Are you just doing a job or following your calling?

There are three different ways you can look at your work. You can see it as merely a job, as a career, or as a calling.

Let me explain this a little better.

Just a Job

Someone who sees their work as a job just focuses on getting in and out as fast as possible in order to survive and make money. There is nothing wrong with this view, it just means that you’re probably getting zero joy out of what you do, other than the payment you receive to support yourself and/or your family.

Building a Career

A career is often seen as a type of work that provides many opportunities for growth and progress. Someone with a career wants to get further by aiming higher and beating out the competition. Many people find that they enjoy the adrenaline rush of a fast-paced, high-flying career. And for a lot of us, that’s all we are aiming for.

But what about a calling?

Living a Calling

A calling is something that is magnetic and all-consuming. It’s not just about what you’re doing that day or that week, it’s something that drives you and excites you. It gives you a sense of joy and peace because you know it’s what you truly are meant to do.

I recently heard a story that explained this all perfectly. It’s The Story of the Three Bricklayers. Here is my simplified version:

The Three Bricklayers

There were three bricklayers working on a scaffold — one crouching, one half standing, and one standing tall, smiling and working very hard. A man walking by asked the question, “What are you doing?”. The first, crouched, bricklayer replied “I’m a bricklayer. I’m laying bricks so that I can feed my family.” The second bricklayer answered “I’m a builder. I’m building a wall.” The third, and most productive, turned and said, “I’m building the most beautiful cathedral in the world.”

Now that’s the power of purpose. Technically, all three men were doing exactly the same thing — laying bricks. But the third man had a purpose and saw the larger vision.

Finding our Calling

Sometimes the problem is that we are stuck in a job or even a career that we can’t turn into a calling because we don’t really see what the end goal is for our business. Clarifying your goals and values will help you see the purpose and end goal of your efforts.

I’ll leave you with this question: are you laying bricks, putting up a wall, or building a cathedral?