What Are You Called to Do?

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Diversity of talents

We don’t enter this world with a clean psychological slate. Each of us harbors an innate nature, including a core temperament and one or more latent talents or aptitudes we bring to the world. In terms of temperament, just about any parent can confirm that kids come pre-wired to some degree. Babies arrive with a fundamental “attitude” — easy, challenging, excitable, shy, gregarious, etc. 

However, when it comes to innate aptitude, there’s more uncertainty. Are we ready-made to be carpenters, songwriters, nurses, homemakers or mathematicians, to name a few, or are these proclivities acquired through experience? Well, an avalanche of anecdotes suggests we enter the world primed for a particular pursuit. And if this premise is true, then one of life’s most vital tasks is to discover one’s given talent, that which affords existence a true measure of verve. “She loves what she does,” we sometimes say, referring to someone who comes alive when engaged with their bliss, as anthropologist Joseph Campbell called it.

I’ve seen many clients who failed to find or engage with their talent, and this made them vulnerable to a wide array of disappointments and mental maladies. To be cut off from one’s bliss generates its own stew of apathy, angst or even bitterness. We ignore our innate leanings to our own peril. They can offer a kind of guidance system that helps us navigate life in pursuit of meaning and purpose.

Awakening to Your Talent 

The first step, of course, is to discover one’s primary attribute, that built-in fit with a particular vocation or avocation. For some, that’s a no-brainer. If you were one of those kids who knew what you were put on Earth to do, then you enjoyed the “Of course!” version of awakening to your talent. What’s more, if those around you also recognized your indwelling talent or gift and supported you in pursuing it, you had license to make the best of your given attributes. As author Parker Palmer explained it, “Before I can tell my life what I want to do with it, I must listen to my life telling me who I am.”

For instance, one of my grade school classmates was obsessed with flying. He was into kites, model airplanes, paper ones (in class), and even tried gliding with a homemade contraption. Later he took private flying lessons, then flew copters in the military and, eventually, passenger jets. When I later learned of his career path, I thought, “Of course.” There was never a doubt. 

But for others it’s not so obvious. Some of us careen from one “This is it!” pursuit to another, most of them fading after a time. Dabblers, as they are called, often do a lot of “taste testing” before stumbling on their flavor, so to speak. Dabbling can be a prelude to discovering one’s main act, or it may lead to endless false starts.

Of course, some who discover their core aptitude never get the chance to apply their talent or lose that opportunity somehow. Sometimes, life puts too great an obstacle between them and their path to fulfillment. In such unhappy instances, the individual is challenged to create an alternative plan that, hopefully, still aligns them with their talent in some way, perhaps as an avocation. This is a hurdle many professional athletes face when they must retire, prompting some to stay in the game somehow, either by coaching, broadcasting or otherwise. 

Finally, there are those who claim they have never determined their calling, leaving them doubtful they truly possess one. For anyone unsure of their talent, the challenge becomes learning to decipher it from one’s experiences, sometimes by noticing where one’s thoughts and longings wander. If there is some pursuit that engages you and lights you up, further exploration is in order. Turning away from it in deference to money, fame or other sidetracks can be a betrayal of self, and a loss for the world.

Psychiatrist and author David Viscott put it this way: “The purpose of life is to discover your gift. The work of life is to develop it. The meaning of life is to give your gift away.”

For more, visit philipchard.com.