What Is Work For?
Part of the vision for The Good Leaven Letter is to share thought-provoking distinctions that act as good leaven for your life. A section I read by Dan Koe in his e-book Purpose and Profit: A Guide to Discovering Your Life’s Work shares such a distinction. Here’s the quote at length:
“A job is some unpleasant work you do for someone else for the sole purpose of making money. A job is a survival mechanism. A job is one milestone on the path to living up to those who shaped your mind. A job is similar to schools from the perspective that good marketing can make up for a bad product. After centuries of failing to get results, they're still alive and well for the simple reason that very few people go through the trouble of thinking for themselves. Most people do what most people do. Most people aren't okay with getting the same results as most people, but by the halfway point, it’s incredibly difficult to escape.
A career is a commitment to development in your work. A career demands that you pursue a hierarchy of challenging roles and tasks. Psychologically, this brings long-term order and clarity to your mind. With each level of challenge, life becomes more complex and interesting. New paths for knowledge and skill acquisition become apparent. A career is extended schooling. If you want to progress further in a career, to an extent, you need to have your life together.
A calling is work you can’t pull yourself away from and others can’t help but pay you for. A calling can't be assigned to you. A calling cannot be pursued under the orders of another. A calling cannot be defined by a set amount of working hours because your mind is always working on it. A calling is found at the point where improvement turns into obsession. A calling is something others won't understand. Something that must be cared for, protected, and maintained by the one pursuing it, like a gift that others could accidentally steal.
A job is not a career or calling, but a career and calling are both jobs. A career is not a calling, but a calling is a career. Jobs are great for young people who don't know what they want or simply need to survive. Careers are great for those who want a bit more satisfaction in life, because they understand the need for challenging work as a forcing function for self-development. A calling is for those who know they are meant for more. The select few who are willing to take the plunge into the unknown and take full responsibility for the outcome of their life.”
Even if I might not agree with all that he says, I find that pondering my work and personal life in light of Koe’s definitions of a job, a career, and a calling is useful. I think it is especially interesting to apply these distinctions to family life. At the early stages of maturity, someone might want to be in a relationship or get married primarily for the comforts that it offers. A more mature outlook is to realize that binding oneself by the vows of marriage and family life is a forcing function that leads to greater growth and development than remaining single. As love in marriage and family deepens, it seems to become more similar to Koe's description of a calling. The work of deepening my relationships with my wife and children is my unique, personal vocation. I think about it even when I am doing other things and I certainly feel that it “must be cared for, protected, and maintained, like a gift.”
This week, I invite you to ask yourself:
How do I relate to my work? Do I view it more like a job, a career, or a calling?
How do I relate to my relationships (friendships, family, etc.)? Do I view them more like jobs, careers, or callings?
God bless,
Dan
