What is a person's vocation? A vocation is an inclination, an ability to do something or do something. How to find your calling: recommendations, methods and features. – this is the best application of the inherent
Efremova's Dictionary
Vocation
- Wed
- Inclination, internal attraction to something. business, some profession (if you have the necessary abilities).
- Role, task, purpose.
- outdated The process of action by value. verb: call (1a1).
Ozhegov's Dictionary
CALL A NIE, I, Wed
1. An inclination towards a particular business or profession. P. to science. Doctor by vocation.
2. Life's work, purpose. Raising children became her calling.
Explanatory Dictionary of the Russian Language (Alabugina)
Vocation
I, Wed
1. A special inclination, ability for something. business.
* A calling to painting. *
2. book That which constitutes the meaning of the existence of someone or something; purpose.
* A person's calling - serve people. *
Ushakov's Dictionary
Vocation
calling, vocations, Wed (books).
1. only units Action by Ch.-, call, invitation ( outdated trade). Come to the friendly calling, come, O young traveler.
2. An inclination, an internal attraction to some business, some profession (with the possession or belief that one has the necessary abilities for this). Feel a calling to science. A calling to music. Follow your calling. Artist by vocation.
| Role, task, purpose. “You nobly understood the calling of an actress.” Nekrasov. “Oh, who will now remind a person of his high calling?” Nekrasov. The historical vocation of the proletariat is to build a socialist society.
Westminster Dictionary of Theological Terms
Vocation
1)
♦ (ENG vocation)
(lat.- call; from vocare - to call)
Divine call for people to become Christians. In a narrower sense, the view that God calls people to perform certain professional duties or follow a lifestyle as a path of Christian service and piety. The term is most often associated with ordination. In this case, many factors interact, and the meaning of the calling is revealed different ways. No one calling is considered more important than others.
2)
(Appeal)
♦ (ENG call (calling)
(Greek kaleô - to call, lat. vocatio - calling)
God's calls to salvation or to a certain type of service, presupposing God's chosenness. God called to Moses (Ex. 3:4) and to to the prophets(Jer. 1:5). Jesus called apostles(Matt. 4:21; Rom. 1:1) and others (Matt. 9:13; 22:14).
Bible: Topical Dictionary
Vocation
, call upon
♦ The Lord calls us to Himself
A. Basic meanings of "to call upon"
♦ call for a meeting:
Gen 3:9; Acts 4:18
♦ pray to the Lord:
Gen 4:26; Rom 10:13
♦ put into service:
Ex 3:4,5; Mark 1:19,20
B. Call to become children of God
1. What is its essence
♦ call to heaven:
Phil 3:14; Hebrews 3:1
♦ immutable:
♦ associated with our election:
Rom 8:30; 2 Thessalonians 2:13,14
♦ Many are called, but few are chosen:
2. What should we do
♦ repent:
Luke 5:32; Acts 2:38,39; Acts 17:30
♦ call on the name of the Lord:
Acts 9:21; Rom 10:12
♦ confirm the calling of God with our lives:
3. What are its consequences for us?
♦ justified and glorified:
♦ We have fellowship with Jesus:
♦ Let us enter the Kingdom of God:
1 Thessalonians 2:12; 2 Pet 1:9,10
♦ let us enter into the light of God:
♦ let us enter into the glory of Christ:
♦ we have Christian hope:
♦ we get the inheritance:
Reading time: 3 min
A person’s calling and his life mission are inseparable categories and represent a set of those life meanings and value guidelines that determine all human activities. Vocation is usually associated with work, and indeed this category reflects activity, but does not imply a strict connection to the work sphere; rather, it is about realizing one’s activity in a way that brings a sense of fulfillment and personal involvement in the life system.
Choosing a profession by vocation is considered the most favorable, since it will meet the realization of the inherent internal needs of the individual, his unique abilities to transform the world into better side. In a situation where life circumstances or rash actions do not allow one to realize oneself in the most relevant direction, a person can find time for his calling in his free time from work, getting carried away by something.
