The Art of Manliness: Finding Your Calling Part III

Moving right along as we talk about The Art of Manliness's series on vocation, we now arrive at:

Cover via Amazon

Part III: Why Pursue a Vocation?

After all, last week we considered that some people are perfectly happy with "good-enough" matches. Maybe you're one of them.  Maybe I am (though, if you've been reading along, you probably suspect that I'm not...).

Well, as Brett and Kate McKay (probably mostly Brett, I think) say:

I believe that one of the greatest purposes of this life is to grow and develop to the greatest extent possible, to be tested, to stretch your capabilities to the limit, to maximize all of your potential, in short, and please excuse the cliched phrase, to become all that you can be.

Finding, pursuing, and working at your vocation will drive you to do those things.

And on a less philosophical level, finding, pursuing, and working at your vocation will give you peace, or at least lower your resentment towards working a job you hate because you have to. That, in turn, will improve your health. You'll work harder and more passionately, so you'll be more successful. And you won't need to turn elsewhere for joy, which means fewer time- and money-sinks.

Don't quit your day job and leave your family in the lurch in this process, of course, but...

Fathers sometimes rationalize working in a job they hate so that they can allow their kids to follow their dreams. The problem here is that their fathers often said the same thing, and their fathers before that. Someone has to break the chain. A father must model what he wishes his children to become. If you don’t want your kids to play it small, then why are you?

Mothers, too, I think.

Why are you pursuing your vocation? Or, why aren't you?

Related articles

• The Art of Manliness: Find Your Calling Part I
• The Art of Manliness: Finding Your Calling Part II
• O's 4-Step Guide to Discovering Who You're Meant to Be (Part III)