How to Find Your Vocation (Without Burning Sage or Moving to Bali)

Your vocation might not even exist yet. And if it does, it probably has a weird name and no clear path. Like “ethical hacker” or “emotional cartographer.” So the real question isn’t “what should I do?”

It’s what is the work that’s trying to come through me—despite everything?

Vocation Isn’t a Ladder—It’s a Compass in a Burning Forest

You’ve been sold the ladder. Work hard, climb up, get promoted, die with stock options.

But vocation doesn’t care about your LinkedIn endorsements. Vocation is quieter. Weirder. It’s the stubborn itch in your brain when you’re stuck in meetings titled Q2 Client Retention Metrics. It’s the child version of you, tugging at your sleeve, asking why you stopped drawing dinosaurs.

To find your vocation, you have to get lost. Yes, lost.

Not in the romantic, gap-year-in-Portugal way. More like walking into a fog with a flashlight that flickers when you’re anxious. You’ll doubt everything. You’ll think you’re doing it wrong. But here’s the secret:

The fog is the path.

“The trouble with the rat race is that even if you win, you’re still a rat.” – Lily Tomlin

Listen to What Obsessively Pulls You In

Forget passion. That word’s been gentrified.

Start with curiosity. Follow the rabbit holes. What books do you collect but never finish? What YouTube algorithm loops keep dragging you in at 2 a.m.? What conversations make your brain feel like jazz?

Your vocation hides in your obsessions. The ones you’re almost embarrassed to admit. Yes, even the one involving train schedules or medieval bread recipes.

Write down what you can’t stop thinking about. Then ask:

• Could I spend ten years learning this and still find it weirdly fun?

• Would I do this even if no one paid me? (Don’t worry—they eventually might.)

• Does this make me feel more me?

If yes, you’re close.

Kill the Myth of “One True Calling”

We need to talk about monogamy—for jobs.

This idea that you’re supposed to find one “true calling” and do it forever? That’s a church hymn from the Industrial Revolution. Most people have several vocations over a lifetime. Some of them overlap. Some shapeshift. Some show up late, like drunk party guests with incredible stories.

You might write novels and teach math.

You might be a therapist who moonlights as a stand-up comic.

You might be a barista today and an urban planner tomorrow.

This isn’t flakiness. It’s evolution.

Look at What Breaks Your Heart

Vocation isn’t just about what excites you. It’s also about what hurts.

Not in a masochistic way—but in a meaning way. The things that pierce you. The injustices you rant about to the steering wheel. The moments when you feel cracked open in the best-worst way.

Sometimes your vocation is buried in the ruins of your anger, your grief, your longing.

Want to know where you’re needed?

Find the place where the world is fraying—and where you feel most compelled to stitch.

Ask: Who Do You Want to Become?

This isn’t just about doing work you love. It’s about becoming the person you need to be to do that work.

So—who is that version of you?

Are they braver? Softer? Sharper?

What are they willing to risk?

Finding your vocation is less like picking a job and more like answering a riddle. The kind whispered through late-night journaling, awkward experiments, tiny rebellions, and the occasional spiritual faceplant.

But here’s the good news:

If you’re even asking the question, you’re already on the trail.