If abilities and education help determine what a person can do, then vocation always reflects that side of being that a person cannot help but realize. Going against inner impulses, a person may over time lose his uniqueness, inspiration and motivation. Lack of understanding of the internal benefits of a cause leads to a deep existential crisis, which is why the problem of finding one’s true purpose is so urgent.
What it is
Vocation is a rather vague category, and attempts to simplify it come down to choosing a professional path. Such a strategy can lead to complete disorientation, because the restructuring of society and the high speed of technical development creates new relevant specialties and forever consigns those that existed before to history. The pursuit of such relevance and compliance with trends can deprive a person of his inner calling. For example, drawing on canvas is increasingly being replaced by computer graphics, and hand-made footwear is being replaced by factories, not to mention the specialization of the agricultural industry. And then people whose vocation is mixing paint ingredients, tanning leather or gardening can abandon their unique talents or make a choice in favor of implementation, switching to a unique production or leaving their vocation as a hobby.
You can check whether a person is engaged in his vocation or simply in an activity that he is successful in using several important criteria.
If the work performed brings spiritual satisfaction, a feeling of personal fulfillment so much that the process, not profit, becomes the main thing, while the surrounding society benefits from what the person does or produces, then this is a vocation.
Another point is the scale, reaching dimensions that exceed in its semantic richness, duration and importance a person’s life in its everyday understanding. This is an ideology that remains alive even after the creator himself disappears or the person’s inner understanding that he can sacrifice some aspects of his life for the sake of realizing his own idea that benefits others.
From a deep point of view, calling is also a great responsibility, and not just a gift of ability. A person will feel constant spiritual shortage and torment when he fails to fulfill the tasks of his calling, if this continues long time, then all the talents and abilities inherent in this atrophy. This is how life motivation disappears, a feeling of living a life that is not your own appears, and the search and return to the starting point becomes difficult.
Naturally, vocation is not a static category, and it changes along with personality changes, but a fundamental change never occurs; only adjustments are possible due to changes in the situation, needs, and an increase in the level of proficiency in the skills necessary for its implementation.
For those who are absorbed in their hobby globally, it can represent the main existential category, and the person literally begins to fade away and “die before our eyes” in the absence of this activity. Others easily tolerate the lack of realization of their destined path, having many other areas of activity, hobbies and a low degree of motivation as support.
How to determine your calling
It is important for a person to determine his calling, but sometimes this turns out to be a difficult task. The reason for this may be the lack of contact with one’s experiences, internal mental and emotional processes, and, as a consequence, the inability to hear one’s abilities, understand meanings and aspirations. Personal immaturity also prevents you from understanding your calling, since it implies a high level of responsibility for your choice, first of all to yourself, and also to the whole society.
The infantilism of many people leaves them at the teenage level of development, where it is impossible to make decisions on their own, and vocation always requires full direct participation.
Diligent and artificial searches for a vocation usually do not end in success precisely because a person directs the bulk of his energy to various methods and study, instead of immersing himself in what he can spend hours doing and believes in. Naturally, only doing what you like cannot advance you towards understanding your business; creative actions, innovations, and a combination of several approaches may be needed. This is especially true for those whose calling has no analogues in the world or is quite rare.
To facilitate the search process, it is important to have high-level general training in all industries. It's hard to understand that you are called to make discoveries in the field molecular biology, if you don’t know that such a thing exists.
Accordingly, the larger the arsenal a person owns, the greater his chances of finding exactly what he wants. The development of skills must be regulated and those areas where there is the greatest interest should be developed as much as possible - it is beyond the line of knowledge of everything that has already been accomplished in this area that personal discoveries and an individual path begin.
In order to go such a distance, motivation is important, not by external factors, but by internal desires, because a calling always comes from the heart and one’s own realization.
