I haven’t posted on Sense of Learning in quite some time. Life got busy. Work got busy. It just wasn’t a priority and I hadn’t felt inspired enough in the last few months of 2018. But….it’s a new year, a fresh start, full of wonderful conversations and ideas and I’m inspired to write this first post for 2019.

2018 seemed a challenging year for a lot of us. It was for me. After a long time working in one organisation, I decided it was time to change where I worked. I was ready to confirm the transferability of my learning and development expertise. Could I take what I know and do, and apply it within a different context?

The answer to that question is evolving everyday as I face new challenges, different stakeholder needs, new business problems, culture differences and build my understanding of the organisation’s business. Fundamentally though, the answer is yes.

Why is it yes? Because being an educator, working in learning and development, making a difference for others, is what I firmly believe is my true calling. It’s my passion, drive, challenge, motivator and leaves me feeling like I make a significant contribution.

This got me thinking though about others and whether they are tapping into their true calling. Have they found their calling, their intrinsic motivation? Are they fulfilling their vocational destiny?

I had a conversation with someone recently who has achieved everything they feel they can in their chosen career. This career was their passion as they grew up, but it seems now they’ve tired of it. This career was their true calling, however they’ve lost their passion as the company’s bottom line has become far more important than the job satisfaction of their employees. How do they navigate the challenge of moving onto something new and rebuilding their passion through it becoming a hobby or casual employment?

And today, I listened to people discussing their lack of motivation and passion for what they do. Seems they’ve lost it recently, but their conversation had me wondering whether they have identified what they are meant to do – their true calling. This made me ponder how long people are willing to work in roles that lack that strong connection to who they are, their drives and passion.

In reflection tonight, I’m considering myself extremely lucky to be able to know mine. I can’t pin point the moment it clicked, or how I worked it out, it’s just something I know and feel. It is who I am and I’m hoping for others that 2019 can be a year they have their a-ha moment and identify theirs.