8 Myths About Finding Your Calling

So what does it even mean to find and fulfill your calling? There seems to be misguided mythology around life's purpose, and a lot of it is total hogwash. Busting these eight myths about calling and purpose will help you discover what you're supposed to be doing on a higher level.

I could never have written a business plan for the shocking and unexpected ways in which I’ve been called to serve on this planet, and most people I know who are living smack dab in the center of their purpose couldn’t either. All you can do is muster up the moxie to say “YES” when a breadcrumb shows up, even though you may have no idea where it's leading you.

Sometimes you’re called to one act of service, but that calling may have an expiration date. You do what need to do to complete it, and then you’re called to do something else. You may even be called to more than one act of service simultaneously. This doesn’t mean you’re flaky; It just means you’re multi-passionate and your services are needed in seemingly disparate arenas of your genius.

Callings are not a luxury reserved for divinely-appointed extraordinary people. Every single one of us is called to play our instrument of divinity in the cosmic orchestra, in our own unique way.

Someone could be called upon to be a stay-at-home mom. Someone else might be called on to do volunteer food distribution work at a refugee camp in Africa. You don’t have to get paid for your calling, though people who fulfill their calling tend to find that money is a natural byproduct of contributing their gifts towards something that lights up their soul.

Finding and fulfilling your calling is a hero’s journey. You’re going to get the call and refuse to answer it for a while. Then when you’re finally brave enough to say yes, you’ll embark upon a bumpy road full of obstacles. You'll have your conviction and commitment tested, and meet both allies who lift you up and enemies who push you down. Finding and fulfilling your calling may not be easy, but it’s likely to be the most deeply nourishing, rewarding experience you’ll ever have in this human life.

Sometimes finding your calling requires you to take a leap of faith and quit the job that isn’t your calling. But callings aren’t all or nothing ordeals. There’s no reason you can’t pay the bills with a stable job that doesn’t necessarily light your fire while fulfilling your calling on the side. You may even be able to find a way to turn your current job into a calling.

For many, myself included, a breakdown precedes a breakthrough. I had to go through what I came to call my “Perfect Storm” before I found my true calling as a writer and artist. But you don’t have to wait for things to fall apart in order to say yes to that which is calling you. People often ask me, “How do you know when it’s time to take a leap of faith?” I answer, “When the pain of staying put exceeds your fear of the unknown, you leap.”

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