Note: The Learn Your Calling service is already included in the Better Together: Forging Your Marital Mission package and does not need to be purchased separately by couples who are working through that package. Otherwise, feel free to purchase it and I will be happy to work with you!
Who are you at your core? Do you know?
Many people spend years trying to find themselves – pursuing a career, direction, or achievement which they believe will bring them life satisfaction only to achieve their goal and still be unsatisfied. That is because they are missing one key ingredient to a fulfilling life: understanding their calling.
The best clip I have ever seen to explain this calling phenomenon is in the animated movie Rise of the Guardians. In it, the Santa Claus character, North, talks with Jack Frost about his “center” (what I would term a “calling”).
You can watch this clip below.
Why is understanding your calling so important? Here’s why… when you know your calling, you will be more likely to attain: wealth, power, fame, notoriety, and higher societal status. However, the true blessings in knowing your calling are a much higher level of fulfillment in your life and *knowing* you are doing what you were meant to do.
The driving factor is that your calling will be what pushes and motivates you to higher levels of satisfaction, fulfillment, and success (which is measured differently by different callings) as opposed to primarily striving toward wealth, power, fame, and status (which on their own do not lead to life satisfaction and fulfillment).
So, what can you expect your calling to be?
(It’s not what you think…)
Often when people talk about their calling, they say words like, “I believe I am called to be a pastor,” … or missionary… or doctor… or lawyer… or….
I’m here to tell you… those are not callings. Rather, those are what I would call occupations. An occupation is what you do; whereas, a calling is who you are.
And knowing who you are, purposefully driving toward it, and utilizing that core specialty makes all the difference… no matter the occupation (or, better stated, a manifestation of your calling).
Heather wrote a post about her experience in learning her calling; her calling is to be an empathizer (she naturally empathizes with people as the innate core of who she is). My calling, however, is to be a clarifier (I naturally guide people into clarity for their lives and explain concepts which were previously obscure to them).
Other clients, with whom I have worked, have resulted in these callings:
- explorer
- perspective-bringer
- persuader
- beautifier
- cultivator
- architect
- optimizer
- … and more!
Isn’t this site about spousal selection and preparing for marriage?
What does calling have to do with it?
I’m so glad you asked! Knowing each other’s calling will give you incredible insight into the innate direction of each person’s life.
Let’s say you are a lady and you’ve been out on a few dates with a guy. You think he’s cute and kind of like him, but he hasn’t yet shown you what sort of direction he wants to proceed in life. Are you ready to commit to him? Probably not – you’d want to know what he wants to do with his life (and not even that it *has* to turn out that way, but that there’s at least a plan, right?).
Or, let’s say you’re a gentleman and you’ve been out on a few dates with a girl. You think she’s cute and are starting to like her, but at this point, you’re just getting to know her – it would be too soon to make a lifelong commitment to her. As your relationship proceeds, you would want to know if she would make a good spouse and helpmate for you, right? Though there is a place for discussing marital roles within that arena, she also has a calling within her which will drive her and which she will strongly desire to pursue (just like you are driven to pursue yours). Knowing her calling can greatly help you understand how you two will fit well together in marriage as she pursues her calling and you are pursuing yours.
After all, let’s face it, wouldn’t it be wonderful if you could go into marriage knowing your callings and figuring out a game plan to embrace them together? For Heather and I, our callings of being a clarifier and empathizer work tremendously well in our relationship coaching – I clarify the truth about an issue for our clients while she aids in maintaining harmony (as she puts herself in our clients’ shoes and how they may be feeling after receiving the clarity).
So, how can I learn what my calling is?
Is there a test I can take, or a list of callings to review, to find out?
Unfortunately, there is no automated test available because the process is so uniquely individualized for each person going through it. There is also no pre-determined list of calling possibilities as the possibilities are only constrained by the language used to discover them (we have not yet found two people with the same calling).
Infusing my calling of clarity, language skills, and passion of helping people understand more about themselves, I realized that I could not keep this secret to myself and had to share the effects of it with others (i.e., helping people find their calling).
My name is Marta and I’m a restorer!
Working with Eric to get to the heart of my calling was an eye-opening experience. The questions he asked helped me to look at my calling from a totally different perspective than I had through taking the DISC Profile and Strengths Finder 2.0 tests. As we dug through the layers and went to the core of who I am, the word ‘restorer’ kept coming up repeatedly. After looking at that word more closely and examining the definition, I could see where I use that calling in many different ways – I just couldn’t identify it before.
Now, as I make decisions, this is a starting point for me, a way for me to look and see if a project, idea or business opportunity fits my calling. With this word, I have had many AHA! moments of why a project or idea did or didn’t work for me. Patterns have begun to emerge. This is very exciting!
Thank you, Eric, for working with me and for helping me move into my calling as a restorer.
Marta Goertzen, Selah Studios
How much would you invest into knowing the direction your life should take? Imagine your heart, mind, and soul bearing witness that such a life-direction is really true for you. Many people have spent tens of thousands of dollars trying to find themselves and prepare for careers hoping to be passionate and excited when they reach their destination.
One client of mine had recently (within the last couple months as of the time I worked with him) finished his undergraduate degree in business. His parents thought it was safe and persuaded him to do so apart from his natural desires and leanings. What was his calling? It was to be an explorer. He looked at me and said, “Eric, I am an explorer… that really is who I am at heart. My heart is not in business. What do I do with that seeing how I just finished my bachelor’s degree?” I thought for a moment and responded, “It sounds like you’re going back and getting educated in the area in which you are truly passionate.” He looked at me as if I had lost my mind… he just finished his bachelor’s degree. I paused for a couple seconds and then said, “Well, what else are you going to do with the rest of your life if you do not live out your calling?” The question rocked him to his core. He slowly responded, “Well… it sounds like I need to go back to college and live out my calling.”
Think of all the years of time and expense he could have saved if he learned his calling before he started his college degree program. Let me re-emphasize: knowing your calling is transformational – it will clarify your pursuits for the rest of your life.
The process of finding one’s calling takes around two hours – such a small investment compared to the years other education and self-learning takes to complete.
How You Can Learn Your Calling
If you’re still with me on this page, my guess is that you’re interested in learning your calling. We now offer this service in the second month of our premium counseling packages. However, if you are only interested in this service, you can purchase the service at the end of this page.
Many people wake up every morning to jobs they do not like or leave them with a sense of dissatisfaction. The reason is: they are not living out their calling. Imagine no longer having such discontentment because you are creating the life you know will bring you satisfaction and fulfillment.
How much of an investment would it be worth to live a satisfying and fulfilling life – and know that you are on the right path toward it?
This is not a one-size fits all type of session. This is individualized to you where I ask you life-probing questions to get at the deepest motivations and core of who you are so I can clarify your calling with you.
I believe I can be of service to you and I look forward to working with you to help you transform your life’s direction, increase your satisfaction, and to find fulfillment by living out your life’s calling.
If you would like to learn your calling, please purchase the service or contact us if you have additional questions!
If you are dating, engaged, or married and you each would like to learn your individual callings as a standalone service, please update the quantity of this item to 2 (for a two-hour session).