So far we have asked ourselves questions about what we love to do, what kind of work we loose ourselves in, began uncovering our malleable strengths, and started crafting a personal mission statement. Yet, the hard question remains “How do we put the overarching and general ideas embodied in our mission statements into practical application?”
Tan Ben-Shahar (2007) suggests that we take a look at what gives us meaning, what gives us pleasure, and what are strengths are in unison in order to arrive at useful conclusions about our life’s work (p. 103-104). Ben-Shahar uses a venn diagram consisting of three circles to organize this way of thinking. The first circle represents those things through which you find meaning. Hence, in the first circle you might write: teaching, being with loved ones, singing, etc. The second circle represents those things that give you pleasure. In this circle you could write: singing to music, helping others, or exercising. Last, the third circle represents your strengths. In this circle you would write things like: creativity in music, wisdom, relating to others, etc.
After filing in the circles, the next step is to put them together and see if there is an overlap. See below for an example.
In this example you can see that the overlapping areas are in singing, music, and creativity. While this exercise is helpful, it has a serious flaw. What if my overlapping areas are singing, music, and creativity? How many jobs are there, that are in need of these skills? Certainly, you can find ways to make this model work and by working through it you may discover your life’s work.
Unfortunately, I believe that we need to consider the reality of market demand. In other words, as mentioned above, there is not a big market demand for singers, or basketball players for that matter. Thus, I propose that we would do better to examine our passions, strengths, and market demand in unison. Like Ben-Shahar’s model my model is conceptualized in a venn diagram, but this time the circles are as follows.
The first circle represents your passions. Not sexual passions or your passion for food, but those things that we have previously described as activities you do for their own sake. Your passions are those few things that produce “flow.” They are the junction of meaning and pleasure, because meaning and pleasure proceed forth from passion.
Strengths are represented in the next circle. Again, strengths are character traits. They can be increased and developed and can be applied in a wide variety of situations. These might include such things as Seligman’s love of learning, curiosity, spirituality, etc. or your own variations.
Last, and most boringly, market demand. This is a hard question to answer and will require a little research. To begin you may want to look at what industries are predicted to grow over the next few years. Here is a link to one website that may be of help in this area: http://www.acinet.org/indview1.asp?nodeid=45
After pursuing industries drill down deeper and see what jobs within these industries fit with your passions and strengths.
Finally, go ahead and check online classifieds to get an idea of what each job pays. Of course, I am not saying that what a job pays is super important, on the contrary I think you should reduce your lifestyle and work a job you love, rather than settle for money, but you do need to go into this process with your eyes open.
When you reach this point you are ready to put it together. Make a venn diagram like to one below that shows the overlap of your passions, strengths, and the market demand for jobs that fit with the former.
This may take several attempts and will not be an easy process, but don’t give up. As you move through this process, keep your life mission or calling statement handy. Use this as a guide. If the area of work you end up with does not align with your mission, start over, and if necessary ask for help from a trusted friend or spouse.
References
Ben-shahar, Tal (2007). Happier: learn the secrets to daily joy and lasting fulfillment. NY, McGraw-Hill.
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