Monday, April 20, 2009

What Do You Value?

DISCLAIMER: This may read a bit jumbled, but welcome to my brain.

I'm fairly certain that it's no secret that I'm having a mini identity crisis.

"What am I doing in Australia?" (Getting away from Philly)
"Why did I decided to come here again?" (Mythos + Greek Salad + Santorini Sun)
"Where am I going to go from here?" (Only time will tell)

Part of this anxiety is coming from the fact that I don't have a real job. The thing is, I can't seem to make myself look for a job because I don't know what I want to look for. I am working on a side project at the moment, so that is providing some income for the time being. My job dilemma isn't really about money though (I would work at a cafe in a second if it was about paying my rent), it's about where I'm going now that I don't have my college crutch to hang on to.

A few years ago during a time when I was having a crisis about one thing or another (I believe it was the What-The-Hell-Is-My-Major-Going-To-Be Debacle of 2006), I was given a task to complete that would help me sort out my priorities.

I was given a list of 100 values, ranging from family to integrity to rationality. I was to sort these values into 3 categories:
  • Not Important to Me
  • Important to Me
  • Very Important to Me
The hard part was limiting my "Very Important" pile to 10 values. It's not as easy as it may sound. After evaluating my choices, I was able to simmer a bit and refocus my mind. It's kind of an indirect exercise to organize your life.

Anyway, for some unknown reason, this listing of values ended up in my bag of miscellaneous shit that made its way with me to Oz. I decided to try the value sort again to see what I currently deemed to be most important.

Lindsay's Top 10* Values (in no specific order):
  1. Passion
  2. Compassion
  3. Courtesy
  4. Automony/Independence
  5. Purpose
  6. Dependability
  7. Friendship/Family
  8. Solitude
  9. Acheivement
  10. Integrity
Sometimes I get carried away and think that because I got a B.A. in Public Relations I am obligated to get an agency job. How else will I ever get anywhere in PR? After looking through my list of values, I've decided to pursue getting my Dive Instructor certification.

Now, I'm aware that has nothing to do with PR, but diving is one of my passions and becoming an instructor is something that I've wanted to do for about 10 years. It's easy for me to get caught up in black and white thinking and convince myself that I have to do X because of Y, when really I can do whatever the hell I want. I do eventually want to advance my career in public relations, but honestly, what's the rush?

What values do you hold important to you? Have you ever consciously thought about them?


*Okay, so I may have cheated and grouped a few together, but I'm indecisive. Sue me.

4 comments:

K.Pete said...

OMG - I'm having this same crisis. And it's turning into hours at the International Student advising office - AGH! Do you have the whole list of 100 things? Or did you just find your top ten? I'd love to check out the list of 100 and see if I can narrow it down to 10 for myself. :)

btw - Good on you x100 for pursuing something you're passionate about. YAY!!! Being a dive instructor would be fabulous. What could be better than doing what you love every day? Meeting new people all of the time? and getting to be with nature? Sounds like a GREAT plan!!!

Lindsay McHugh said...

What's your e-mail, I'll send you off the list! It's a good brain-quieter because you are forced to focus just on the values and really have to think about what you hold important. Good stuff, would love to pass it along!

Thanks for the enthusiasm girl! I have always had the idea of becoming a dive instructor in the back of my mind... although I don't know if I see myself doing it as a career for life. But for right now, why not?

Amber said...

Great idea! You have plenty of time to pursue your PR. You might as well do something you're passionate about. I have NO idea what I'm going to do after graduating Uni next year, but I've decided to stop stressing about it and just enjoy my last year :-)

Robyn said...

Hey Linds! I fully support the Dive Instructor idea. I think you'd be fantastic!