Hi there. I am Dr. Gilbert Soo Hoo, welcoming you back for the second episode of our series of talks on the topic, “My Work, Career, and Vocation.” Last time I focused on the marketplace from a personal perspective, our jobs and career. I briefly touched on vocation in contrasting it with career. If you recall, career deals specifically with our marketplace goals and pursuits, spanning the full spectrum from our very first job through our last before retiring. But we expanded the concept of work to include paid and unpaid occupation that would recognize being a housewife or full-time student, and even the pursuit of a serious interest that may become a second job that eventually replaces our primary job.

[slide 1]

I had proposed that we think of vocation as a philosophy of life, worldview, or orientation to life in the broadest sense. Vocation answers the questions: “What is my life all about? Why do I live life the way I do? What are my life goals or objectives? What lasting legacy do I wish to leave?” Another way to look at it is to ask, “How do I want people to see me or to think of me?”

Thinking about our personal vocation and even drafting a summary statement to encapsulate our ideas help discipline us to think clearly and comprehensively about who we are and what we are about. This exercise forces us to examine what and who are important to us, to identify our values, convictions, beliefs, and priorities.

[slide 2]

It’s like looking hard and long in the mirror, discovering who we really are and how others see us. We assess our strengths and weaknesses, our habits and inclinations. We want to know, if possible, our blindspots. If we’re brave enough, we ask someone who knows us very well to give us their honest appraisal. We may not like what we hear but, if we really want to know what makes us tick, we must listen not defensively but with openness. This exercise of gaining self-awareness is an essential precursor to identifying and pursuing our vocation.

What are our strengths and aptitude that enable us to succeed? What are our weaknesses and tendencies that threaten to undermine our efforts? Since vocation encompasses all of life, pursuing it is a lifelong endeavor. It’s the proverbial marathon, not a brief sprint. We all have our good and bad days, sometimes making progress and other times spinning our wheels going nowhere. Hopefully overall, however, we’re moving forward.

We undergo this rigorous self-examination because vocation, as we will describe it and pursue it, will ultimately define us. It will characterize us and, if it can be explained, it will provide a convenient and accurate summary of our lives and our significance, especially to others. What impact or imprint do we wish to make? What is our contribution? How do we want to be remembered and by whom? Will others be better off because of us or worse? Or will we suffer the ignominy of being regarded as irrelevant and insignificant, a non-person? It’s not a matter of ego-boosting unless we choose to do so. Vocation does not have to be about fame or fortune unless we make those goals our priority and there are people who have those goals.

At this point of our talk, we don’t want to pass judgment on someone else’s vocational choices. Since deciding on our vocational focus is a personal matter, each person has the right to deliberate and then to make the call for themselves. If they wish to consult with someone for advice, they can certainly do that. Later, they may change their mind and select a different vocational emphasis. Life is like that. We grow and mature and, as a result, we adopt a different perspective. Or something happens to cause us to switch direction.

But what if a person opts not to go through the process for whatever the reason? Maybe it’s too confining or intentional. Or maybe the discipline of self-examination is too much work or painful. Or they are too occupied with the here-and-now, with the present moment, to appreciate long-term orientation and planning. They don’t see its value. Again, that is their choice.

[slide 3]

In the corporate world, organizations develop strategy and a set of tactics, the long-term and the short-term aspects of planning and implementation to secure the bottom line. Strategy features long-term goals and the general mapping to reach them. It likely includes a mission statement.

The organization incorporates best practices and specifies necessary resources. An effective strategy maintains the core values of the company. Management periodically reviews its strategy to ensure continued compliance to the goals and values. Tactics consist of a sequence of concrete steps or actions that progress toward the objective.

The analogy of strategy and tactics help explain vocation, its value and implementation. Like strategy, crafting a vocational statement highlights the long-term goals or objective toward which life should move and hopefully attain. It maintains a person’s core values, assuming they have identified what they are. Periodic review strives to ensure the person’s focus stays centered on the goal or objective. Tactics compare the plan for implementing the series of action items in order to ensure the steps taken align with the strategy.

All this seems a bit too methodical. People are not corporations. But the stakes are high—leading a life worth living. As someone stated: “You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.” We all go through life once. Will we do it right? Preparation can make a big difference as another person said: “Success depends upon previous preparation, and without such preparation there is sure to be failure.” If we want to be successful in life, we must prepare. This proactive stance finds its parallel in formulating strategy. Another way of expressing it is to determine our vocation: What is life all about? Where are we heading? What are our core values? What are our life goals or objective and how do we intend to attain it?

Some forethought can go a long way. But it’s difficult when life is busy and cluttered with responsibility and activity. We’re busy putting out the fires of the urgent, the so-called emergencies of life that demand immediate attention, or so it seems. It takes some discipline to pause long enough to examine a situation and to discern whether it really requires us to do something right now or it’s something that we can defer to a more appropriate time. We should have the attitude that the big picture of our lives is most important and needs clarification in order to provide a reference point to evaluate whether each situation and proposed activity aligns with what we consider to be our life’s priorities or not. If they do, we go for it. But if not, we decide whether to defer it or to not engage in it. We don’t want to be distracted from our life goals and objective. We need to stay focused.

At this point of our discussion on vocation, we want to acknowledge the importance of our faith, set of beliefs and convictions, including our view on God. Accepting his authority in our lives, we strive to discern his will, purpose, and plan for us and to factor these in.

[slide 4]

Our vocation, when we have determined what it is for us, gives us access to the big picture, a fundamental orientation by which we make decisions and choices as to the direction we should head toward, the milestones we wish to achieve, and the responsibilities and activities to which we ought to commit ourselves. We remember our core values, select what is important, and let go of what may potentially distract us from our main objective. In this way we stand a better chance of maximizing the opportunities when they arise that may require us to respond in a timely manner. Some opportunities present themselves within a window of time after which they go away. Opportunities missed may not reappear again. So it’s best to be ready. Having our vocation defined and established can give us certainty about an opportunity, its relative worth and importance to us. Then we’re in position to go for it with enthusiasm or not.

But what if we’re confronted with two opportunities both of seemingly similar worth and alignment with our vocation? What are our options? One, choose one or the other. Two, try to take both if possible. But let’s say we cannot tackle both. If both opportunities represent a tossup and we have to choose one, we remind ourselves that either would benefit and that not choosing the other does not cause major loss. Worse case is when we are indecisive and so fail to decide. Then we end up missing out on both opportunities. And we fail to honor our vocation.

Actually, having a clear vocation can mold and shape our character, reinforcing the virtues we hold dear and reducing the chances of adopting undesirable traits. We keep to the forefront of our consciousness a mental image of the kind of person we aspire to become, the kind of habits or pattern of behavior we want to adopt, and the kind of influence or impact we desire to have with others. This character will be evident in all areas of life if we’re consistent. Hence, our marketplace persona would reflect our traits. In this manner, we connect our vocation with our work. Who we are functions as the common thread tying all the parts of our lives together into an organic whole.

This last thought completes episode 2 of our series on work, career, and vocation. Next time we will look more closer at one fundamental aspect of vocation. Until then have a safe and fulfilling day.

Questions and Comments

1. Explain the vocation you have adopted and why.

2. Assess your personal strengths and weaknesses, preferences, significant opportunities in life.

3. In view of your vocation, what are you doing that aligns with that?