Don’t Run From Your Life.

This post will be quite different. More like a conversation. A moment to reflect.

I won't talk about study methods or productivity.

I want to share something that stirs many people while weighing heavily on others.

The topic is vocation.

Incompatible Life.

There are passions in life that are completely contrary to the work we're committed to, aren't there?

For example, being an Olympic athlete when your current job is as a grocery store cashier.

Your professional life has nothing to do with what you desire; it just sits there in the background, crying out to shine, while the opportunity hasn't appeared yet.

Some people take decades to discover their calling. I'm lucky to have known mine early, but there's something common among all who find theirs.

A spoiler: most of those who find it early are naturally curious.

Someone might say that, because her work has nothing to do with her dream, she's doomed to fulfill herself only in the next life.

It turns out that the overwhelming majority of people at the beginning of life don't even find work that satisfies them.

I'm not talking about financial satisfaction, but rather, as a life project.

Something you start and never stop doing until you die.

Not because it pays your bills, but because you see that activity as a summary of who you are.

Your "self" isn't your emotional state or personality, which is fleeting; but rather, the unity of your being, which if removed, completely falls apart.

A person with a calling to be a priest, who exercises this function willingly for decades, if stripped of it, how would he define himself?

If applied continuously, this is one of the few immutable things about our personality.

Our daily work might only serve to pay the bills, but don't forget the passion that pulses in your heart.

The Test of Life

For example, as a language student, I can't imagine stopping learning.

Even if I'm 60 or 70 years old, I'm naturally curious, always studying, whether it's a new word or reading a book.

Part of my work is here on Substack. I wasn't born to be an entrepreneur.

Even though I don't need to make much effort to say that my memorization system is the best that exists, besides being unique in the entire world, click here to get it 👀

Back to the subject, since I was young, I didn't take long to discover my calling. Already at 16, I was learning 2 other languages at the same time.

This was my 2025 year on Anki (a study app), up to the moment of this post (I'm writing this on June 29th).

In the entire year of 2025, I only skipped studying on 1 day, which is that missing gray square. It's not a drag to learn, because I love it; it defines much of who I am.

A part of my work that involves business and marketing, I thought was my calling, but I was totally wrong.

An essential question you must ask yourself is:

"If I could only perform this activity in my life, before dying, would I be fulfilled as a person?"

Again, it's not about money, but about what excites you just by thinking about it, even if other people don't understand.

You can have your job as a grocery store cashier, but always gradually pursuing what you want to achieve simultaneously.

You don't need to take big steps, just keep moving forward no matter what.

As Goethe, the distinguished German writer, said:

"Therefore, foolish is he who kills himself working for others, whether for money, honor, or whatever, without taking into account his own passion or his own needs."

In another passage, he also speaks about life's difficulties.

He cites an example of a walk: mountains may appear on the path. You didn't ask for them, but you'll have to cross them one way or another.

Well, if you don't cross them, you can't complain that you didn't reach the other side.

Simple Things in Life

When I talk about calling, this doesn't need to be a spectacular activity, no, definitely not.

My grandmother didn't have a great academic career to be proud of, but she raised 7 children magnificently.

And those 7 had other children, meaning perhaps dozens of people she influenced.

Her calling is to be a mother, and she's the best at it. It's simple, but this small act will change generations of other lives she could never have imagined.

Something so normal for many people, when done with golden hands by someone born for it, will have unimaginable effects.

No one can judge your calling; that person is part of the stone you'll have to overcome on the path to the mountain, don't worry.

Comparing callings is also a sick superego. You might have a much greater talent than your friend in one area, but at the same time, he has another that makes you a complete beginner.

Don't drop everything to live your passion. This ignites a flame in your heart, I know; that's why go slowly, even to make it more enjoyable.

And when you're in mental, physical, and financial conditions to gradually insert it into your life, embrace it and never let go.

Because this isn't a hobby. This is you..