A Guide To Knowing WHEN You’re Being Called – Step 1

Many people offer advice on HOW to define your calling. But,  if you want to understand WHEN you’re being called, follow this 3-step process and tune-in to the call for your life.

Your calling may scare you

One of our greatest quests is to find our calling. We want to have significance in the world. We want to make a dent in the universe.

Did you know that the etymology of vocation (which is often used synonymously with calling) is the Latin word vocare, which means “to call”? And that vocare is derived from the word vox, which means ”voice”?

So a calling is a voice, an inner voice. Have you heard that voice before? Have you ignored it?

I suspect you did, because the vox made you uncomfortable.

But callings are supposed to be uncomfortable. They’re scary and difficult and they push us beyond our comfort zone.

You don’t get called to a place you’ve already been. You get called to somewhere new.

The vox doesn’t call you to what is easy. The vox calls you to a challenge.

How do you know being called?

This post is not about identifying your calling, it’s about knowing WHEN you’re being called.

Over the coming weeks we’ll look at the life of Scott Harrison, the Founder and CEO of charity: water, an industry disrupting charity that’s delivered clean water projects to over 8.4 million people around the world.

For 10 years Scott was one of New York city’s top night club promoters, but the endless cycle of booze, drugs, girls and parties made Scott restless and depressed. From his book Thirst:

“For years, I’d been pursuing the wrong things—from the BMW I’d bought as a teenager to the designer clothes I now wore, to the drugs I took and the hip cities I bragged about visiting. But where had it left me? With a numb body, a drug habit, and fingernails bitten down to ugly nubs. I’d been partying with some of the richest people I’d ever known, guys who’d gamble $10,000 on a hand of blackjack while looking indifferent as to whether they’d win or lose. I’d watched middle-aged men torch their marriages so they could date girls younger than their own daughters, only to see those relationships fall apart, too. And I’d enabled and curated all of it in the name of fun and money.”

At 28 years old, Scott had destroyed the lives of others and had driven his own life into the ditch. His regret was so intense that he was “too numb to move”. When his neurologist told him there was nothing physically wrong with him, Scott finally understood what was truly wrong. It was his first step in knowing that he was being called:

Scott was FED-UP.

FED-UP with what he had become.

FED-UP with destroying other people’s lives.

FED-UP with regret and remorse.

“Tainted wealth has no lasting value, but right living can save your life.” Proverbs 10:2 NLT

Scott had to change his life to save his life.

Now maybe your situation isn’t as dramatic as Scott’s, but you’re FED-UP nonetheless. You’re FED-UP with who you are or where you are or what you’re doing, and the vox is encouraging you to do something else, something different or something new.

Join me next time and I’ll reveal to you the second step of knowing WHEN you’re being called.

Be Wise and Successful…

1. Read Thirst: A story of Redemption, Compassion, And A Mission To Bring Clean Water To The World by Scott Harrison. It’s an inspiring story of how a life can move from selfishness to service.

2. Listen to your inner voice. You can’t hear the vox because you’re too busy and distracted by life. Spend 10 minutes everyday in quiet time, journaling, reflecting and/or praying and ask yourself, “Am I FED-UP?” and, “What is making me feel this way?”

3. Seek support. Anyone is capable of positive change if they have the right spiritual, physical, mental and emotional outlook. Seek support in ALL these areas. Discuss your feelings and ideas with people who know you well and care about you and your future.

4. Remove yourself from unhealthy situations and habits. Don’t become too numb to experience and enjoy your life. Turn and run from unhealthy and destructive habits and listen for the voice that’s calling you to a healthier, happier and more successful life.