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CONNECT with your PAST to find your life's calling π§ | eliasxhahn.com
Published 9 months ago β’ 5 min read
Albert Einstein (1879β1955)
Einstein was ill.
When he was no more than 5, he was bedridden with sickness.
That's when his father surprised him with a gift.
It was a compass.
The small metal contraption was unlike anything young Albert had played with before.
No matter how hard he tried, tilting and turning and spinning it in his hands, the metal needle always pointed in the same direction.
This small "wonder" would prove to be a defining moment for Albert Einstein.
Albert Einstein was awarded the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics.
His path was not a conventional one.
Before he won the 1921 Nobel Prize, he spent 13 years as an academic lecturer.
But before that he worked as an associate in the Swiss patent office because he couldn't get a teaching job.
And before that Einstein had actually failed portions of the general entrance exam to even get into university in Switzerland.
Despite that, at the heart of his journey, Einstein had a calling.
Reflecting on the compass he was given as a child,
"...this experience made a deep and lasting impression upon me. Something deeply hidden had to be behind things."
This curiosity for the invisible forces that drive our world would lead Einstein to make some of the most profound breakthroughs in science history.
In his miracle year (1905) he wrote four seminal papers that catapulted him to greatness:
Photoelectric Effect: Explained how light behaves as both a wave and a particle (photons).
Brownian Motion: Provided evidence for the existence of atoms and molecules.
Special Relativity: Introduced his theory of special relativity, challenging long-held notions of space and time.
Mass-Energy Equivalence: Presented the famous equation E=mcΒ², showing the interchangeability of matter and energy.
And all of this started with a compass.
It was a guidepost for his life's work that directed him towards his calling.
Never Too Late To Listen
Your calling is always with you, waiting for you to tap into it.
No matter how old you are, it's there.
Researchers confirmed this to be true.
According to a study published in 2022, while your circumstances may not let you pursue your early life's calling, the inclinations don't go away.
On the contrary, they are there waiting for you even when older:
"Yet, rather than being permanently abandoned, it is possible that such callings may re-emerge later in life, when circumstances change. Research has shown that past selves may not be forgotten but can be retained within the self-concept, since individuals have cognitive and social space for several authentic versions of themselves."
Using music as their medium, the researchers interviewed 32 people ranging from 50 to 80 years old.
These folks were selected because they considered music to be their calling when they were younger.
For it be a 'calling', the participants had to meet the threshold on an established 12-point psychological scale.
These were truly people who had a deep and meaningful connection to music at a young age.
John Coltrane (1926-1967). His first instrument was the clarinet at age 12.
But despite their early passions, for one reason or another, usually in their late teens or early twenties, the survey participants chose not to pursue their music into adulthood.
Three key reasons were cited for quitting:
Economic. Their expectations of lifestyle and pay for music careers were low.
Self-Doubt. They didn't think they were good enough to find success.
Social. They didn't have a support network that encouraged them to keep going. Often the opposite.
Whether it was one or several of these reasons, they decided music wasn't for them, despite how much they reported being drawn to it.
They let go and moved onto to other fields.
The careers they all eventually pursued ran the gamut. Some were doctors. Others became teachers. Some even became accountants.
They lived their lives and found different paths.
That was until retirement hit.
The Rolling Stones on their 2024 North America tour. Pictured (from left to right): Ronnie Wood (age 77), Mick Jagger (age 80), Keith Richards (age 80)
With their 'working' lives past them, they finally felt like they could explore life again.
And all the survey participants, almost not surprisingly, found a way to return to music.
Whether it was taking classes, teaching themselves new instruments, or joining performance groups, they all brought themselves back to their calling.
One participant cited:
"Iβd fallen out of love with the job, I was bored .β.β. at the age of 53 they offered me the package I would have got if Iβd stayed on until I was 60 .β.β. I took singing lessons and took my grade 8 .β.β. it was enormous fun .β.β. it made me hugely more confident .β.β. I satisfied that itch."
They all waited a lifetime to get there. But in the end they found a way back to it.
The lesson revealed here is this:
You are who you are, you just may not be doing what you were meant to be doing.
But your calling is a part of you. And it always will be.
It's just waiting for you to find yourself again.
Connect To Your Past
Everyone's circumstances are different.
You may not be in a job you enjoy very much. You may not be studying a subject that fascinates you. You may not be spending your time with things that engage you.
But we all have our own unique inclinations.
And we've had them since we were born.
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In "Let Your Life Speak", Parker Palmer would describe this as your 'inner voice'.
"Vocation does not come from a voice "out there" calling me to become something I am not. It comes from a voice "in here" calling me to be the person I was born to be, to fulfill the original selfhood given me at birth..."
When we were our younger selves, uninhibited by the expectations and opinions of others (parents, family, friends, coworkers, managers), what were the things that naturally drew you?
Was there a gift or object that captivated you?
Was there an activity that you lost track of time doing?
Was there an experience that shaped your perspective?
Steve Jobs (1955-2011)
If we take a closer look at many super achievers, they all had something.
Albert Einstein getting a compass.
Steve Jobs receiving an electronics kit.
Coco Chanel learning to sew at her orphanage.
Walt Disney sketching his neighbor's farm animals.
Oprah Winfrey reciting Bible verses in front of her church.
At a young age, these masters were exposed to an object or event that resonated deeply with them.
These canon moments exposed them to an inner calling.
As Robert Greene writes in his modern classic Mastery:
"We are a one-time phenomenon in the universe β our exact genetic makeup has never occurred before nor will it ever be repeated. For all of us, this uniqueness first expresses itself in childhood through certain primal inclinations."
There is something unique in all of us to explore.
It's waiting for you to connect with it.
Conclusion
Your past has clues to your true calling in life. You just need to connect with it.
Reflect on your past, particularly on your youth when you were less inhibited by other people's expectations. Use your reflections to connect to your natural inclinations.
Focus in on objects, activities, or experiences that left their mark and shaped you in someway. Your past has clues to your true self. What did you love to do? What made you lose track of time? What shifted your perspective or awoke a new viewpoint?
Finding this true calling is an opportunity to bring your realest self to fruition, and truly provide what you were put on this earth to do. You serve us all by taking the time to do what you were made for.
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