The Role of Life Planning in Finding Purpose and Living Out Ones Career Calling

Abstract

The ability to plan effectively has been reported to have a positive effect on one’s life satisfaction, sense of direction, and future positive experiences. As emerging adults begin to discover what they want to be, they must also choose what kind of career they will pursue. The current perspective on career development views planning one’s career as a part of one’s larger life planning. Surprisingly, research examining how planning contributes to one’s presence of purpose and career is still lacking. The aim of this research is to assess the effect of planning on one’s career calling and purpose. The results show that planning positively predicted presence of purpose and living out one’s career calling. Planning was not a significant predictor of the search for purpose, while the search for purpose negatively predicted the presence of purpose.