Life desk :
It is very important for people to love their workdays if they want to live a professionally fulfilling life. However, it is impossible to love your workdays without finding your true calling in life. If you love your life only on weekends, then 5/7 or 70% of your working life will be miserable.
It must not be forgotten that starting a business is not the solution to the pandemic called ‘work-dissatisfaction’. Yes, it does take away the mental injuries inflicted by the bosses, but it does not guarantee permanent work happiness. It is like taking pain killers when you are suffering from arthritis, solution is temporary; the permanent solution is something else. Same way, true happiness at work is experienced only when we start a business in the area of our passion, something that makes us smile from ear to ear.
5 step road-test to find your true calling
A lot of people do not start a business because they do not know where their heart lies; the spirit of oblivion haunts them every moment; they are unaware of their true calling. After years of research in the field of personal development, I have identified a list of 5 self introspection tests that an individual can go through to identify his or her true-calling in life. Grab a cup of coffee, find a quiet corner in your house and get involved in some self-exploration. The 5 point road test for identifying your purpose is as follows:
1) You lose track of ‘time’: What are the various ‘activities or things’ that make you completely lose the track of time. Passion has an element of ‘timelessness’ ascribed to it. What are those activities that make the time stand still when you are pursuing them? You often forget to eat, drink, take breaks, or rest. Do not condone such activities, think about them in detail and record them for they hold the key to your success. The opposite is also true that if you are doing some work which you are not passionate about, you tend to feel restless and check the watch all the time. Any
2) You get ‘energy’ while doing it: Generally work exhausts us, energy flows out of us to the point of work. However when you are pursuing your passion, the direction of this ‘energy-flow’ reverses. Ever been involved in a physical or mental activity that charged you up completely? This is often referred to as being in the ‘zone’. What are those subjects or activities that serve as fountainhead of limitless energy for you?
3) Effortlessness: What are those activities in your life with which a feeling of effortlessness is associated? It seems to come naturally to you, while it is difficult for most others. This does not mean that you are already a pro at them, but it simply means that you do not struggle while learning and mastering that craft. There is a child-like enthusiasm experienced, an unnatural glow in the eyes when you are doing those things, you don’t mind sitting for hours and hours to learn more and more about those activities. And just because you are willing to learn, the learning curve in such activities is very steep. You have a tendency of cruising along the nuances of the subject rather than getting lost in the woods of confusion.
4) Beyond ‘money’ problems: Most of the people choose a career based upon their ‘finance’ requirements. While there is nothing inherently bad with money, their decisions are governed by the emotions of fear, insecurity, scarcity and greed. Your true-self uncovers when the emotions of fear and greed are not ruling your mind. What are the things you would be doing if money was not a problem? A better question would be what are the things you enjoy so much so that you are willing to do them for free? This does not mean that money will not come. Money being a by-product of the process of transfer of value will come for sure, if you are providing value to the society.
5) You are ‘serving’ a cause greater than yourself: Take a few moments to think about your work and the people it affects. One way of identifying whether you are pursuing your passion or not is to check your ‘service-focus’ at the time of the execution of the work. When you are doing something you are passionate about you would be thinking about serving others rather than catering to your personal needs. What are the things that give you a divine feeling of making contribution towards fellow human beings?
Do not feel disheartened if your activity or the passion list does not possess all the above 5 traits, any activity that passes one or two of these parameters deserves to be on your passion list, and can juice up your insipid life more than any other mundane profession would do. However if you could find an activity where all these elements are present it would be the ‘master-key’ to a passionate life. After counseling thousands of people I can say it with conviction that every individual is capable to list down five-ten activities that imbues their life with passion.
Human beings younger than 21 years get happiness by spending money on things they love while those older than 21 get happiness by making money by doing things they love. It is you supreme responsibility to find your true calling in life.
-Indian Express
