Post #3

I made an immediate connection to the Ryan Duffy and I hate to say it but after reading the first paragraph I did not think I was going to enjoy it at all. Interestingly enough, the opposite occurred and I felt a strong connection to several of the theories presented in the article. Spirituality and religion are two issues that weigh on my mind constantly. I am not a religious person at all, but I consider myself a spiritual person who subscribes to the philosophy that the universe takes care of us in the same way we take care of it. If we fill the universe with negative energy, we will receive negative energy back in return. You get what you give. In Duffy's words, "Spritiuality, in contrast, can refer to varying concepts, such as an individual's relationship with a higher power or powers, a type of energy or guiding force, or a belief system in a common good" (Duffy, 2006, p. 52).

When I first graduated from college, I did not give any thought into what line of work I was going into. I just wanted to work, live on my own, and enjoy my early twenties. My first job was at Clipper Magazine as an Account Coordinator. It was the perfect first job until about two years in when I realized that people expected me to live and die for coupons. I just could not get my mind around the idea that coupons were things that needed my immediate attention and I could only laugh when a sales rep left me an urgent message. To me, this was not the world that was going to fulfill me. I had a low level of satisfaction as well as I am sure a low level of satisfactoriness. I know I was not the ideal employee. I knew I needed to begin a job search for something more fulfilling. Thinking about this time in my life connected me immediately to Brewer's Vocational Souljourn Model. "According to Brewer's model, a person's life is guided by three basic principles: meaning, being, and doing...The Souljourn model is another example of a spectrum, where at one end job refers to temporary, financially driven work, and at the other end vocation refers to a personally significant path that serves as the highest nature of work" (Duffy, 2006, p. 56-57). While I do not necessarily identify personally with the idea of a vocation being a calling by the Creator, I do personally believe that I am doing what I am supposed to be doing right now. As my life changes and my identity changes, I will hopefully evolve into a new career direction that fits my circumstances. I particularly enjoyed Duffy's reference to Carl Jung when he explained Brewer's idea that "...when these three core concepts are in disequilibrium, an excessive amount of energy is spent trying to repair this fracture" (Duffy, 2006, p. 57). In life, I personally strive for a mind/body/spirit balance. When one of those is out of whack, I know that the first thing to go is my work. I can sit almost paralyzed or feel frantic at all the things I have to do and work can easily become subpar. I have noticed that the more I am aligned correctly the greater my experience of "self-knowledge, more thoughtful sets of meanings, and more articulated aspirations" (Duffy, 2006, p. 57).


Duffy, R.D. (2006). Spirituality, Religion, and Career Development: Current Status and Future Directions. The Career Development Quarterly, 55, p. 52-63.