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.Think of the neighborhood bartender whoserves as friend and therapist.She knows her patrons love sagas, wounds,and favorite pastimes, and takes great pleasure in providing the emotionaluplift or shoulder to lean on.Tips aren t what make the job rewarding; it sthe connections to a diverse group of people.Learning About Callings from ObservingThose Fortunate to Find OneI recently had the pleasure of meeting Dr.Ray Fowler.He didn t knowwho I was, but I knew he was a distinguished psychologist who was inter-ested in forensics, politics, and prison reform.In the mid-1970s, Dr.Ray led a team of students who evaluatedevery one of the 4,000 prisoners in the Alabama correctional system.Hewanted to improve the quality of care and security in this disorganizedsystem.To do so, he created a thorough strategy for classifying prisonersaccording to their mental health, the threat they posed, and their poten-tial to learn how to be healthy contributors to society.Recognizing thatsome prisoners could be reformed, he developed plans to treat, educate,and rehabilitate them.This ambitious undertaking changed the way thatmany prisons operated.This is just one example of the projects he undertook over the courseof 50 years, using scientific research to help people in the community. 112 Curious?Among other achievements, he served as president and later, as CEO ofthe American Psychological Association, the largest psychological associa-tion in the world.When I met Ray and his wife in the summer of 2008, he talked abouthis retirement in 2002.Most of us think of retirement as the end of work.In fact, it happens to be the definition of the word retirement.Not for Ray.We met at a positive psychology conference in Croatia, where he hadbeen meeting with people from Iceland, Israel, Australia, Greece, England,and other realms of the globe to create an international community ofprofessionals focused on improving the psychological health of humanity(the same lofty goals you often hear uttered by Miss Universe candidates).Ray goes above and beyond the call of duty for this passion, and heseems to do the same for everything else.Within 10 minutes of meeting,he told me that I should head north to Slovenia.He and his wife took offfor a half-day trip through the Postojna Caves, one of the largest caverns inall of Europe, measuring 20,570 meters.He suggested that I hike a fewkilometers and enjoy a ride on one of the rail carts that burrow throughanother few kilometers.His enthusiasm was contagious, illustrating howgetting older and retiring can open doors to new adventures as opposedto serving as the end of an era. At 75, I am healthy and energetic, and I love what I m doing.Myworkdays now [are] about as long as they have ever been, but not beingoffice-bound gives me the freedom to be where I want to be includingvisits with our children and grandchildren who are scattered about thecountry.In spare moments, I am an avid bread baker and cook.My exer-cise program includes running, swimming, biking, hiking, and workoutsat the gym.Unlike most people, I enjoy everything about traveling, evenoverseas flights and long airport layovers.I was elected president of theInternational Association of Applied Psychology in 2002, as part of a lead-ership cycle that continues until 2018, when I will be 87.I plan to serveout my term.Then who knows I may really retire. Get this.If you do the math, When Ray steps down, it will be 16years after the day he claimed to retire! Through his passion, you can seewhat it means to say that work is more than a job or career.Infused with Creating Lasting Interests and Passions 113meaning, his purpose is central to his life space and he isn t begging forvacation time.His purpose energizes him, creating room for family andlong-standing passions for travel, cooking, wine, and triathlon workouts.Like Ray, we can expand the borders of our life and squeeze in more psy-chological and physical benefits when we find a match between our cher-ished values and our work.Meaningful Work Benefits Many Not OneGiven this talk of work as calling, you would think it only benefits theindividual.Viewing work as meaningful benefits other people too.If youlose interest in your work, costly company expenses add up quickly.Itmight start with a few a few sick days and mental-health days and per-haps an argument or two that knocks down morale a few notches.It mightescalate to gossip and complaint sessions, and finally, turnover.For theindividual, it might have been a lot less stressful to have picked work thatwas a better fit.For the organization, all of that salary and training goesfor naught as they have to find someone new and start all over again.Meaningful Work Comes in All Shapes and SizesIf you are in a high-status field that requires a lot of education and train-ing, or is highly respected by society, you are more likely to consider yourwork a calling.But this designation is not reserved for any particular oc-cupation.Think about it.Somebody somewhere is lost in play doing whatothers are doing for pay.For example, compare going for a hike in thewoods once a month versus leading scenic adventure expedition tours.Many of us feel tinges of envy and awe when we hear about left-of-center careers that also pay the bills.We wonder why our high-schoolguidance counselors forgot to tell us that we could produce documentariesof crocodiles and hippos fighting for supremacy in the lakes of Africa
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