A person who has many desires is always more motivated than one who is limited by standard social needs. If you want more than your current level gives, then the subconscious begins to automatically look for ways to realize and achieve, this is how the creative process occurs, new ideas are born, and the inherent potential is revealed.
Dreams and plans also help to develop desires, without criticizing the consciousness and logical stops about the impossibility of carrying out such a thing. Take time every day to imagine what you want, dream about your new life, the reality around you, the social order and other worlds. If fantasies become more detailed, the higher the level of desire will be, and only then will logic and creativity come in, helping to realize everything dreamed up.
Analysis of the desired response to one’s activities is a standard motivation for choosing a main direction. But in order to find a calling, it is also important to understand what you can and want to give to others. It is better to focus on what you want to give, because you can give your time, but want to give paintings, or you can give money, but want to give security. Only if the process of bestowal is as pleasant for a person as creation, then he will be in his place.
Examples
Examples help to distinguish vocation from many other concepts. Thus, a calling can find its fulfillment in a hobby or relationship, but one thing remains common - this is always the active position of a person.
Thus, a calling cannot be a factor that is outside the zone of influence and competence of a person. For example, parenting may be a calling, but children may not. The difference is that throughout life and in many situations a person can engage in education, but one cannot put all the meaning into specific children - they are not an activity, they develop at their own pace, they may no longer need education, etc.
Painting may be a vocation, but painting is not - it is a finite thing that has its final point of creation. From these examples, it is clear that the opportunity to realize a calling should remain with a person throughout his entire life, and physical factors and the will of other people are only temporary variables.
Objectively, there is no division of vocations based on gender or age. Theses in many sources say that women's vocation is motherhood; practice shows that fathers are sometimes more successful in fulfilling a similar role.
Traveling is attributed to the younger generation and is even encouraged to do so until adulthood has approached, but those who have a calling in travel continue to fulfill it and go further.
Environment this concept the halo of something lofty, inaccessible and something creative makes people forget about many possibilities. Shoemakers who benefit many specific people with their practical help may well be realizing their calling. A crisis manager is not only a monetary profession, but also a person’s moral attitude and ability to resolve difficult problems. Not everyone can have the patience of priests or rescue mission volunteers, but they can sculpt clay figurines that delight children or invent new medicines.
Speaker of the Medical and Psychological Center "PsychoMed"
Today is a wonderful day in Kolomna, the city day is being celebrated, the Divine Liturgy was celebrated, and I got a wonderful opportunity to come into contact with your life, with the life of the Moscow region, by taking part in this holiday. Perhaps the most striking moment is this meeting in the wonderful palace of beautiful children, where it is so easy and simple for many thousands of people to meet each other, and how good it is that our meeting with you has at its center such an important topic as the spiritual education of man .
And I would like to say a few words about something that is vital for every person. I would like to talk about vocation. What is a calling? Vocation is a person’s internal concentration on a certain area of activity, it is an internal concentration of attention and strength in relation to the chosen direction of life and activity. Human happiness largely depends on vocation. If you do not work according to your calling, then the work becomes boring and hard, a wise man said about this: “In order to determine whether you are working according to your calling or not working according to your calling, try to assess your condition after vacation. If you go to work with joy, it’s because of your calling, but if you go to work with memories of your vacation, with a heavy feeling of returning to some uninteresting routine, then there is no calling.”
If a person works according to his calling, he is happy, even if his work is not always adequately paid; the inner uplift and joy from the work performed compensates for material shortcomings. To be happy man, you need to try to build your life in such a way that you can work, work according to your calling. Vocation is formed in childhood, in teenage years, which is why childhood and adolescence are perhaps the most important stage of human life. Adults always look down on children a little, because children need support, care, education, and an adult, of course, is wiser and more educated than a child, but we must remember that it is in childhood and adolescence that what later is formed and will determine a person’s happiness. It is also during these years that one’s vocation is formed, so despite all the apparent ease and carefreeness of childhood and adolescence, this is actually a very important stage in life.
