By Sharifa Mattis
Psychology major, Leadership Studies minor
The University of Maryland, College Park.
Internship: shadowing a personal and business coach in Sydney, Australia.
Gen Y: Be mentally fit for your career, your life, your future!
“45% of Australians between the ages of 16-85 has experienced at least one of many diagnosable mental disorders” (ABS 2009).
Whilst childhood memories slip further away and adult life quickly approaches; I can’t help to wonder, “Who am I and who do I want to be?”
Generation Y is eagerly impending the global job market in 2012, thus it is important that we lead our minds and our talents towards being the best we can be. At the same time, workplace harassment and job dis satisfaction is at its highest. In order to recognize, understand, and lead ourselves to making our desired futures easier, an important facet of striving towards success is having a healthy mind.
Sydney councilor Deborah Goodsall and renowned life coach Rhiannon Rees share their experience and stories in their careers dedicated to mental health and leadership.
Recognizing Goals
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) generation Y is defined as individuals born between 1991 and 1972 (ABS 2009). It is understandable that young professionals are anxious and excited to start their new lives as adults. However, understanding oneself as an individual is a quality that could either enhance or inhibit employee turnover, accidents, and performance on the job (Krug 2008). Whenever individuals view their job as more than a way to make money, they perform better and strive towards their goals more efficiently through committing to their career and working more effectively (Kosine et al 2008). An important step of determining ones self-efficacy is deciding what ones goals should be. A way to set goals that will yield high reward is to be creative and optimistic. When individuals display these strong psychological traits, it has been proven that they are more successful in attaining their goals (Gore & Cross 2010).
Understanding Yourself
In addition to being optimistic in setting goals, it is important to understand yourself in order to help reach your personal goals and aspirations. According to a study on the relationship between psychological well-being and goal coherence, there is a positive association between the two indicating that being mentally healthy contributes to attaining your goals (Gore & Cross 2010). While thinking about who you really are, it would be useful to focus on your pure you. During young adulthood it is easy to be swept away by the social aspect of ones life. While social interaction is undoubtedly healthy, it could lead to an unhealthy lifestyle that could hinder your mental health and in turn career. The ABS reported that 13% of Australian individuals between the age of 16 and 24 have a substance abuse disorder (ABS 2009); a staggering fact for young students and professionals.
Mental Health and Success
The correlation between life, career satisfaction, and depressive symptoms, shows that individuals with poor mental health in adolescence displayed the same symptoms later on in life (Howard et al 2010). According to the ABS (2009), 7% of children under the age of 15 end up having mental or behavioral issues that are long termed. Thus, underlying issues that lay dormant until later on in adulthood could negatively affect your career and personal life.
Finding Purpose, Passion, and Goals
In determining how much you believe in yourself, you can begin to lead yourself mentally towards success, essentially flexing your personal leadership muscles. Having a high level of self-efficacy has been clinically proven to influence career choice, performance, and persistence (Kosine et al 2008), and continues to be a valuable asset in creating success.
A great way to determine a healthy self-efficacy is to be mentally fit and healthy. Deborah Goodsall submits there is some form of a stigma or pre conceived notion towards individuals with mental health issues. While this is expected, Deborah assured me that in her opinion, Australians are aggressively moving away from having a stigma placed on mental health disorders. This is an amazing feat for a country, because it truly allows the individuals within it to address their problems and maybe even engage in preventative treatment. Preventative treatment refers to treating a problem before it presents itself.
Help yourself so you can help others
The first step to easing yourself into the professional phase of your life is to remember where you came from. A striking point that Deborah made was that “You cannot live life without your reality impacting it, it is important to honor where people have come from and how they have arrived” (Goodsall, 2011). This is an astounding statement because being aware of ones past and how it affects their reality is an integral step in staying mentally healthy for ones life. It is extremely important and helpful to remember not to turn a blind eye to your past therefore history won’t repeat itself, or you can get bogged down with old struggles.
Dream Big
The next important step in making a healthy transition from student to professional is to set high standards for yourself, according to Rhiannon Rees. In relation to valuable words of wisdom for individuals transitioning into the professional world, Rhiannon suggest that “it is important to have a belief that you can no matter what, work on the skills that you need to get there, and grow that confidence till it is so unshakable that it will take you through”.
In conclusion, make sure you build yourself mentally fit for your career, your life, and your future.
Sharifa Mattis
Undergraduate Degree Candidate
B.A. in Psychology
University of Maryland, College Park
DOTS Employee: Shuttle – UM New Driver Manager
Sharifa currently undertakes her fourth year of Psychology major, Leadership Studies minor, at the University of Maryland, College Park. Whilst in Sydney Australia, Sharifa participated in an internship shadowing a personal and business career coach. Sharifa has returned to the US to finish her final year of college and receive her bachelor of arts and will attend Doctorate school in the next few years to earn her doctorate in psychology with a focus in addiction treatment and therapy. Thank you Sharifa for this wonderful study, our students will be able to take a lot of value from your work. We wish you all the best, and hope to follow your success in the years to come. You are a true inspiration.
