Many individuals have multiple interests.
Some they are trained on or went to school for, while others are learned through self-discovery.
Personally, over the years, it has been difficult to sort out where to put my focus and understand the relationships between my hobbies and my career as some of the interests overlap.
Elizabeth Gilbert Framework
About six months ago, I was introduced to a description from Elizabeth Gilbert where she described four categories – hobbies, jobs, careers, and vocation.
Her perspective is that we often interchange some of these words and the differences are important.
You can watch the video here.
Below is a brief overview of each definition:
- Hobby – Something you do for pleasure and relaxation. This is done in your spare time.
- Job – You need a job to pay the bills, NOT to be fulfilled. Your job can be boring, challenging, or “beneath you”.
- Career – A career is something you build over the years with energy, passion, and commitment. A career is a huge investment. You may not love your current job, but you should love your career.
- Vocation – This is the activity you do because you feel a calling. It’s what your soul yearns to do. While your career depends on others, your vocation is private.
Elizabeth describes her own life and says that her vocation is writing, her career is now author.
Yet, along the way, she has had many jobs and enjoys several hobbies.
My Story
This framework has helped me sort out all the various experiences and interests across my life.
I see the threads of my career and the points where I just have had jobs.
I understand places where my hobbies have seeped into a job.
I struggle the most with the vocation and determining my true calling. T
here are a couple areas that sit in the forefront.
This structure gave me a much better framework to work through my thoughts.
Your Turn
What does your map look like?
Can you put all your experiences and interests into these four categories?
Have you had times when one category flows into another over time?