What to Commit to When You Don’t Feel Called to Anything

A sense of calling can give direction to a life. In its absence, there are still things worth giving your time to. If every possibility has to feel important enough to organize the rest of your life, you may overlook reasons to commit that are already there.

Consider one thing you’d be glad to see go well even if somebody else got the credit. Perhaps you’d like the new men at work to learn the trade without getting humiliated for asking a basic question. Maybe you care whether your brother’s children have an adult who takes their interests seriously. Both tell you something about what you value. Each also gives you a concrete way to find out what sustained attention would require of you.

Give a possible commitment a fair trial. Help train one new hire through his first month. Set aside a Saturday each month with your nephew and let him choose what you work on together. After a few months, ask whether you still think the thing is worth doing and whether the people involved actually benefit. There may be a better place for your effort. You’ll be judging from something you’ve lived.

If a larger calling becomes clear to you, give it a hearing. In the meantime, a man can have good reasons for giving his time and keeping his word. Those reasons are available on days when nothing feels especially significant.