EP 606 | Balancing Calling with Career

Your calling and your career were never meant to be in competition. They are meant to complement each other. Let's talk about it!

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:05):
Hello everyone, and thank you so much for joining me
here on Daily Sparker Doctor Angela. I'm your host, Doctor
Angela Butchchester. You guys know who I am, and you
know what I like to do on my shows. Say
it with me. I want to enlighten, inspire and empower
you to become your best self. No scripture reminds us
that the tongue is a small thing that makes grand speeches,

(00:27):
but a tiny spark can set a great forest on
a fire. And that's what we want to do today
with our topic. We are talking about balancing your calling
with career today. So you know what I'm gonna tell
you to do. Go get comfy, get cozy, get your coffee,
your get your tea because we are about to get started.

(00:49):
Hello everyone, and thank you so much for joining me
here on Daily Spark with Doctor Angela. I'm your host,
Doctor Angela Chester. You know, we are talking about balancing
your or calling and your career today and this is
a topic that I find gets brought up a lot
when we are in a situation where we're talking about

(01:11):
our passion, our purpose, our vision, the thing that we
do when it comes to our career and how do
we find this sense of balance what I like to
call a sense of harmony in our lives, and if
it's coming up more and more, then that means that
it needs to be addressed. So thank you for joining

(01:32):
me for this particular day of the align series that
we are doing, and I want to really get into
it as best that I can without you know, beating
it up. At the same time, I think that you
guys are so advanced and you really just need reminders.

(01:55):
Sometimes you don't really need to go into all of
the nitty gritty, but you just need to be reminded that, hey,
today is a perfect day to realign, to kind of
get back onto our path, and to just assess for
just a moment. So today we will be leaning into
something that every leader wrestles with, and again that is
balancing your calling with your career. Now, I want you

(02:18):
to understand that I am using the word leader here
interchangeably for the various roles, the various capacities in which
we operate and function. You can be a stay at
home mom, a stay at home dad. You can be
a CEO, You could be a paraprofessional, you could be
an entry level employee, whatever it is that you do.

(02:42):
Whatever it is that you do, you are the leader.
So don't let that word choice throw you thinking, well,
I'm not a CEO, or I'm not the leader of
an organization or an association. You are the leader for
what you're leading. You are the leader that people look
to for your home, for your brand, for your business,

(03:05):
whatever it is, however you lead, I am talking to you.
So let's ground our conversation today in Colossians chapter three,
verse twenty three. Whatever you do, work at it with
all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for
human masters. Now, to me, this verse is very freeing

(03:29):
because it reminds us that whether you're preaching your sermon,
or you're running a meeting, or you're going out for
errands or even balancing the household budget, you're doing it
for God. But here's the tension. How do you balance
your spiritual calling with the demands of your career, with

(03:52):
success and everything else that's pulling at you. And that's
what we're going to unpack today. The struggle of two
worlds is very real for a lot of people. Now,
if this isn't you, thank you for saying and listening
just the same, you might be able to pick up

(04:14):
on something that will assist someone else in your life.
So many times God uses us in that way, a
leader who is able to gather the information and share
it with others. Be it that it's an impromptu conversation
you bump into someone at the grocery store and you
start a conversation that way and you share this nuggetive

(04:37):
wisdom with them, Or perhaps it's in a more business
setting and you're in a meeting and something needs to
be said, What a great time to share your nuggets
of wisdom there. Or perhaps it's simply having coffee with
a friend and you were able to inspire them because

(04:58):
of something that you have paid up along the way.
With that being said, I want to make this as
easy and as real as I possibly can for many people. Again,
their calling and their career feel like two different worlds.
Your calling is whispering. We should serve, we need to build,

(05:22):
we need to make an impact, and all of that
needs to glorify God. But your career demands are saying deadline, deadline, deadline, crunch, crunch, crunch,
reach your goals, make the profits, make more profits, money, money, money.
Sometimes these two line up beautifully but sometimes there is

(05:48):
a clash. And when they clash, leaders often feel guilty,
They feel torn, and they feel playing out exhausted, and
that is where they start to doubt their vision. They
start to wonder about the alignment of what they're doing.

