Gareis S.

Prompt 1
What gives me joy? (What kinds of things am I doing when I’m most naturally content and
happy?)
Joy is a sense of contentment and satisfaction which pushes us forward (Eddie Siebert,
2014) and I believe joy is one of the most important aspects of life. Identifying the source of joy
can be difficult at times, but it is up to our own self to discern what brings us joy. I myself can
only discover what brings me joy. Today, there are specific things which give me joy. I truly
enjoy helping others and building community. One of my biggest goals is to open or work for a
non-profit which helps those living with PTSD/TBI, anxiety, healing from abuse and more by
offering equine therapy. The joy of seeing people healing from their emotional and physical
pains is joyous to me. I love seeing growth in others and knowing that the time I put into their
life assisted them in healing. I also find great joy in my family and animals. Animals are natural
healers such as dogs, horses, cats, farm animals etc. and owning them brings high levels of joy to
my life because of their loyalty, love, and comedic behaviors in the home. My family brings me
happiness, laughter and support. These things bring great delight to my life.
What am I good at? (What are my strengths?)
My natural vocational strengths are strength, leadership, guidance, and belief. Over the
years I can thank my family for helping me identify these strengths and what I am good at both
naturally and professionally. Having those around you help in conforming with natural strengths
is important. The things we are best at are the things which come naturally to us and are quite
remarkable (Eddie Siebert, 2014). As humans we may not recognize these natural talents until
others have told us. I am good at leading teams and guiding others to be their best. My natural
strength of building community and sharing my belief in life comes naturally to me but has also
been confirmed as behaviors which I am good at from others. Just as deciding to pursue this
degree path; it directly relates to my current job role and my natural gifts. My community has
been honest with me which has helped me to grow in the right direction of building on my
vocational discernment of talents.
What does the world need me to do? (What can I contribute?)
I believe the world needs me to be a leader. Someone that they can confide in, believe in
and help guide the community around them. There is much turmoil and pain within the world
today. I believe my natural abilities are fitting into the needs of those around me, I do believe
that the community calls me to do such work. Everyone needs support, guidance, open
communication and a belief that others are not all bad but can rather work to do good for
everyone. It is important not to think that our own selves are the most important. We must
include our community and identify how our roles support one another. Everyone is their own
person and do not play a role in my own life, but rather we are equal in having our feelings,
thoughts, beliefs and more. The world needs me to guide and support the fact that we are all
different and must find virtue in who we are ourselves, but also connect with our differences.

Prompt 2
My top five values are:
Having family, freedom, nature, community, and creativity.
What kinds of defining characteristics did you associate with your values as you crossed them
off the list one at a time until you had only one value listed?
One characteristic which stood out to me was adaptability. When looking at my values I
see topics which are most important to me and also relate to building a community. Since
community is within these five, I would say it is the most important. Community can encompass
family, freedoms, nature, and creativity because it is a space which was created by like minded
people. As I crossed off some of these other values, I realized that community could encompass
all of them if necessary. I also noticed that in these values I put people first. Putting those around
me, community, first is important for understanding one’s ways.
What did you learn about your values hierarchy through this activity?
Within my values hierarchy I recognized that I put humans and ethics at the topmost
important. As people we strive to be at the top of the food chain and with understanding my
hierarchy, I noticed that life comes above all else. For instance, community fills any void of not
incorporating human life into my values. This activity allowed me to look beyond what I “like”
or enjoy and focus on where my values truly lie.
Prompt 3
Areas of How does this role How does this role Which of your core
Identity/Life Role define your self- influence your values aligns with
I am a… concept or views? priorities and your this identity?
actions?
Project Specialist It does not fill the This role influences Creativity because
void of my self- my priorities because my job requires many
concept or personal it takes much of my different types of
views. It is just a job. time and energy skillsets
which I would rather
spend elsewhere.
Animal Lover This role gives me This role influences Nature because
inspiration and allows my priorities in a animals are of nature,
me to engage in life positive manner natural life and purity
more fully because I care for my
animals at home and
others. Being around
 animals brings joy to
my life
Daughter and Mother This role fulfills my This role influences Family
self-concept because my priorities and
I am someone who actions because
cares about people family will always
and those closest in come first. Despite
my community professional
roles/time
requirements
Christian This role defines who This role influences Freedom because
I am by my beliefs my priorities and having a belief and
system and guides actions because it is having the freedom to
those around me to important to me to believe in it are
understand my believe and having a important.
discernment belief in something
gives me strength.
Family Person Being a family This role influences Community because
person helps my my priorities and family can be blood,
views on others and actions by reminding close friendships or
the self-concept of me how important anything else.
know where my roots human life,
are community, and hose
closest to you are.

How do your various roles influence how you see yourself?

The various roles influence how I see myself by showing me I am dynamic. Looking at
my job role now and the values I put on people or helping others are completely different. I see
myself as someone who is looking for more in a role that will never satisfy my values.
How do your various roles influence how you see the world?
My various roles influence how I see the world because it is clear how many job roles are
not the roles people naturally strive toward but more so are done because it is necessary to
survive. I see the world as all of my top values, but it is not as easy to identify them.
How do you currently prioritize your roles? Which roles are most (and least) attended to? Are
you happy with this prioritization? What changes would you like to make? OGL 482 Pro‐
Seminar II 4
I very strategically prioritize my roles right now. It seems there is never enough time to
equally distribute my time and role responsibilities. I must be very scheduled, organized,
understanding, communicative and more. The role with the least attendance from myself is
religion at this time unfortunately. I used to be involved in church but just have slipped away
from it due to school, motherhood, family, work, health, etc. The most attended role at this time
is being a student and project specialist. Both of these roles consume 99% of my weeks.
How do you see your roles changing in the future – and how will that affect your identity?
I see my roles changing in the future. One specifically is my job role. Project
management does not satisfy my natural desire to give back, help people and build community. It
is a very specific role with standards and guidelines which do not allow flexibility. I also see my
role as a mom changing because I will soon give birth to my first child. A role such as that is life
changing for a very positive reason. These changes will affect my identify because the world will
view me differently. Being viewed as a single woman, no children and a career vs. having a
significant other, a young child, and looking for a career change; people do not always
understand how things change such as my identity.
Sources

Eddie Siebert, S. J. (2014, November 28). Three questions you should answer. National Catholic
Reporter. Retrieved March 18, 2022, from https://www.ncronline.org/blogs/three-
questions-you-should-answer

Harrington, B., & Hall, D. T. (2008). Career Management & Work/Life Integration: Using Self-
assessment to navigate contemporary careers. SAGE Publications.