Job, Callings and Creativity — Third Thought Third Thought

Job, Callings and Creativity

15th of November ~

I’ve been thinking more about the Job, Career, Calling dimensions and their relationship to Creativity.  In the previously cited article the researchers noted that:

Satisfaction with life and with work may be more dependent on how an employee sees his or her work than on income or occupational prestige.

Many years ago, before I entered the corporate world I made my (meager) living as an actress and choreographer.  The work felt like a calling to me and I personally  identified with my work.  I was proud of it.  Most of all, I had opportunities to be creative on a daily basis.  It was  hugely satisfying work for me.   It lined up very nicely with my personal values, especially freedom and imagination.  And then I decided to pursue work that enabled me to make a living.  I miss that world.  I also won’t go back (until I can audition for Lady Bracknell–but I digress).

This week, I was talking with a very successful woman who is feeling a vague dissatisfaction with her work.  She is at the top of her game and makes an excellent living.  She’d be insane to walk away and she has no intention of doing so.  But the work has gotten to the point where it does not call on her ingenuity.  She bemoans the lack of aesthetics in her daily work.  So she has begun designing jewelry.   She is absolutely alight when she displays her supplies and early creations.   She now has an outlet for a very important aspect of herself.  She can express her values for beauty and design.

I suggest that how we view our work may point to where we most express our creativity.

So, who gets your best creative efforts?

For me, I like straddling both worlds.  I love the intellectual stimulation and challenge of working with businesses.  I also love my creative work outside ‘my career’.  Whenever possible I look to blend them because those are the times I am most whole and congruent.

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