Right Livelihood helps us clarify whether the work we do is good for the world. But on another level, it’s also about finding YOUR right livelihood. What is your right work in the world? Because the truth is, many jobs provide necessary and helpful things for people who need them. But if you’re an accountant at a nonprofit and you feel miserable every day, I’m not sure you’ve found YOUR right livelihood.

This can be so difficult to discern. Sometimes, we stay in positions we know aren’t a good fit because we know the work itself is valuable. But just because the work is morally good does not mean it is ours to do. And if we’re not doing the work we are here on this earth to do, we may be doing everyone a disservice.

Personally, I find the idea of being a social justice activist so amazing. I greatly value what they do, and how they change the world through their work. I can also tell you this: I am not a social justice activist. That skill set does not align with my own. and that job would not ultimately bring me joy. It’s not what makes me feel alive inside. I also hold so much respect for faith leaders who stay in the same congregation for twenty years. But let me tell you, that just isn’t part of my DNA either, despite how much I wish otherwise.

It can be so difficult to come to a place where we can accept that what we value may not be what we are called to do. But it is essential to accept this if we want to find where our soul work really lies.

Frederich Buechner writes, “The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.” In other words, whatever brings you the greatest joy, the most fulfillment, is likely also what the world most needs from you. That’s probably what you’re best at, and where you will feel most alive.

One word of caution: don’t let this become another form of fatalism. Sometimes, people come to me for spiritual direction stuck in this narrow idea of finding the “exact right thing” they should be doing. But that’s just another form of stuckness! Instead, consider your soul vocation roomy and flexible. You can offer your deep gladness in so many ways. And most likely, it will change as the years go by, as you change. Envision your Right Livelihood as a way of being, not a set position. As Ram Dass said (may he rest in peace), “Identify with your soul, not your role.”

So first, Right Livelihood ensures that the work we do benefits the world. (We realize, of course, that our world is too connected for anything to be all that pure, so we just do the best we can.) The second step asks whether the good work we are doing is OUR good work. And for that, we have to trust ourselves. We need to know, at some level, that the inner wisdom of our own gladness is right.

This can be challenging if you grew up being told your instincts are bad, or your desires are wrong, or human nature isn’t to be trusted. As Audre Lorde said, “We have been raised to fear the yes within ourselves.”

So what if, instead, you trust that yes? Consider that whatever Power runs the energy around here actually placed that desire within you, and has designed you to follow it? Trust that following your soul’s desire is not only a worthy thing but the best thing for you AND for the world.

As we begin a new year and renew our focus, take time to consider what your soul longs for. Where in your life do you feel most alive, and how can you bring more of that into the world?

(If you’re in the process of discerning that, you may want to check out Maia Duerr’s book Work That Matters: Create a Livelihood That Reflects Your Core Intention.)

This post belongs to my series on practicing the Eightfold Path. Read all my posts on Right Livelihood here.