An important thing to think about in leadership programs is “What to I want to do leadership for?” What do I want to do with my life? It seems that people want more than a job…they want a calling. What we’ve found is that finding your calling is more of a journey than a destination. People are continuously discovering, creating, and innovating themselves. This journey of discovery, creation, and experience gives a person insight on what they can do with their life. A concept I like, “Innovate Yourself,” is about creating an idea for who you can become based on who you are and then developing and taking action on that. It is a constant journey, but after all, the journeys are more fun than the destination in many cases. Finding our calling is not solo journey, it is one we can take with our friends and people we may have never even met before. We can help each other out.
ThroughCollege created a Facebook Application called “What’s My Calling?” This is an activity that can be used with students in leadership programs…a way of bringing Facebook in to programming. The description of the application/activity is this: “What should you do with your life? Have your friends help you figure it out! What’s My Calling helps you find a career that matches your personality by asking the people who know you best…your friends! Or….if you don’t feel like thinking about your career right now you can suggest to your friends what careers they should pursue!”
Here is the philosophy behind this application. When you know who you are from your experiences–your strengths, skills, values, and passionate interest–and you know what others know of you, you can combine these to start the journey to find your calling. For this facebook application you identify your career areas, and then most importantly type in specifically your ideas for what your calling is based on what you’ve identified. The powerful part is when you ask friends you know you to do the same for you…and then the app will bring it all together, show you the top career calling areas for you, and show you the ideas and insights your friends typed for you.
How do you think you find your calling? Do you have a good story about the journey towards finding your own calling? How did you learn about yourself, your strengths, passionate interests, and values? What were the memorable and meaningful experiences for you? So, please share your wisdom and send us your own stories, ideas, or resources and we can share them with others on this site.