(06:11):
But here's an honest truth. Your calling and your career
were never meant to be in competition. They were meant
to compliment one another. The key is not to choose
one over the other, but it is to find harmony

(06:35):
between the two. Harmony doesn't mean equal, it means working
together in a rhythm. This is your business, this is
your brand. Now someone may be saying, well, I'm a
stay at home parent, what's my brand? Your family? You

(06:55):
are team whatever your last name is, team you guys, right,
So welcome to the leadership world. You have been building
your brand since the day you said I do. Do
not let this conversation just wash over you and think

(07:17):
that you're not included because you are building a family
takes time. Building a family takes dedication the same way
that you build a business. And what do we call
our business is this is my baby. This was my vision,

(07:38):
this was my thing. I birth this because it took
blood sweat and tears for your business the same way
that building your family does. So if you think that
you're not included, you very much are. I want you
to think of bringing these two aspects of your world,

(08:03):
your calling and your career together this way. Think of
it like music. If one instrument drowns out the other,
then you lose the beauty of the song. But when
they play in rhythm, you hear everything powerfully. Calling and

(08:23):
career can do the same thing. Don't allow one instrument
to overplay the other. This is about making beautiful music
wherever you are, whatever you do. So let's make sure
that we are in fact in harmony. Alrighty everyone, it

(08:48):
is time for us to take a very short break,
but when we get back, we will continue this conversation.
We'll be back right after this and we are back.
Thank you so much for joining me for Daily's Mark
with Dotcha Angela. I'm your host to Dutcha Angeli. But Chester,

(09:11):
you know, when we talk about trying to balance our
calling and harmony and career, I want you to think
of it as harmony. Right of how can we bring
a better piece of music into our lives? Well, you
guys know by now I'm not just going to leave

(09:32):
you out there. I'm going to always give you some suggestions.
So here are five steps to better balance or bring
into harmony, our calling and our career. And of course
they're going to be simple and practical, because why over
complicate life? Right? So how do we balance calling and

(09:54):
career in real life? Here we go. Number one, Remember
there's five steps. Number one, define your calling. Clearly, many
people confuse their calling with career. The career is what
you do. Your calling is who you are and who

(10:16):
you're called to serve. Let me say that again. You
may be confusing your calling with your career. So let's
make it plain. Career is what you do. Your calling
is who you are and who you're called to serve.

(10:39):
Your career is what you do. Your calling is who
you are plus who you serve. Write that down right,
and once you understand it. Sometimes it's just not knowing
the formula. It's not realizing that, Oh, is that what
it is? Okay, now I know Ray. It makes it

(11:04):
so much easier when we understand what it is that
we're looking for in the first place. My calling is
to uplift women of faith. My career is as a
global speaker, as a empowerment coach, as a pastoral counselor

(11:25):
as an author, as a media personality. The career may shift,
the career may expand. The career may have several outlets
in how you achieve what you have been called to do,
but the calling stays the same. My calling again is

(11:50):
to uplift women and especially women of faith, though of
course the menfolk can always listen in right, do you
see all of those different ways in which I do
with this calling has instructed me to do. The career

(12:15):
may shift, but the calling stays the same. And that
is true for you as well. What is your calling
and how do you walk that out in your life?
So you may have been called to serve to help
people that are in medical crisis, and if that's true,

(12:40):
then perhaps you are a nurse, a doctor, a dentist.
If you have been called to help those that are
in legal turmoil, then perhaps your career is as an attorney,
as a hero illegal, a legal secretary. Do you under

(13:03):
do you see what I'm see? Where I'm going here? Now?
Like when we understand what the calling is and really understanding,
Oh okay, I got it, the career may shift, as
you age mature, and also as your education may change.

