The Intertwining Voices of Vocation and Anxiety

Praxis Podcast with Rhett Smith

I have recently been thinking a lot about the intertwining of vocation and anxiety. What I mean by that is that it seems that part of the journey towards finding vocation is that anxiety is often along for the journey.

In my writing and speaking on anxiety, and in my work with clients, I talk a lot about listening to the voice of anxiety. I believe that anxiety speaks to our life and if we listen to it, it can help guide us along our life's journey. The problem is that we live in a culture that wants to bury and numb out anxiety as much as possible. And when we drown out anxiety, we can't hear how it is informing our life.

But there's also this other voice, and that is of vocation. Parker Palmer in his wonderful book, Let Your Life Speak: Listening for the Voice of Vocation, talks about the Latin root of vocation, which is voce. It's literally a voice that is summoning you towards it.

And in this episode I want to explore how these two voices interact with each other and why that is important. I discuss:

• the voice of anxiety
• the voice of vocation
• how these two voices interact with each other
• the importance of discernment in distinguishing the voices and how they are guiding you.

Resources Mentioned in this Episode

Let Your Life Speak: Listening for the Voice of Vocation by Parker Palmer

The Anxious Christian: Can God Use Your Anxiety for Good? by Rhett Smith