us.

Merriam-Webster defines a calling as a strong inner impulse toward a particular course of action.

There are 3 prerequisites that help you make the calling a reality.  While we have many callings that sit in our hearts, a calling in action is what the world needs. 

Here are the 3 prerequisites:

i. Confidence

ii. Belief that your calling is of high value 

iii. Give up insecurities, especially when you allow other people's evaluation systems to impact you.

Confidence: Assertiveness & Seeking

Confidence is necessary to help you be assertive and seeking so you can research what you need to put your calling into action.  It takes a business mind to get things going especially if there are legal ramifications that must be addressed.  Knowing how to lobby the government, obtain certain licenses, etc. are some of the underlying needs.  Hiring the right consultant and gathering the people you need to make your plan more efficient takes confidence. 

Belief: Supported by Experience & Research

You must have a belief that your calling is of high value, even if others don't recognize the need immediately.  Part of this belief requires an understanding of the short and long term benefits of your calling.  Some of this belief may need extra education.  A calling about protecting the environment may need knowledge of eco-science. 

Give up insecurities, especially when you allow other people's evaluation system to impact you

This can be the biggest stumbling block.  You may have a great idea and the first person you talk to shoots it down.   It is easy to let it deflate your own desires when you allow someone's negativity to seep into your mind.  When someone shoots you down, remember that person is actually shooting herself down.  She is thinking about it in her own point of view, and certainly not the point of view that the calling is beneficial or needed.  

How many high school guidance counselors gave out lousy career advice because they used their own evaluation systems and neglected to understand the students' actual talents?  You have to decide if someone else's evaluation system should be your own.  We often adopt other people's evaluation systems that don't fit us.  The girlfriend who advises you buy the polka dotted dress is a simplified example.  If you know you would never feel comfortable wearing it in public, you are using your own evaluation system.

Not everyone is on the same walk with God, and that difference alone makes other people's opinions harmful.  

Do you worry about what other people think?  You can't let other people's insecurities become yours. Then, we are all just throwing our talents away.