“Knowing that you’re called is a more trustworthy gauge for future success than seeing immediate results.” – Eva Berger
Today’s topic: What to do when a calling you’re trying to live out doesn’t seem to have results.
It’s something I’ve had to deal with personally a few times and I know how discouraging it can get. What I experienced, in the end, was very positive, though, and this is why I want to share with you some of my thoughts on it.
Just the other day I went for a coffee with a dear friend of mine. In our conversation, she shared with me how she was very passionate about practicing Shiatsu (a form of therapeutic bodywork from Japan) but recently had gotten rather discouraged.
After completing a 2-year-course in Shiatsu, she wanted to start out by giving Shiatsu massages to different friends and acquaintances. The discouragement set in when things didn’t take off as she expected. She was met with a lot of suspiciousness.
Eventually, my friend came to the conclusion that people in her area weren’t open to alternative healing methods. She was almost at the point of giving up on it altogether as there were other obstacles of bureaucratic nature, too.
When I asked her if she actually felt called to practice Shiatsu, her answer was strong and came without thinking about it: Yes, definitely, she felt a calling for it! Her eyes lit up and she smiled when she told me.
I couldn’t help but share with her my take on things and what I had experienced in my own life and work, as well as had observed in other people’s lives. I told her that even though right now there didn’t seem to be any opportunities in front of her, the very fact that she felt called was proof that somewhere someone needed what she was offering. The real challenge was to not get discouraged at the missing positive response and the obstacles but to keep putting herself out there for people to notice.
I believe this to be a principle that can be trusted and that works.
Logic tells me that if there is a calling, it must be coming from somewhere, or maybe better put, from someone… Whatever you want to call it – God, the Universe, a Bigger Force, Life, just to name a few! That someone/something knows there’s a need for your calling out there – otherwise, would there be any point in calling you for something that, in the end, nobody needs?
I’m convinced that there are what I call “recipients” out there in the world that are just waiting for you to live out your calling. And not just the calling in itself – it’s the combination with your unique personality, life experience and history that makes it so special. I believe there are specific “recipients” that need your very unique combination.
In the case of my friend, I believe that once she gets out there, with patience, determination and consistency, and in her very own unique way, she will come across those people that need what she offers.
This conviction comes from my own experience. In the past as a missionary and full-time volunteer as well as in more recent years when starting my coaching practice, I’ve seen that principle work over and over again. Some friends and people I know have had similar experiences.
They felt called to do something, yet for a long time didn’t see any results or satisfying response. But they kept believing that there must be someone out there who needed what they felt called to do.
Eventually, things started moving and opportunities and people showed up in the most unexpected and amazing ways. Their calling is effecting change and having a beautiful positive impact in many people’s lives today.
All because they didn’t give up and kept believing in the fact that for every calling there must be someone very specific who needs it, and that eventually, these people are going to show up!
If you find yourself in a place just like my friend – you feel called to something, you’re stepping out but you don’t see as many results as you’d like (or even none) – I want to challenge you today:
Believe that, if you don’t give up, eventually you will find the recipients you’ve been called to serve – or better yet, it might just so happen that they find you!
Imagine what joy!
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