A vocation is formed under the influence of parents, sometimes even an inclination towards a particular activity is transmitted genetically, hereditarily, but education has a very great influence on the formation of a vocation, because at school students can come into contact with different areas of human knowledge. Good school not only introduces the child to theoretical acquaintance with certain areas of knowledge, but also helps to come into contact with them practically. Today you heard about wonderful camps where children work. Of course, not everyone will become a mason or builder, but participation in labor during summer holiday helps a person, a small person, perhaps a young person, to understand what work is.
The formation of a vocation does not happen automatically; there is a wonderful ancient wisdom that says: “Teaching without reflection is an empty exercise, but thinking without learning is a dangerous activity.” After all, in order for a vocation to be formed, you need to not only memorize the material that is taught to you in schools, you need to think, you need to constantly work with your mind to accompany your education and perception of information. Creative initiative must be present, including when you are simply learning a lesson. And you need to try to comprehend, understand the material being taught, and somehow pass through everything that is given to you through yourself. And at that moment when the heart surrenders, when you understand: this is mine, then studying this discipline ceases to be boring.
I would also like to recall the wonderful statement of Abba Dorotheus - there was such a wonderful old man, the father of the Church, he wrote a lot, was a very educated person, lived at the turn of the 6th-7th centuries. Abba Dorotheus could not study, his studies were not easy for him, and not only because the material was so difficult to master, but he also did not want to study. Recalling his years of study, he said that for him touching a book was like the touch of an evil beast. He ran away from studying and did not want to study, but at some point he began to encourage himself, to force himself, to cultivate his will. And then in the same memories of his studies, he says that the teaching, the book became everything for him. He forgot about food, drink, sleep, it was so interesting to immerse himself in this world of science.
It is interesting to immerse yourself in the world of science when you feel a calling, and not only in the world of theoretical science. Because in general, all human activity is Science with a capital S. If you feel the joyful command of your heart when you come into contact with one or another sphere of human activity, stop carefully at this activity, think about it again and again, let it pass through yourself in order to find this calling. And, of course, the teacher has a huge role. After all, the teacher not only knows more than the students, he tells the lesson and conveys information. In the end, you can simply read the same things, but reading books or using the Internet cannot replace the real experience of communicating with a teacher, because a teacher, teacher, professor in higher school– this is not only a person transmitting some knowledge. This is a guide to science, a tour guide.
In one of his wonderful works, Father Pavel Florensky, our outstanding scientist, encyclopedist, and priest, wrote about what it means to be a teacher, a professor. He really connected the work of a professor and teacher with the work of a guide who leads a group of visitors, for example, through a botanical garden. He talks about plants, talks about nature, but he talks about one blade of grass for longer, and he talks in such a way that suddenly the knowledge he conveys becomes so attractive that people stop at the same blade of grass and peer at it for a long, long time.
The great art of a teacher lies in being such a guide to science and life, to be able to correctly place emphasis, to interest children, to form image. And what image? It may seem strange, but each teacher conveys his own image to students, and here, perhaps, we should say about the most important thing, that there is now a certain crisis, a crisis in relations between generations. It often happens that young people do not understand their elders well, including their teachers. A certain dividing line arises between the student and the teacher; the teacher fails to reach the heart, not only the mind - the heart of the students. And this happens not only because, perhaps, the student is not attentive and diligent enough (which, of course, happens), but very often it depends on the inability of the teacher himself to overcome this division. The image will be learned when this image is beautiful, which is why everything about the teacher must be beautiful, including appearance, clothing, manner of speaking, but, most importantly, the person must have a beautiful inner life. In this sense, every teacher must be an ascetic, because the success of his work depends on his inner spiritual and mental state.
I would like to formulate a certain rule now. A bad person cannot be a good teacher. Just like a priest.
