Hi tktaylor1,
Nice to see a Nashvillian on the boards. I was born and raised in the greaty city of Nashville.
I'm a professional therapist who has worked in a variety of behavioral health areas. My current job is in the foster care industry.
Here's my take on the issue of vocation tktaylor1. There are generally two types of people in the world.
The first group plans their career around something they enjoy and/or are passionate about. These are the one's who say things like "I love my job, it's amazing to me that I get paid to do something I love every day..." Long hours typically don't matter, pay may not matter, the point is that they get to do what they enjoy in life at work every day.
The second type are people that work simply to generate income. Their passions and enjoyment in life comes from what they do outside of their job. Sure they don't take jobs that would make them miserable, but the point is that their primary focus is on other things, family, hobbies, traveling, music, charity, etc. etc. Working is simple what pays the bills so that they can focus on what they really enjoy in life.
I have many friends who work in a field that is directly related to their passions. Many of these people feel they were "called" or "put on this earth" to be in the vocation they are in. I have other friends that went into fields that didn't "motivate" them and that they particularly weren't passionate about simply because it would provide a great income. With the freedom that such wealth provides they are able to focus on their family, their church, their community, and many other of their central passions in life. To them a job is a job and if they change careers, oh well, as long as it provides the income level they require they really couldn't care less.
It's rare, but some people manage to accomplish both of these at the same time. They find a job that they absolutely love and it provides the income and time for them to enjoy other passions as well.
The thing about life is that often you will find yourself alternating between these two options as circumstances, priorities, and values change/evolve over your lifetime. The key is knowing yourself well enough to identify your passions and priorities and then finding balance in life between them.
Looking for one as we speak.
