What do I do when my calling has become just a job?

The fire has cooled. What once felt like the thing you were meant to do has settled into routine, and you miss the version of yourself who could not wait to get to work. That grief is real. You are mourning not just the job as it was, but a younger, more lit-up you. It is worth honoring that, not brushing it aside. But consider that the cooling is not always a sign something is wrong. The first fire of a calling is partly the thrill of the new, and no feeling stays at that pitch for years. What replaces it, at best, is something quieter and sturdier: skill, depth, the steady competence of someone who has done the thing a thousand times. That is not the death of the calling. It can be its maturing, if you let it be. Look for one part of the work that still has a pulse, however faint, and give it a little more room this week. A kind of task you still like, a person you still enjoy helping, a problem that still catches your interest. Feed that. The wide-eyed beginner is gone, and that is alright. The question now is whether you can find a deeper, calmer reason to stay, or whether the fire is truly telling you to go.