(13:24):
What you received your bachelor's in may not be what
you receive your doctorate degree in. As you grow and
gain knowledge and experience. You may start off as one thing, right,
That's why they call it entry level. That's going to
be where you start, but that's not where you're going

(13:45):
to be in twenty years because you've gained so much
more experience. You you have a different point of view
and you have learned, be it that you have formal
education like from college or university, or you have gone
to an academy, or you have simply picked up the

(14:07):
things that you needed along the way. We have so
many people that are in our workforce today that have
had that job for over forty years. They have been
in that in that industry, in that realm for over
forty years. That person is as valuable as someone who

(14:31):
has a master's degree entry level. Do you understand what
I'm saying here, because that person has the real life
work experience versus someone who only has the education but
doesn't have any experience in the field yet. So I

(14:52):
want you to understand where you fit in. It doesn't
mean that you aren't as great or as good as
someone else. You just have to figure out where am
I in my path, on my path in this journey
of what I have been called to do, and how

(15:15):
am I working it out. So, if you are in
the beginning stages of your life, you are just now
defining your calling, then do not put as heavy a
weight upon yourself as someone who's twenty years in, who's
thirty years in, as even someone who's five or ten

(15:35):
years in, because they have already gone through those growing
pains of being fresh in the industry, being fresh and
walking out their calling through their career. Point Number two
is let your calling inform your career choice. So many

(15:59):
times we find that in opportunity it is not the
opportunity that you thought it was. So be clear, right,
be clear, in letting your calling inform your career choice.
Ask yourself, does this career move, does this partnership? Does

(16:21):
this role reflect my calling? If it contradicts what God
has spoken to you, then it will drain you, not
bless you. Let me say it this way, and we've
heard people say this. All money isn't good money, All
partnerships aren't great partnerships. All that glitters isn't goal. Right,

(16:47):
So we have to be really, really mindful and aware.
Let me let me tell you something that the uh
that the that the seniors used to say, and that is,
you lay down with dogs, don't be surprised when you
wake up with fleas. Right. It's not that the poor
dog meant to give it to you. But they've been

(17:09):
outside rolling around in the grass. Right, They've just been
out there doing knowing what dogs do and that includes
unfortunately getting a fleeer tick or two. Right. So, with
that being said, if you are hanging with folks that
are rolling around in the grass, don't be surprised when

(17:30):
you pick up a tick or flee or two. Right.
So we have to be mindful, We have to be
aware of what it is that we are doing. And
ask yourself again, does this career move, does this partnership?
Does this rule reflect my calling? And if it does,

(17:51):
how can I make sure that I continue to walk
out the thing that God has spoken to me. Number three,
set boundaries that honor both things, not just one, but
honor both things. Boundaries are where balance happens. Boundaries is

(18:12):
where we find the harmony. Right again, if we cannot
be in harmony. If one instrument is playing so much
louder than all of the others, Yeah, it doesn't matter
if you have a solo. If you are the only
person playing and it is like a focus on you,

(18:35):
then the focus is on you. But when it's time
for everyone to come together as the orchestra, as the choir,
then it must be in harmony. If not, it's in disharmony,
which means that it doesn't sound, it doesn't bring about
what we are trying to bring about. So set your boundaries.

(19:00):
For example, I don't take work calls during family dinner,
or I don't chase money at the cost of ministry
or Boundaries are not walls. They are the fences that
keep the right things in and the wrong things out.

(19:23):
Boundaries are about our mindset, about how we make sure
that what we're trying to protect, what we are trying
to accomplish, are protected and accomplished. It is okay for
you to be successful. It is okay for you to

(19:44):
be wildly successful. It is okay for you to surpass
by leaps and bounds. Please by all means. It is
okay to dream a huge dream. It is okay if
God has given you a ridiculously large vision. It's okay,

(20:12):
but just make sure that it aligns according to what
God has given you. Number four, It is time to
integrate spiritual practices into your workday. Now. Don't separate God
from your career. Invite him in pray before your meetings,

(20:35):
play worship music on your commute. Ask God for wisdom
when you are facing decisions. Now. I could hear some
of you saying, but doctor in law, you can't bring
your faith into the workplace. You know what. Legally speaking,
you are correct, But I'm telling you that it's happening.

(20:58):
You know, your co worker that's over there in that
cubicle while you're in your office, that coworker over there
in their cubicle with their earbuds in is listening to
music that is keeping them aligned with Kingdom business, whatever
it is that they have been called at tasks to do.