There are such human activities - pedagogy, education, the same spiritual enlightenment... A priest must also be an ascetic. His inner world is a certain way of conveying, among other things, information. Will they listen to a bad priest who does not live according to what he preaches? And in the same way they will not listen to the teacher, a bad person, evil man, for whom everything is not in order in his personal life: a bad family, bad children... The work of a teacher is wonderful, but it requires internal asceticism, it requires some kind of internal feat. And without this feat it is impossible to convey your inner world to those who carefully follow every word of the teacher.
But, on the other hand, much will not be understood and accepted if the student himself, like Abba Dorotheus, does not begin to force himself to overcome laziness, sloppiness, lack of concentration, if he wastes precious time on empty, unnecessary things. There are a lot of temptations in our world. I remember how, when I was finishing school, I was preparing for the exam. It was spring, the weather was beautiful, the windows were open, through the windows the music of one very popular and sweet song reached my ears, which was sung at the time when I was young. I looked out the window, saw young people, girls walking to the sounds of this music, I was so drawn to the street, I so wanted to be there: it’s fun there, it’s beautiful!
But, having opened the textbook, I thought: maybe now something most important in my life is being decided, I’ll close the window, sit at my desk and not go outside. And the whole future life may depend on such an act. I stood by the window, was silent, thought, closed the window, even drew the curtains, although it was during the day, and began to prepare for the exam. I remember this incident from my life because I know that you are going through the same temptations. But today there are even more of them, television is constantly present in our lives, computers, which can also transmit information and distract from information... And it also requires a kind of asceticism, through which you cultivate your will, the ability to control your thoughts and your actions. The ability to convince oneself is a remarkable human ability. And it is here, in this area of your personal existence, that you pass the most important exam of your maturity. Your entire life will depend on this future life. And no most wonderful teacher will be able to convey to you knowledge, experience, his image - this wonderful image - if you do not have the strength, the ability to limit yourself in pleasure, entertainment - in order to concentrate on learning.
It seems to me that in general the education system is an amazing system that works on the principle of two-way movement: from teacher to student, from student to teacher. The teacher teaches the student, and the students help the teacher grow. May God grant that your vocation may be formed as a result of your time in the schools. So that what you do in the future is a joyful activity for you, so that when you leave your vacation, you return to your work with a light feeling and great interest. We are not necessarily talking about prestigious work - any work can and should give a person a feeling of satisfaction. This is what happens if a person works according to his calling.
And the last thing I would like to tell you... A calling presupposes that someone calls. It’s not that you yourself are called, but someone calls you.< …>Sometimes you see how others work in the field in which you would like to work, most often after this the choice of profession occurs. But we have one more calling, each of us, regardless of what professional activity we choose.
Today I started talking about this in church, because it is connected with the Gospel that we read at the Liturgy. Many of those who are older will recognize this text. We are talking about a parable, a parable that tells about a rich man, a master who invited friends to his son’s wedding day and sent his servants to deliver the invitations. And those to whom this invitation was sent refused to come to the wedding, everyone was busy with their own business and did not really want to go to this fun. And more than that: they took one of them and beat them, even deprived them of their lives, accusing them of taking them away from their own business. Then the lord became angry and opened the doors of this bridal chamber, the wedding feast for everyone who wants to come (see Matt. 22:1-14).
The meaning of this parable is that by this gentleman the Lord meant God. The Lord calls us all, in this sense, we each have a calling to be with Him. Some feel this calling so strongly and vividly that they can no longer do anything other than directly serve God: they go to seminaries, become priests, go to monasteries, and through serving God they form various images of their service to their neighbors. For others, this calling does not so strongly determine the path of life, but, nevertheless, is of great importance for the intellectual and moral formation of the individual. But there are people who, like those who received an invitation from the Lord, refuse to accept it, do not want, and not only do not want - sometimes they can say a rude word to those who came to invite to God’s feast of faith, and there were cases when envoys were killed.
