At this time of year regardless of age, career path, or educational level, it is likely that many people are asking themselves the question, “What is meaningful to me, and what do I want to do with with my life?”

A famous psychologist in the mid- to late-20th Century, Joseph Campbell, said that people can “follow their bliss.” Although this idea has been popularized to mean “do what is pleasant,” Campbell described a difficult and even arduous journey to pursue something that one deeply and inherently feels he must do. Campbell contrasted this to doing what one feels like one should do based on societal and cultural expectations.

The word vocation came from the Latin root vocasio (to summon) or vocare (to call) and originally had a more religious or spiritual basis, suggesting that one was called or summoned to do something by God. In other words there is a pull rather than a push to do something. Normally we think very hard about what we want to do and this perhaps makes us more confused, or we “just go for it” and often find that we make lots of false starts.

Campbell suggested that getting in touch with a vocation occurs through listening to oneself, underneath all the advice that society has given or imprinted in one’s mind. Society’s lessons are necessary and, I think, must be included, but to find what is perhaps unique for each of us, we must also listen to ourselves. Of course ancient wisdom teaches that listening is not as easy as it sounds. Popular culture is full of the metaphor of the devil on one shoulder and the angel on the other, but what I am suggesting is something that is even deeper and more subtle. Something that can often be discerned through observing our dreams, or through paying attention to those chance meetings we have with other people and or events that might seem serendipitous.

Those who are following a vocation often compare it to following a path that “feels” right despite the many occasions when that path seems uncomfortable and fraught with “impossibilities.” This feeling of impossibility, however, is quite possibly a sign that one is on the right track, and as one continues down that path (feeling that somehow it is right) then some of the impossibilities will expose themselves as illusions.

So while asking the question, “What do I really want to do?” is a good start, one shouldn’t really expect any ready-made answers. Instead it might be more helpful to begin looking for the subtle signs that are likely all around then following them, always keeping the question open. Working with a counselor trained in this work can also be very helpful because it is often quite difficult to discern the authentic parts of oneself from those that are learned. While a counselor is not going to “find the answer for you,” he or she can perhaps help you find and read the signs more clearly.

Chad Hattrup, M.A., runs a private counseling practice in the Old Kingston Hotel on Washington Street. Sessions are by appointment only. Contact him at (206) 550-1700 or e-mail, chadhattrup@gmail.com.