Cum să-ți descoperi vocația | Dana Dumitrașcu | TEDxBaneasa

The Vocation Triangle and Its Importance

• The concept of discovering one's vocation is a significant promise, and if everyone had an easy answer to this question, they would be too busy practicing their vocation to be present in the current situation (17s).
• To begin, an exercise is proposed where one imagines a triangle, with a person who has discovered their vocation at the top, and two people who have not found their vocation in the other two corners (40s).
• The person at the top of the triangle should be someone known personally, such as a hairdresser, mechanic, or professor, who is clearly doing what they were meant to do and is happy and fulfilled in their work (50s).
• The two people in the other corners of the triangle should be individuals who have not found their vocation, and one of them could be the person imagining the triangle (1m35s).
• The exercise is meant to help with the inner search for one's vocation, and it may take some time (1m31s).
• The speaker's father is mentioned as an example of someone who did not get to practice his vocation as a film director, and this is used to emphasize the importance of finding and practicing one's vocation (1m54s).
• It is believed that finding and practicing one's vocation will bring longevity to one's life, joy to personal relationships, and a sense of fulfillment, making one less in need of constant searching and changes in direction (2m11s).

The Problem of Job Hopping and the Importance of Vocation

• A concerning statistic is mentioned, citing a recent Pro TV news report, although the accuracy of this statistic is not guaranteed (2m31s).
• % of Romanian young people change six jobs in the first three years after graduating from college, and 70% never practice the profession they prepared for in college (2m44s).
• A significant portion of life is spent sleeping, with a third of an 80-year lifespan, or around 26-27 years, spent sleeping (3m21s).
• Another third of life is spent in childhood, adolescence, and the early years of adulthood, leaving the remaining third for work and other pursuits (3m32s).
• Many people struggle to find their vocation, leading to confusion and a need for therapy, with some people trying 20 different things before finding the right fit (4m6s).
• The concept of finding one's vocation and practicing it long-term may be linked to a more fulfilling and long-lasting marital relationship, as well as better communication within the family (5m32s).

Vocation and Relationships

• The idea of a connection between vocation and relationships was inspired by a couple the speaker was counseling, where the husband was a successful photographer, but the wife was still searching for her calling despite trying various pursuits (4m52s).
• The speaker was influenced by the work of American psychologist John Gottman, who has researched the importance of relationships and communication (5m51s).
• Research by Godman has shown that people who have a vocation or profession they love, in which they are experts and do not give up, tend to have long-lasting relationships and are more likely to live longer (6m5s).
• The idea is that if everyone found their vocation, relationships would be stronger and more long-lasting, and people would not feel the need to constantly search for their identity (6m37s).

Challenges and Misconceptions in Finding One's Vocation

• The search for one's vocation can be challenging, with many resources and therapies available, but often at a high cost (7m4s).
• Some notable individuals, such as Newton and Bach, were able to make significant contributions to their fields without feeling the need to travel extensively or seek out new experiences (7m17s).
• The key to finding one's vocation lies in understanding the criteria that contribute to it, and this can be observed in adolescents (7m32s).

Parental Influence on Career Choices

• Research by American psychologist N. Row has shown that parents are the number one factor in influencing adolescents' career choices, often through three methods: a) having high expectations, b) nonverbal communication, and c) minimizing their children's desires (7m44s).
• Parents often communicate their expectations to their children through verbal and nonverbal cues, which can impact their career choices and overall sense of identity (8m10s).
• The way parents communicate with their children can either encourage or discourage them from pursuing their passions and interests (8m35s).
• There are three ways in which parents influence their children's career choices: by being economists or engineers, by complaining about their jobs, and by relating to each other in a way that makes their children want to solve their financial problems by becoming successful professionals such as doctors, lawyers, or investment bankers (8m47s).
• Parents are the number one factor influencing their children's career choices, and psychologist An Rose suggests that parents should stop interfering and allow their children to have autonomy, identify their natural abilities, and make their own decisions (9m43s).
• Two of the most important decisions people make in their lives are their career choices and who they have children with, and these decisions have a significant impact on their lives (10m13s).