The world will be completely different, our life will be completely different, there will be a lot of goodness, light and truth around us if we respond to God’s calling. If we combine our professional calling with one common calling for us - to be with God. And then in the rays of God’s truth and in the rays of God’s grace, like a precious stone shimmering in the rays of the sun, our life will sparkle with all its facets. Because God is light, and without light no precious stone is visible, no edge plays, no beauty is revealed.<…>God is the light that illuminates us with His grace, and in the light of this grace, human talents, human callings, so diverse, so different, forming the unified beauty of the world created by God, will marvelously shine.
God grant that through these lessons that you are receiving today in schools in the Moscow region, the beauty of God’s world will be revealed to you. God bless you.
Ecology of life: Once upon a time in childhood, we all passed by cleaners. But we didn't look at them. We looked only at the sky, dreaming of becoming stars, astronauts, actors, presidents and musicians. Maybe now, doing something completely uninteresting to us, we are paying for our childish naivety?
Once upon a time in childhood, we all passed by the cleaners. But we didn't look at them. We looked only at the sky, dreaming of becoming stars, astronauts, actors, presidents and musicians. Maybe now, doing something completely uninteresting to us, we are paying for our childish naivety?
First of all, I want to say that there are no bad ones and good professions- this division lives only in our heads. If a profession exists, it means that someone needs it, and there is no way to do without it.
The division of professions should be carried out only into the following two unequal groups, namely “mine” and “others”. If what you do brings you pleasure, then you have found “your” profession - your calling.
Continue to do this - let the profession “pump up” your knowledge, control your thoughts on weekends and holidays(not to the detriment of yourself and your loved ones, of course) and every day more and more often turn your eyes to the sky, as in that distant, distant childhood.
According to my estimates, no more than 30% modern people dedicate their lives to their calling. The work activities of the rest have different shades of gray: for some it is lighter, while for others it is impenetrable darkness.
Unfortunately, at the moment there is no universal remedy to correct this situation, because, as already mentioned, we ourselves divide labor activity into prestigious and “not so prestigious”. Respectively, we ourselves become victims of our own thoughts.
Everything in society is very complicated. I would like to be a janitor: sweep the streets, pick up trash, work for fresh air and at the same time help passers-by (give directions; transfer old women at traffic lights; clear snow from cars parked in my yard; feed feral cats and dogs so that they do not attack anyone; amuse lonely pensioners who come out to sit on a bench, and also just communicate with people - learn news from them and share your own).
But in the current conditions, I don’t want to be a janitor, because janitors, according to society, are people of the lower class, and it prohibits them from earning a lot. In addition, according to society, janitors should not be happy: indeed, wherever you look, most of them have their own family drama. In other words, society has distorted this profession, making it a kind of doormat on which everyone wipes their feet. What can you say about doctors, teachers, drivers, postmen, housing office workers, cooks and many, many others? Is their position noticeably better than that of the wipers?
“Society... I also found the culprit!” - you exclaim and you will be right. Yes, we can say differently - that each of us, without exception, is to blame, because we ourselves allow such inequality, such hierarchy in our heads. And even if these notorious Freedom, Equality and Fraternity are around us at least ten times, while we see our world as a series of black and white - and never neutral - most janitors will still go about their business out of inevitable necessity, and not by vocation.
How to be? Give up on the imperfections of society and continue to persistently search for yourself. We can force ourselves to do something we don’t like and even endlessly convince ourselves that we can’t find anything more suitable than the job we currently have, that it’s too late to change anything, especially since there are insurmountable circumstances, etc.
This might interest you:
But the fact remains: until we find a calling, our life will not throw off the black and white prison uniform from our shoulders, and the janitors will not just clean our cars of snow in the morning and smile at us in the evenings when we return from work. Until we ourselves become happy, doing what we love, the whole world around us will seem gloomy, uninteresting, dirty and unpromising. And we will not work on its imperfections while our souls are disgusting. Meanwhile, only we must do this.
Our common calling is to change the world for the better y, but not on papers or for money - i.e. pretend, but for real – i.e. now. published
