I remember feeling so much pressure as graduation approached. Pressure to know exactly what I was going to do. Pressure to have a plan in place. Graduation. Graduate School. Private Practice. That is a common route for psychology majors to take, and I assumed that it was the route I should take. 

While in graduate school, I learned more about who I was, my personality and how I process information. I realized that my natural inclination is to focus on the future and to design my way forward. This did not fit the traditional views I had on what therapy is. 

I felt like a failure as I stepped away from graduate school. It seemed like all of my friends and former classmates knew exactly where they were headed. I had friends who were studying to become a teacher who were stepping into their first year of teaching. I had friends who were pre-seminary students completing their first year of seminary and loving it. It seemed like everyone knew what their next step was, so what was wrong with me? 

As you think about your future career or that graduate school application, it can be easy to feel trapped in the idea that there is only one right path to take. I have met with many students who feel immense stress and anxiety over getting it right: over picking the perfect major, the perfect internship, the perfect entry level job or graduate school. This stress often keeps us stuck by preventing us from making any decisions at all. 

The idea that there is only one right path, job or career for you is a dysfunctional belief that is not serving you. Instead, it is limiting your ability to explore the many possibilities that could be your life. In the book, “Designing Your Life,” by Bill Burnett and Dave Evans, dysfunctional beliefs are defined as the “myths that prevent so many people from designing the life they want,” (2016). I have worked through my own dysfunctional beliefs as I made the decision to not pursue the therapy route and explored the different routes a psychology major could take. 

A little spoiler alert, I did not open my own private practice. My life has turned out differently than my senior year self thought it would. I love my job and am blessed by the opportunities I have been given. The advice I would give to my younger self is to be open to different ideas of what life can look like and to not put so much pressure on getting it right the first time. 

Going through the process of designing a life that I feel fulfilled, happy and proud of took a willingness to be open and try new things. I use a holistic design approach when working with students who are not sure where to begin as they make plans for their future. 

Maybe you are a new student at CUI who is just starting to choose your major. Maybe you are trying to avoid what comes next by not thinking about it. Maybe you know where you want to go, but do not know the next steps. Take it from someone who has been there, avoidance does not help. Schedule a one-on-one coaching session with me today by emailing careercenter@cui.edu. 

Editor’s note: This spring, in partnership with the Office of Career Development, The Courier will be publishing a regular series of stories and first-person accounts focused on career readiness and post-graduation success. Interested in contributing? Email The Courier at drafts.courier@gmail.com.  

Tags: development, Careers and Vocation, community, Alexander Carr

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About Mariah Lucas

Director of Career Development and Vocation (CUI '15)

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