The Elements of Vocational Discovery

• Having job after job does not necessarily make a profession, and it does not create expertise (10m30s).
• A vocational discovery method exists, which offers a predictive formula that can determine how long someone will stay in a particular profession (10m52s).
• One of the factors in this method is the concept of "gradul de utilitate directă," or the degree of direct usefulness, which refers to humans' desire to be useful and make a direct impact (11m15s).
• This desire to be useful is one of the reasons why many women choose not to return to work after having children, as they feel they can be more useful to their children than in their jobs (11m35s).
• A story about a friend who was a luxury shoe cobbler before the pandemic illustrates the human desire to be useful and make a direct impact, as he found his job to be less fulfilling than other pursuits (12m3s).
• A person with a luxury shoe store in Bucharest had to lay off employees due to the pandemic, starting with the courier, then the social media specialist, and finally the receptionist, but not the shoemaker, as the shoemaker's work was directly useful to the customer (12m20s).
• The degree of direct utility one has in their job affects their job security, with those having lower direct utility being more likely to be laid off in times of crisis (13m9s).
• It is essential to be aware of the level of direct utility one has in their job to avoid feeling unfulfilled and to be prepared for potential layoffs (13m20s).

Direct Usefulness and Job Security

• Having a job with high direct utility, such as being an accountant, can provide a sense of fulfillment and job security, whereas jobs with lower direct utility, such as being a human resources specialist, may not (13m52s).

The Vocational Triangle: Skills, Abilities, and Values

• Understanding one's vocational triangle, which includes their skills, natural abilities, and values, can help individuals discover their true calling and make informed career choices (14m23s).
• The vocational triangle is a spiritual tool that can help people predict whether a particular profession is suitable for them and avoid wasting time in a career that is not fulfilling (14m29s).
• Identifying and utilizing one's natural abilities in the workplace is crucial for job satisfaction, as people often leave their jobs because they cannot use their natural talents (15m5s).
• The vocational triangle consists of three components: skills and expertise, natural abilities, and values, with natural abilities being the key to job satisfaction and fulfillment (14m52s).
• Many people often find themselves stuck in a routine where they only have time for their hobbies on weekends and vacations, and they end up living for those short periods of time, just to earn money to practice their hobbies during those breaks (15m15s).
• Natural abilities can be discovered by anyone from a young age, such as enjoying activities like making jewelry, origami, or cooking, which can be referred to as manual skills (15m34s).
• It's essential to learn how to recognize these signs from adolescence, as they can serve as indicators for one's future career path (15m54s).

Beneficial Lifestyle and Career Requirements

• A beneficial lifestyle is one that maintains a balance between emotional, mental, and physical well-being, which is crucial for overall health (16m7s).
• An example of someone who struggled to find balance in their career is a person who graduated from medical school with honors and wanted to become a pediatrician, but ended up experiencing burnout and considering a career change due to the high stress levels of the job (16m17s).
• The issue with this person's career choice was that it put them in a situation where they were under constant emotional stress, which they were not prepared to handle, despite being competent in their field (17m3s).
• Eventually, this person found a better fit as a pediatrician in a private clinic, where they could work in a less stressful environment and still utilize their skills (17m17s).
• It's essential to understand that different careers require different levels of mental, physical, and emotional involvement, and it's crucial to find a career that aligns with one's individual needs and abilities (17m29s).
• Knowing one's beneficial lifestyle and career requirements is key to finding a fulfilling career path, which is the final aspect of the vocational triangle (17m51s).

Serving Others and Finding Fulfillment

• There are two categories of people: those we work with, such as colleagues, and those we serve, which is a more important category that drives us to continuously search for something more, referred to as "People I Serve". (18m16s)
• Everyone is here to serve others, and those others are a specific group that we need to find in order to serve them continuously and fulfill their needs. (18m24s)
• The people we serve are the direct recipients of our work, and finding this category is crucial, as illustrated by a personal example of being a vocational counselor. (18m40s)
• The importance of finding the right category of people to serve is highlighted by a hypothetical scenario where the speaker is limited to working only with 60-year-old men who have led companies, and not with adolescents and women. (18m55s)
• A key part of the speaker's method is the "triunghiul" (triangle), which states that if you are in a profession that allows you to use your natural abilities at least 70% of the time, have a suitable lifestyle, and are surrounded by like-minded people you like and serve, you will be fulfilled and able to contribute to others' lives. (19m14s)