It’s easy for people to categorize the importance of jobs. Being a doctor and saving lives is more important than being a secretary, etc. And many could never imagine wanting to be a sanitation worker. But as is now well documented in Positive Psychology, it is not what you do which is most important, but why you do it and how you view it. There is the concept that there are three ways of viewing one’s work: as a job, as a career or as a calling. And any type of work can be viewed in any of these ways. When one does a job, it is simply for the paycheck. When one has a career, it is often motivated by the desire for success and promotions. But when one has a calling, one believes that the work itself is meaningful and provides opportunity for fulfillment. This sanitation worker, Billy Shelby, clearly has a calling. For the past year he has used his work to help and befriend 88 Opal Zucca. His “job” is to clean up the area and take out the garbage, but his calling is to clean up the world by ridding what isn’t necessary and providing connection and support which beautifies all surroundings.
