Waiting for a ‘better calling’?

By Klaus Döring

Career is a rapid motion. A course of action. Sure! A professional conduct in life. Even a progress through life. Here we are! That means a careerist is one who rushes widely and makes his or her own personal advancement his or her own aim in life!

What can we do if “career doubts” won’t go away? First, allow me to quote my Bible, especially Jude (watching out, sounding an alarm!), who writes in the style of a teacher who is watching a freight train bear down on his student’s driver. Yes, bells ring out: “Be merciful to those who doubt.” (Jude 1:22).

“A better calling” can refer to finding a more purposeful career path that aligns with your values, or techniques for making more effective, professional and less anxiety-inducing phone calls. Key strategies include preparation, proactive communication, and leveraging voice for better emotional connection compared with texting.

My parents always wanted me to become a banker. So far, so good. Why not? Maybe I would have been much happier in my job during those times. Maybe not? I wanted to be a journalist already at the age of 6. Believe it or not!

The pressure “to be” (or later NOT TO BE — thank you, Mr. Shakespeare!) started early in my life. Not only my parents, but also my peers and teachers began to exert their influence on me. Yes, I didn’t even know yet where my inclinations lay. I only knew I wanted to become a journalist.

Suddenly being a doctor or a lawyer? Yes, I was interested in law and medicine at that time. I really got very lucky becoming a managing editor of German law magazines during my last 18 years in Germany. But I never became a lawyer — or doctor! Now, I would ask myself — who cares?

“The way that people pick up careers is incredibly primitive,” said Nicholas Lore, founder of the Rockport Institute, a career coaching firm, and author of “The Pathfinder.” Strong tobacco, indeed. That’s why so many people are indeed dissatisfied with their jobs.

Believe me, I always thought about a true calling for myself. Sure, people whose careers aren’t the right fit often feel like impostors, as Professor Robert I. Sutton, an organizational psychologist at Stanford University in Palo Alto, said. Very, very well said, Sir.

How about you, my dear reader of this column? Are you also placing too high a value on the external rewards of a job, like money, prestige and power? Of course, for many of us (most?), these things are indeed important. Hold on, please! The work you do and the skills your opportunity requires and the value of your work are really more vital to fulfillment. Paperwork, or not … . You think you find a better career fit? Go ahead — but don’t expect that this is your life’s career!

I waited for my “better calling” (what a terrible term!), experiencing many even better and wonderful moments in life. I also experienced that several professional things I did in the past had not been very much compatible with me. But I stored many valuable experiences.

Today, I am what I am. And I am proud of it. Humans think — but our Lord leads!

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Questions, comments or suggestions? Email me: doringklaus@gmail.com or follow me on Facebook or visit one of my websites www.germanexpatinthephilippines.blogspot.com or www.klausdoringsclassicalmusic.blogspot.com.