In every person’s heart of hearts, they yearn to make a difference or have a profound impact on the world, which no doubt is a noble aim that characterises a calling, but how a person thinks they can make this contribution is important to decipher. I say this because often our egocentric ambition can hijack this intention of our heart and have us believe that in order to make the contribution we are destined for, we need to be elevated to a higher station in society, where power, influence and our perceived wisdom to solve its problems will effectively enable us to serve a saving role in the world. When this idealised grandiose vision of the future is contrasted with our more modest present reality, we can be tempted to feel that nothing we are doing now really matters, and that it is only those who are celebrated in the media/social media and by the broader culture (who are where we want to be) that are making the type of difference that is worthy of us.
When we think in this way, the daily work we partake in can be seen as ‘small’ or beneath the limits of our potential, and therefore taken for granted with its significance. This way of viewing our efforts can also be amplified when we are working in one-on-one settings where our perceived reach to the broader units of society is limited. While this is understandable if within ourselves we know that we have so much more to give, we mustn’t allow this myopic yearning to blind us to the reality that it is at the coalface that the greatest difference is made to peoples lives. Teachers, doctors, nurses, paramedics, psychologists, mental health professionals and customer service roles are but a few examples of a broader range of professions that interface directly with the public to meet fundamental needs that these people have. While the organs of society don’t always honour the contributions made by these workers by compensating them properly, the immense value of the services they provide is clear to see.
Without these individuals being there as the backbone of society, doing this hard graft with little if any fanfare, its degeneration would be swift. For this reason, I highlight the paramount importance of not diminishing these professions or overlooking those who engage in them as a calling or vocation. In every field, we need committed professionals who love and care about what they do and whom they serve by their efforts. Not only does this make for a meaningful enrichment to the quality of life being derived by those who are served, but it also fosters an enduring sense of fulfilment in those serving, who we need sustained for their continued contributions to be made. This has become all the more important in the wake of the Covid pandemic where workers across professions are having to deal with increased workloads and demands with less support and resourcing for their core functions. While doing more with less appears on its face to be a paradoxical impossibility, in my experience those best able to manage it are the heavily invested and resourceful few who see their work as more than just a job or career.
Another thing that shouldn’t be overlooked is that as we climb the ladder of ‘success’ in our chosen profession which moves us closer to having the outsized impact that the ego finds appealing, we will often become disconnected from the core work that was cause for our involvement in the first place. When I was working in the law, and since moving on to academia, I have witnessed numerous instances of purpose driven and passionate lawyers/lecturers being promoted to executive administration roles that did not resonate with them at all, and drained them of the enthusiasm that infused their work at the coalface, dealing with clients in need and students who were thirsty for the knowledge they had to convey. Chasing the money or promotions in organisational life can have that downside, so if we don’t want to compromise parts of ourselves that keep us connected to and fulfilled in our work, we must be cognisant of the trade-offs involved in taking that course. What is often perceived as ‘levelling up’ by the ego’s measure of progress involves a spiritual regression as we relegate its call to the recesses of our being.
I have made the point on numerous occasions previously that the human spirit has an actualising quality to it, so when we live in alignment with it, our inclination will be to be more and do more of what it is calling us into, but this process of unfolding our latent potentiality and character is organic, and not forced or driven by the personal desire for gain or recognition. Thus, accepting a promotion can be a very natural course if it is something that we grow into by, for example, demonstrating the virtues of diligence or excellence in our work, integrity in our decision making, or responsibility in leading others. The associated increases in pay or other benefits we may receive are earned in this way, as they should be rather than sought as the primary means to be acquired.
Dr. L. Christian Duperouzel 