The Path to Purpose

On Assent and Vocation.

"Here, we can glimpse one of the Stoics' most fundamental attitudes: the delimitation of our own sphere of liberty as an impregnable islet of autonomy, in the midst of the vast river of events of Destiny"

This powerful line from Hadot in his reflections on the Discipline of Assent touches a core theme in the Meditations. To unpack it, we need to understand two things: We apply value judgements on our perceptions, and we can choose to frame those value judgements constructively, protectively, beneficially and as the Stoics hoped ethically, given our position within the vastness of space and time.

In parallel to managing our perspective, we want to curate our purpose through vocation to grow and develop meaning. This creates a dichotomy, a collision and internal conflict between doing the right thing in the present and the drive for growth. The test is to understand the ambition, its source and essence, ensuring ambition isn't being pursued for its own sake, for hubris should be treated with caution.

To grow into leadership roles, it is somewhat necessary to be mobile with your career, developing a portfolio of experience such that every next step adds new and valuable experiences that lean to your strengths and improve your weaknesses. This should be done with strategic intent if your goal is to break your own glass ceiling and nurture purpose in your life. I've felt this tension myself, the feeling of loyalty, experience, and work left unfinished in the present versus the fleeting timing of opportunities presenting themselves and the need to unpick what is the right course, what is in and outside of my control, and what is the right thing to do.

The Discipline of Assent teaches us to find acceptance and gratitude in every moment providing the cognitive tools to achieve this, small aphorisms and an ethical structure passed down through millennia that train and tweak our perspective on the present such that hardships can be treated indifferently and difficult situations tolerated and reframed to the extent that challenges are seen as tests and opportunities for personal growth, but not necessarily career growth.

Thus, a dilemma emerges between the pursuit of Purpose, Mastery and Autonomy, cornerstones of a meaningful career, versus negotiating with one's perspective and acting for the common good. Thoughts of loyalty and equanimity in the status quo compete with steps into the unknown, concerns of disloyalty, departure and poor strategic choices.

Sometimes the Discipline of Assent deserves a slower analysis, like finding the space between perception and action; we must now set the direction between perception and ambition. This can take days or weeks, and may need hard data to come to a confident decision, but through this process of settling the debate between our impressions and our rationality, the way ahead becomes clearer, ultimately enabling us to discern whether our movement is toward mastery or merely restlessness. Although doubts may remain as we create new paths into the future, we can find comfort and peace knowing that time and care were spent examining the reasons, the decision was considered, and our autonomy was maintained, not for ourselves but for our purpose, and that quiet voice that tells you "but the people are great" can be silenced knowing that in the next chapter the people will most likely be great too.