AN UNORTHODOX APPROACH TO 
CAREER PLANNING
By Robert Ross

Part 1: Finding Our Mission
Part 1 of a 3 part series

We're all aware of the mission of the Star Ship Enterprise: "To go where no one has gone before, to seek out new life, to explore new worlds" . . . that's pretty clear. But for most of us, the word mission conjures up images of extraordinary human beings, doing exceptional things, people who have a vision, who know where they're going, and what they want to achieve. It's as though they have a predetermined destiny. Thoughts of mother Teresa, Christopher Columbus, or Thomas Edison come to mind. Certainly there's no relationship between those remarkable people and the rest of us. Or is there? Do we all have missions . . . undiscovered, untapped, waiting to be revealed?

In the best selling book "Embraced By The Light" the author Betty Eadie dies while undergoing an operation. She leaves her body and connects with what can only be described as angels in heaven. The experience of dying and going to heaven envelopes her in a peace that she has never felt before. When the angels tell her the time has come to return to her body, she's understandably reluctant. She doesn't want to come back to her earthly life. But she's told that she has a mission on earth that needs to be accomplished before she can return to heaven. The author begs to have her mission revealed, but the angels tell her that if it is revealed, once she's back in her earthly body she'll immediately attempt to accomplish her mission so that she can again return to heaven, thus abandoning those who love and need her on earth.

MISSIONS
"Your mission Mr. Phelps, should you decide to accept it is . . ." (from the hit T.V. series Mission Impossible). Like Mr. Phelps from the T.V. series, or Betty Eadie (Embraced By The Light), we all have missions in life, undiscovered, and untapped. The question is how do we go about identifying it? And how do we know that we're on the right track to accomplishing it?

Abraham Maslow, one of the more widely quoted psychologists of this century determined that we have a hierarchy of needs. This hierarchy is often depicted as a pyramid with the first or basic needs at the bottom. Once each need is met, the individual is in a position to begin satisfying needs higher on the hierarchy. For example, our first need to be met is food and shelter, basic survival needs. One can't even contemplate designing a fulfilling life until this need is met. Next we need a sense of safety and security, then belongingness, self esteem, and finally, only after we've taken care of those lower needs are we in a position to embrace self actualization.

We have, for the first time in history, reached a point where we, in the western world, can focus on more then just survival. There's an economic and social safety net set up where, with a little hard work we can manage. And with a little more hard work and some creativity we can have a pretty good life, having satisfied our survival, safety, belongingness and self esteem needs. This leaves us with the luxury of being able to focus on concepts like "mission".

Mission . . .
turning to the dictionary, we see that this word is defined as: "an assignment to or work in a field of missionary enterprise", "a body of persons sent to perform a service or carry on an activity", "to send on or entrust with a mission". The definition implies that there is someone or something directing the mission. Yet we can also view ourselves as the creators of our own mission. Some people believe our mission or purpose has in many ways been predetermined, designed into our the fabric of our being, waiting to be uncovered. On the other hand, others believe we creat our own destiny. Whether Mother Teresa responded to an inner voice, or heard a message from God, she nonetheless determined that her life would take a certain course. She had all of the choices the world has to offer, from furniture manufacturing to clerking at Vons. But somewhere in her fabric was the desire to work with those in need. Her temperament, personality, goals and needs were all consistent with her perceived mission. Christopher Columbus responded to an inner voice. He too, could have been a farmer, carpenter, or priest. But somewhere inside was a driving force to which he responded. They both did something that was and (is) meaningful to them and made a contribution. As a result the world was changed.

MEANINGFUL WORK AND MAKING A CONTRIBUTION.
The highest tribute one could pay us at the end of our adventure here on earth would be to say that our lives were meaningful and we made a contribution. Certainly any mission that we would undertake would involve these words. These are words that feel right to our inner selves. Words that we would like to have spoken about us. Meaningfulness and making a contribution, these are two sides of a triangle, but we need a third, the base. We need something that ties it all together. That "something" is our unique gifts. Those attributes that we were born with and that only we possess.

This third and probably the most important element is to identify our uniqueness, our fabric. Who we are? What are those characteristics that distinguish us from all others. Once we've identified who we are, only then can we clearly hear that voice from within.

By identifying and using our unique talents, skills and abilities, doing something that's meaningful to us, and making a contribution to bettering the world, then our lives become significant. That's the framework of our mission.

But just how do we go about identifying our unique skills, and abilities? How do we know that we're on the path towards finding our mission?

Copyright 1995 by Robert Ross, All rights reserved

Robert Ross can be reached by e-mail at: SanDiegoRoss@Yahoo.com   

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