This question provokes waves of anxiety, not just in individuals but in their families and cultures. As humans, we all ask what we are meant to do with our lives, and when doing it, we ask how it matches with what we think we want. People who love their work invariably feel better and happier than those who do not.
What keeps people from finding work they love becomes an interesting question; will they find a reason not to enjoy any work as a function of their personality, or will a change of career offer that which was always missing?
Patients who have loved working and can no longer do so report a mourning process, like with any other death. Patients who work seem universally happier than those who do not, and those who work in settings which maximize their native gifts seem to thrive even more.
Patients who have become unemployed panic not only about what to do but about how to stay afloat financially. Those that work but hate their jobs might wonder about the nature of their true callings. Help is available.
If you struggle to know what your true calling might be, there are basic steps which do not involve epiphanies. You can test yourself for career change (vocational testing); you can seek career counseling; or you can read about people who have struggled with these questions and found ways through the anxiety. I recommend starting with Po Bronson’s What Should I Do With My Life?
If these basic steps do not yield the results you are looking for, you may be an ideal candidate for psychodynamic psychotherapy (see Treatment Section).