Your life calling is more than a one-time decision. Life calling is a continual process of discovering who God has made you to be, who He is continuing to become, and what He desires for you to do on this earth. Essentially, life calling means answering the questions of “Who am I?” “Who do I want to be?” and “What am I here to do?” It takes self-awareness and intentional work to discover the answers to these life-long questions and to understand your life calling.
Key Concepts: Values help you understand and define your priorities. When you can identify your top 5-6 values, you are able to make decisions about your future that align more with who you are and what you care about.
Key Questions: What would your closest friends say about what you care about most? What is an example of a great decision you have made and what made it a great decision?
Key Resources: Use values lists and sort them into your top values. – Stop by The Life Calling & Career office to check out our values cards to aid this process.
Key Concepts: Your strengths are your natural ways of thinking, feeling, and behaving. They represent your abilities in all areas (physical, spiritual, intellectual, social, and emotional). The more you can understand your natural strengths, the more clarity and confidence you can gain in what God has given you.
Key Questions: What is a time when you achieved something you are proud of and what about you, as an individual, helped you accomplish it? What comes easily and naturally to you?
Key Resources: Clifton Strengths is the leading strengths assessment available. You can get a free assessment and personalized coaching in the Life Calling & Career office.
Key concepts: Passions are the things you love to do and want to see as a part of your regular life. Passions go beyond your basic desires and needs and step into what really makes you come alive. Living out your passions regularly may show that you are finding the spaces that God has given you to enjoy and delight in.
Key Questions: What do you want to do over and over again? What makes you come alive and give you energy?
Key Concepts: Without authenticity, your attempts to find a career that fits for you will actually fit for the false self you are putting forward. Authentic living allows you to take an honest examination of your life and dig deeper into what you want to see in your future.
Key Questions: Where do you feel most like your true self and what does that say about your interests and needs for the future? Where is it hard to be honest or your true self? What about these settings make this difficult?
Key Resources: Use the Relationship Authenticity Checklist in the Resource Section below
Key Concepts: Taking responsibility over who you are and who you want to be is essential to success. When you do not take ownership of your life, you will be led along by things that do not necessarily align with who you are or your goals for the future.
Key Questions: Where am I allowing myself to just follow along? What would it look like to take more ownership in each area of my life?
Key concepts: Growth mindset is about learning from mistakes, failures, and challenges. When you believe that you can continue to get better and improve, even when you do not succeed, you will continue to become stronger and grow into who you are aiming to be.
Key Questions: What is a recent mistake or failure you have had and what did you learn from this? When encountering a new challenge or recent failure, ask yourself what you can learn and how you can become stronger because of it.
Key Resources: Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol Dweck
Key Concepts: Working for something beyond ourselves is a key part of finding meaning and fulfillment. When you are able to apply who you are to things that matter to you most in the world, you will see greater engagement in your work and more satisfaction with your efforts.
Key Questions: What tends to move you to action (consider different kinds of people, places, problems, and opportunities)? What impact to you want to have or what kind of change do you want to offer to the world?
Key Concepts: Understanding where your goals and direction will potentially lead you is an important part of making the most of your time. When you are able to craft a vision for the future, you are able to better understand what you need to do now and find greater value in your process.
Key Questions: What will you and your situation look like in five years if you are successful in pursuing your goals and desires? What is required of you in the next year, month, and week to help start moving you toward this future vision?
This is where purpose becomes practice. Use the Career Readiness tools in the menu above to build skills, explore resources, and take concrete next steps toward internships, jobs, and life after IWU. Whether you’re preparing a résumé, practicing interviews, or growing professional confidence, this is your starting point.
