Dr. Margaret Jamal: How to Find Your Calling in Human Service- Part 1

A human service provider is the entity that is responsible for providing services that lead to solving a problem. For the purposes of this material, we define a problem as something that causes pain, suffering or hardship. Problems to the extreme may also cause death. This death could be to a person, or even a healthy way of life.

It is important to recognize and believe that healing will begin and continue as people seek to eliminate the pain and suffering in the lives of others. When service providers seek to eliminate the pain and suffering that they have also experienced they have the ability to genuinely relate to those that they serve. This ability to relate helps to maintain the commitment as well as share in the healing.

The first need that human service providers have is to determine which problem(s) they are called, committed and equipped to eliminate. By approaching a problem as one that is to be eliminated, the planning and resource gathering will be more focused and measurable. The qualifications for seeing success are clearer when success includes actual transformation from wrong to right.

Although the mindset of eliminating a problem is not the norm, it is essential for those who want to establish a lasting legacy. For example a service provider that has determined that unemployment is the primary problem will be guided to find a solution to eliminate unemployment. This mindset will force people to avoid wasted efforts on theories and practices that may not be goal oriented, measurable or result in success.

In order to decide upon the problems that you might be called to eliminate, first consider your thoughtful responses to the following question:
What pain, suffering or hardship have you experienced that you strongly desire to see eliminated? This pain, suffering or hardship could be something that you experienced as a child or in later years. This could be something that someone else caused or experienced, but still resulted in your suffering.

For example if you suffered from alcoholism as an alcoholic, then you may list “alcoholism” as a problem. On the other hand, if you were a child of an alcoholic parent the problem still relates to alcoholism, but you might list the problem as an “alcoholic parent.”

The “Determine the Problems” exercise used with teaching the R.A.T.E.S. Principles was developed to uncover heartfelt commitments to aid in launching an effective and solution driven organization. This exercise helps participants to look at their concerns objectively to help focus upon which issue is most pressing to them. This most pressing issue will be the concern that causes people to stick to their efforts even in the face of difficult challenges.

There are several direct questions given with this exercise that will help to determine problem(s) that you may be committed and called to eliminate. A follow up exercise will set the platform for settling upon which specific problem should receive first priority for developing sound solutions. These exercises together help prepare the mindset needed to gain focus for structured, results oriented planning.

In order to help organize your efforts a Determine the Problem Table is provided. The First column is for listing up to five personal experiences that you believe are problems. The other five columns are designed to help participants determine if they have listed the types of problems that they could commit to addressing for a significant period of time.

The Determine the Problem Worksheet will help to focus upon which problem will be addressed first. It is designed to examine the degree of commitment for each problem as they are individually compared to each other. Follow these simple steps to determine a list of problems that you may be called to help eliminate in the lives of others.
NOTE: See how the table is completed in the example below.

Step 1: Make a list of up to 5 problems that you have overcome. Keep in mind that a problem is something that causes pain suffering or hardship. We must first admit that we have in fact pressed through situations that caused pain, suffering and hardship. For example, substance abuse is a problem. Unemployment could also be a problem. It could clearly be explained how each of those problems cause pain, suffering and hardship. Remember that your problems should be 1 to 3 word descriptions.
Step 2: Place your list of problems in the first column of the Determine the Problem table.
Step 3: Take the time to carefully consider the statements in the following columns. Place an “X” or check the spaces where the statement is true in regards to that particular problem.
Step 4: Circle the problems in the form that have 5 checks or X’s. You will use these results for the next step. NOTE: If none of your problems have 5 checks, you are probably not committed to finding your calling at this time.

Determine the Problems Table (Example)