My Goal Setting

¶ … Richard Bolles states in his best-selling book What Color is Your Parachute? "We want to feel we were put here on Earth for some special purpose, to so some unique work that only we can accomplish. We want to know what our Mission is," (309). Bolles likens one's career goals to a religious mission, a significant undertaking that demands total commitment, dedication, and love. A mission entails more than just a job, and even more than "just" a career. Rather, a mission implies total fulfillment in all areas of life.

When I fulfill my dreams, I will not only be financially secure but I will also enjoy a rich social and spiritual life. Initially formulating a mission statement forced me to examine my moral values as well as my talents, dreams, needs, and desires. On page 8 of What Color Is Your Parachute? Bolles suggests that the first step in performing a life-changing job-hunt is defining exactly what it is I am looking for (8).

After some self-examination I concluded that I need an intellectually stimulating position that allows me to maximize my innate analytical abilities. However, I will never feel satisfied unless I simultaneously nurture my freer, creative side. Few careers offer both the opportunity to exercise the left and right sides of the brain; in fact, the more I examined my priorities the more I realized that I will never fit snugly into one particular career path. Rather, I am an energetic person perfectly capable of pursuing two careers at once.

One of the fields I intend to fully devote myself to is psychology, industrial psychology in particular. I appreciate this specific area of specialization because I need the stimulus of a wide range of working environments and atmospheres. My interpersonal skills lend themselves to working with large groups of people and organizations. Moreover, I derive great satisfaction from helping people work to improve themselves mentally, emotionally, and interpersonally. Industrial psychology offers me an ideal venue from which to conduct my "missionary" work.

Industrial psychology does involve some degree of creative problem solving, as I will be required to confront conflicts and dilemmas with poise and tact. However, the job is largely analytical. I will need the added bonus and stimulus of a creative enterprise. With a lifelong passion for fashion, I now seek to design clothes and accessories, preferably opening my own small business. I can run this business on the side even while I enjoy the fruits of my labor in the industrial psychology field.

In fact, so that I do not overwork or overtax myself, I would eventually like to work part time as a psychologist so that I can dedicate a large portion of my life to fashion design. Undertaking a double career in both industrial psychology and fashion design seems overly ambitious. However complex my mission seems, I cannot envision any other option for myself and therefore I formulate my mission statement to include both careers.

My mission statement is therefore as follows: I seek to improve the lives of others through creative problem solving, contributing my stellar interpersonal skills to various industrial settings, while at the same time maximizing my creative potential through the materialization of my fashion notions. Through these two seemingly disparate yet for me interdependent areas, I will fulfill my lifelong personal dreams and ambitions while I improve the psychological well-being of others. In order to achieve my mission, I will need a mission plan.

The five years following graduation will be crucial, for my energy levels will be exceptionally high. Therefore, even before I graduate I will need to channel a lot of my attention toward researching options for work in both my fields of choice. Eventually I would like to earn a satisfying salary as an industrial psychologist, enough so that I will focus all my creative energies on designing for pleasure rather than for dough.

Thus, within five years I will have completed my Master's degree and will have already secured a decent job within one or a few different industries. Completing my Master's Degree will be the most difficult and challenging portion of my five-year plan; I will first need to narrow down choices for a graduate school, apply and hopefully be accepted to all my schools of choice. Then I will have to select which school to attend based on personal preferences, like geography and faculty members.

Because I am also interested in fashion design, I will look specifically at schools in major cities like Chicago, New York, Seattle, Los Angeles, and Miami. I will obtain my Masters Degree in Industrial Psychology, either an MA or a MS, depending on the program department within three years. While I work toward my degree, however, I will work as an intern in an industrial setting so that I will be familiar with the hands-on, daily work of an industrial psychologist.

Moreover, interning will enable me to network with potential future employers and could possible be a foot in the door for me. Once I actually have my degree in hand, I will use the techniques outlined in Bolles's book to set up interviews and create the ideal position for me. I intend to have a decent, well-paying position as an industrial psychologist within five years. Ideally, I will actually be a psychologist in the fashion field, working for a large design company, a manufacturer, or even a magazine.

However, regardless of the specific industry I work with, I will contribute one hundred percent of my energies and enthusiasm to ensure maximum productivity for the company. If I am able to work in the fashion industry as a psychologist, I will also become familiar with the business and better able to market my own designs once I get my small business started. After working for one year as an industrial psychologist, I will begin setting up my home-based fashion design business.

If I feel I need specific training to become a more effective designer, then I will devote time and invest money in fashion design schooling. This could take a year or more, during which I can still work as a psychologist. In fact, if I have a full-time position with an industry, I can always telecommute or attend weekend or night school classes. Regardless, in five years' time I should possess a.