Dear self:
In
this last reflection blog for MSLD 641, each of us needed to develop an action
plan that will reflect our steps towards reaching our personal vision. With
this action plan in place, I can now turn my desires from awareness into action
steps to reach the ultimate goal in 5 to 10 years. While developing the
personal vision statement, I noticed that what I thought was my dream and ideal
self, turned out to be my parents’ dreams for me. I have believed it for so
long to be my own dream that I was completely unaware how much my parents
played a role in the dream and even how the dream came to be. Therefore, it is
very important that as time passes by, every year or so, I need to tweak,
change, and/or make corrections to the existing personal vision statement. This
will ensure that as I gain work experience and grow as a person, I learn about what
my true dream, calling, purpose, and aspirations are. Always think about who do
you want your ideal self to be, what do you want to reach in life, and develop
the necessary steps needed to reach these visions.
For
the purpose of practicing and learning about what my personal vision statement
is and how to develop the steps needed to reach my ideal self, I decided to
keep my parents’ dreams for me as part of my dream until I learn more about who
I want to be and what I want to reach. My personal vision is that within five
to 10 years, I will be part of a senior management team position that will
provide me with the financial security needed to pay off my student loans and have
spare income for traveling expenses. Because I am only 24 years old, having a
family is not a top priority at this moment. But, as time goes on and things
change, I will be incorporating this into my personal vision statement. After
completing the exercise on Chapter 6 of Becoming a Resonant Leader, I have a
bit more of an understanding what my learning goals should be in order to reach
my personal vision within 5 to 10 years.
The
first learning goal is to become or be close to a managerial position within
five years. The milestones for this learning goal is: go up the organizational
latter every two to three years, apply everything I have learned in my leadership
courses, and get an organizational coach or mentor that will help me develop a
plan to reach the desired position. These milestones should be completed within
six to 12 months, so don’t become discouraged about the timeline but use your
action oriented planning style to reach these milestones. In reality it may
take a bit longer than 12 months to reach some of these milestones, but with self-awareness,
mindfulness, hope, compassion, strengths, positive energy and thoughts you will
reach these milestones. You are an action-oriented planner, meaning you live in
the moment without worrying about the future, you tend to avoid long-term
planning, you make decisions according to the logic of the moment, and you make
decisions that are based on the recent outcomes of past actions. You also
operate within the human philosophy, meaning you determine the worthiness of an
activity in terms of its affect on specific other people and its impact on the
quality of the relationship he or she has with specific others (McKee, Boyatzis
& Johnston, 2008). It’s ok to be this way. Just try your best to keep in
mind your dreams and how you are going to reach them. Even though this is part
of the reason of why you have a hard time figuring out what your dreams are and
how you want to be, do not become discouraged. Believe in yourself and the
education you have received thus far.
With
all this information in mind, your first action step is to start your career.
Again, it’s ok to switch careers every few years or so. So, don’t worry about
how it may look in your resume or what others may think, it is simply part of
the process. The second action plan is to learn as much as you can about the
business in which you are working in. This will help you gain work experience
and learn more about yourself and your leadership style. The last action step
is to finish the MSLD program. The graduation date is set for May 2015 so you
can do this! Remember, some of the people who may be able to help you and keep
you in renewal are: organizational coaches, mentors, coworkers, Dr. Pittenger, Dr.
Knab, Dr. Barta, and the rest of your college teachers are there if you need
them.
The
second learning goal is financial stability. Due to my current financial
situation and struggle to pay off loans, I would like to be financial stable so
I can have the freedom of traveling and still be able to pay off student debt. Don’t
plan on buying more than the essentials so you can have that extra income to
travel around the world (more on this below). The first milestone for achieving
financial stability is to take advantage of working overtime. Whenever possible
pick up an extra shift here and there, or pick up small side jobs that will at
least pay for the amount of gas spent going to and from work weekly. The second
milestone would be to pay off any credit card debt left to pay so you can make
a bigger payment to your student loans. The third milestone for financial
stability is save up at least $1,500 each year in the case of an emergency. As
years pass, increase this amount to reflect the new obligations in life.
The
first action step that can be achieved from now to six months would be to get a
job/start my career. I can’t be financially secured until I start working and
saving up money. The second action step is to get rid of the credit cards.
Leave the credit cards at home and try carrying cash more often so it obligates
you to only spend what you have on the necessities needed and not on the wants
of life. The third action step is to save at least $30 each week on a separate
account for in case of an emergency. Remember, bankers, parents, financial aid
advisors, and counselors can help you come up with a specific plan to help you
save money. There is no excuse!
The
third learning goal is to travel the world. Between one to five years from now
I would like to have visited Costa Rica or Hawaii. These are very expensive
trips, so as life goes on continue saving for the next couple of trips to
China, Japan, Europe, and Australia. The first milestone to being able to
travel the world is to save up money for these trips. I believe that saving
around $3,000 or so for each trip will give me the chance to explore different
outdoor activities in these trips and remain comfortable staying in a 3 star
hotel at night. Don’t be afraid of looking for coupons. The second milestone is
to lose 30lbs in a year. This will bring me down to my ideal height to weight
mark, as it will help keep my energy level up during outdoor activities. The
third milestone is to become comfortable with my own self. Right now, there are
things that I don’t like about myself that end up bringing down my confidence
level. In order to gain back my confidence, my first action plan is to join the
gym, eat healthy, and stay active. This will help me lose the 30lbs needed for
me to stay energetic during outdoor activities. The next action plan is to seek
ways to bring up my confidence level, such as reading a book about confidence,
thinking positive, putting make up on, and keeping relationships that only
help/support me. Get rid of dissonant relationships a.s.a.p. Lastly, in order
to pay for any of the trips I want to take, I need a job. So the third action
plan is to start my career so I can save up the money for traveling abroad. The
people who can help me reach my learning goal to travel abroad are: travel
agencies, coupons, nutritionists, gym trainers, and bankers.
Reference:
McKee, A.,
Boyatzis, R. E., & Johnston, F. (2008). Becoming a resonant leader:
develop your emotional intelligence, renew your relationships, sustain your
effectiveness. Boston, Mass.: Harvard Business School Publication.
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