(21:18):
No one else is listening, no one else can hear it,
but they can, and that's what's keeping them aligned. When
you are at your desk before everyone comes in, and
you might place your hands on your desk and just say,
you know, Lord, leave me and God meet, that's your prayer,
or perhaps you prayed in the garage before you even
walked into the building, or perhaps you say an additional

(21:43):
prayer during lunchtime that covers your coworkers that allows them
to be the men and women that God has called
them to be as well. People are doing it. It
doesn't have to be so over that it may be
too much from a legal point of view. According to

(22:04):
your workplace rules, you can always do something and do
it with intention. Inside. You can always come in in
the morning and clean your desk, and as you are
cleaning your desk, say and whisper a little prayer or
just say it to yourself. Right, making sure that your

(22:26):
workspace is good Now, I don't mean clean like you're
dumping the trash, but you know, for some of us,
we like things to be really tidy. So throughout the
day you may be just kind of doing some little
light dusting, or you might be moving some stuff around,
or you might be standing and looking at an award
that you won, and you say, Lord, thank you for

(22:47):
that vision, thank you for that guidance, thank you for
my team. Right, there's ways that we can integrate our
spiritual practice into our workday without getting us into any
legal trouble. In our workplace. Be mindful and aware. Do
not do something that is going to jeopardize your position

(23:08):
in that workplace. Ask God for the wisdom when you
face decisions. And this is how our calling and our
career flow together and not a part. Understanding that there
are going to be societal divides and that there are
ways that you can honor God and still be respectful

(23:31):
what is being asked of you in your workplace. So integrate,
but don't get yourself in trouble. Number five, reevaluate regularly.
Now seasons change, and I love that God gives us
that organic reminder the season is changing. What is it

(23:56):
that you need to do? How do you need to
self assess? How do you to reflect the season is changing.
What has brought you balance in the last year, What
has brought you balance in the last six months, in
the last quarter, what has brought you balanced in a

(24:17):
particular timeframe. Now, this might not be the balance that
you need for today, or it might be. So be
mindful and aware of what is being harmonious in your life,
but also be aware of what is putting you out

(24:38):
of balance, out of harmony. No one wants to hear
the song that is not in harmony. No one wants
to be around the person that is not balanced. Everything
needs to be aligned and centered. So every few months,
pause and ask yourself, am I still in harmony? Do

(25:02):
I need to adjust my workload, my commitments, or even
my expectations. Sometimes we allow our expectations to get ahead
of ourselves. Right, So you've only been doing this particular
thing for a year, but you expect for the results

(25:22):
to be the same as someone who's been doing it
for ten years. There's nothing wrong with having big dreams.
Let me make that clear. We are working toward that,
but the expectation may not be the same because you
are not in the same place. So let me bring
it in from another perspective. Neuroscience teaches us that when

(25:46):
our work and our inner values clash, our brain experiences
what's called cognitive dissonance. It's that inner stress when you
want to believe, but what you believe doesn't match up
with what you're doing. Over time, dissonance drains our mental

(26:07):
health and it increases our anxiety and leaves you feeling exhausted.
So there's a reason why you're feeling the way that
you're feeling. But when you're calling and your career are
in balance. When they are in harmony, your brain experiences congruence.

(26:27):
You feel energized, peaceful, and more creative. So this isn't
just about spiritual wisdom. It's also about biological truth. From
a pastoral counseling lens. Balance or harmony is not about
juggling everything at once. It's about stewardship. Stewardship brings recognizing

(26:51):
that God entrusts you with both calling and career, that
you are not focused on choosing just one. You are
invited to steward both in wisdom, prayer, and alignment. So
Sparker's when you steward well, you don't just balance your

(27:14):
calling and your career, you integrate them harmoniously into a
beautiful life. Thank you everyone for spending some time with
me here today. I hope that I have once again enlightened, inspired,
and empowered you as always made. The Lord continue to

(27:35):
shine his face upon you. May you receive his grace
and his mercy in all that you do. Until next time,
everyone remember that you, oh, you are blessed in the Lord.
Have a great day, everyone,