BY SHOKUFEH RAMIREZ
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA

One piece of advice that has long stuck with me is that, in considering one’s work, while it’s important to do useful work, we should also do what appeals to us. I can’t remember who told me this, or the exact words, but the message was one that resonated: there are lots of ways to contribute to the lives of our fellow humans and to the economy. So choosing a particular occupation only because we think it’s beneficial to others, without it being something that we can be passionate about, robs us all. Ourselves, because we’re doing something that doesn’t fully appeal to us; others, who might have that passion, but whose potential job we’ve filled; and society, which is getting the mediocre version of the service we are providing. Baha’u’llah said, “Occupy yourselves with that which profiteth yourselves and others.”

What interests us and what we can apply our passion to might change over time. It also might be that we have a hard time figuring out what our job destination might be, and the path to get there. A few things that might help us choose our occupation, with our heads AND hearts and souls, include:

-          Observing

-          Documenting

-          Being flexible

by Alisa Looney, from flickr creative commons

Observing: A few years ago, I went through a phase where I was struggling with determining what excited me, or at least figuring out how my different interests were connected. For the next nine or so months, any time I came across a news story or other information that really interested me, I would bookmark it. Over time, I was able to identify a pattern in what had previously seemed like disparate interests. Another way to gain clarity about one’s interests and how they might connect to a job and career path is to talk to people who you think have interesting jobs. Learning more about what their day to day work is like can help you figure out if it might be a good fit for you, and what additional skills or experience you might need to fill a similar position.

Documenting: In the previous step, I bookmarked my interests. But it’s also helpful to write about what brings you passion and joy. I think that sometimes we’re afraid to do this because we fear we won’t be able to fulfill it and thus view it as setting ourselves up for failure. But writing down what we want to do helps in a couple of ways. As hokey as it sounds, I believe that putting our wishes out in the world helps create positive energy around our ideas, helping put them in motion. On a more rational note, it’s hard to measure progress toward something if we don’t know what we are (or were) headed toward. It makes me happy to come across plans I wrote down in the past and am now able to identify as having fulfilled, or to contemplate how my goals have changed. If I’d never documented what I wanted, I wouldn’t now be able to see my progress and growth. For myself, I’ve identified a joy in helping others fulfill their capacity. The details of the jobs have changed (investigating and preventing disease, mentoring students, learning more about the interconnectedness of the different phases of our lives…), but all have ultimately related to my finding fulfillment in working toward the World Health Organization’s definition of health as “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being.”

photo by Wendi Gratz, from flickr creative commons

Being flexible: In this economy, especially early on in our lives, it may not be realistic that the things that bring us passion and joy also pay our rent. If we’ve documented what we want, it may be easier to identify the steps to that goal, making it possible to recognize what we’re gaining from our non-passion-and-joy jobs that will eventually serve us in a more fulfilling way in the future. We may also look beyond our paying jobs for the passion and joy, either through volunteering or part-time jobs. The networking mentioned in the observing step may be one way to find these opportunities beyond your primary workplace.

In an effort to be a good person, it can sometimes be easy to fall into the trap of doing what we think we should do, sacrificing what we want to do. But, we can have both, to the benefit of others as well as ourselves – at multiple levels: “In the Bahá’í Cause arts, sciences and all crafts are (counted as) worship…. Briefly, all effort and exertion put forth by man from the fullness of his heart is worship, if it is prompted by the highest motives and the will to do service to humanity. This is worship: to serve mankind and to minister to the needs of the people. Service is prayer….”

What are some things that you have found helpful in figuring out and working toward fulfilling your soul’s passion and joy and serving humanity?

photo by Chamko Remi, from flickr creative commons