When Your Calling Doesn’t Call: What Do You Do Without a Life Passion?

Interesting headline? Read on... 

“If we don’t know what we want to be when we grow up, is there something fundamentally wrong with us?”

Following our joy, chasing our bliss, finding our dharma: these are good things, right? We want to be like the heroic people who gave up the security of some well-paying 9-to-5 in order to move to Greece and start a goat farm that can power a small village. Amazing, right? Let’s all follow our passions!

But what if we don’t have one? What if there’s nothing in particular we’d want to give up our steady paycheck for? What if we care about living a meaningful life but don’t know what, exactly, that would look like?

If you feel this way, you’re not alone. The people that turned their passions into lucrative careers are happy to toot their own horns about it, and loudly. But most of us aren’t doing that. We haven’t found our calling, so we keep waiting for the phone to ring. We join the circus or buy a mobile home to sell our jewelry out of, and for a while, it feels like a life calling. It feels meaningful and important. Then, after a while, exhausted from working too hard and making too little, we realize that we’re bored and frustrated and maybe we’re not in love with what we thought was our calling anymore. Turns out the call was just spam.

Then we start to wonder: If we don’t know what we want to be when we grow up, is there something fundamentally wrong with us?

There isn’t. It’s a myth that we all have some single grand life passion that we must be following or we’re living some pale, flaccid version of life. It’s as mythological as the idea of The One for romantic love.

Read the rest of this fascinating article here.

While you do that, I advocate that you should identify a Purpose that aligns with your strengths. This purpose is not written in stone - meaning, you can change it whenever you like, or even have more than one Purpose at a time. I support my Strengths-based career coaching clients in this journey.

If you want to know how to do this, contact me on +919820155778 or write to ryanbbarretto@hotmail.com for a discussion.

How You build Accountability as a Leader?

 First - you set an example by showing how you are accountable in your role. 

Next - you set expectations according to the capability of your team and the results you need. Applying the Situational Leadership Model is an excellent way to do this. (Ask me how)

Then - convey your willingness to listen to suggestions from them. Allow them this facility so that both they and you can learn, even if you already know a better way. If you have to reject their ideas, please do provide a clear explanation. This will allow the team to grow confidence & share ideas that will benefit the department & organization. 

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Finally - set up formal review dates and times, along with the option for your team to come to you anytime for clarifications / updates / emergencies.  Informally, talk to the team everyday (morning or evening as per their convenience) so that you and the team are on the same page.

This question came up on LinkedIn and I am one of the people who contributed to it.  You can view it here.   

Why I answered it like this? - because leaders get best results when they lead by example. 

What it means to lead by example? "QBQ - The Question Behind the Question" is the name of a great book by John G. Miller where he describes personal accountability in clear terms.  I have used his wisdom in workshops (with positive results) where Personal Accountability is part of the topics to be covered. Do check it out.  Disclaimer- I don't earn from endorsement of the book.  I am just recommending a great resource to those who want to improve their personal accountability. 

Want to improve leadership skills in your organization? Let's talk. Connect with me on +919820155778 

Session learnings and Feedback - Strengths-based Resume Writing

Extremely happy to have conducted two sessions on Strengths-based Resume Writing and Interview Preparation for the students of R.A. Podar College in Matunga (E), Mumbai.

Approximately 170 students were covered in two separate three-hour batches conducted over 2 days.

Here is the feedback for both days.

This is where they have stated how they feel about writing their own Strength-based Resume after attending my session.

What they will apply from the sessions-

Extremely grateful to Ruta Vyas and the management at R.A. Podar College for the opportunity.

Do connect with me to conduct such sessions for students.

If you want personalized individual coaching for writing your resume or preparing for interviews, please do write to me at ryanbbarretto@hotmail.com or call on +919820155778 for a discussion.