Juggling Goals and Commitments

Juggling Goals & Commitments

Confucius once said, “The man who chases two rabbits, catches neither.”

As a college student – and a SyBBURite – you’re probably trying to catch not only two rabbits, but three, four, or even five all at once. But wait – hopefully, you’re not taking this too literally.

By rabbits, we mean the multiple goals you want to achieve that come with the number of commitments with which you’re involved, such as classwork, research, extracurriculars, your social life, and passion projects. Your life right now might look something like this (or even crazier!):

Caveats of Chasing Multiple Bunnies

Chasing all of these bunnies – goals – at once, however, definitely has its caveats:

●       Goal Conflict – The field of psychology says that if you pursue too many things at once, the goals of one commitment could interfere with achieving the goals of another. Oftentimes, the goal conflict involves the amount of time you can devote to different bunnies. Remember, you can only do so much during the 16 hours you are awake.

●       10,000 Hour Rule –  Researchers say it takes 10,000 hours to master a skill…but if you are trying master 5 skills simultaneously, then you will encounter a lot of stress. Also, 10,000 hours is a lot of time to commit to one bunny – what if you find another?

●       Opportunity Costs – Econ 101 taught us the concept of opportunity costs, which applies here too. If you’re so siloed on a number of things, there is the lost opportunity towards exploring other interests and other potential passions.

Finding & Fostering a New Bunny

Before sharing how you could chase multiple bunnies at once, you should understand how to foster and find new goals you want to explore and possibly achieve.

●       Read about it. Do some basic, background research on the topic/field/interest – the World Wide Web is your oyster. Interested in how material science is important in inventing new types of shoes? There is most likely a journal article or something on the Nike website about it. You may end up going down an endless rabbit hole (no pun intended), and this is a great way to also see if you don’t like a certain bunny.

●       Talk about it. Set up a meeting outside class with a professor in a field you’re interested in. Interested in potentially pursuing medicine? Reach out to a doctor in VUMC and set up a 15-minute coffee chat at Au Bon Pain. You can also go onto LinkedIn to search for Vandy alumni doing something you are thinking of doing in the future – or better yet, a SyBBURE alum who will more than likely love to talk to you.

●       Shadow someone who has chased the bunny. This gives you a real-time glimpse into the “day in the life” of a successful bunny catcher. Most of the time, you can get that information through just talking to someone, but for those who want to become doctors, shadowing is actually a requirement for med school.

●       Pursue an internship. Internships, or similar opportunities, could provide you valuable insight into what it’s actually like to work in a certain field. Internships can help you decide whether or not you want to pursue a certain career full-time or even the exact opposite – something you don’t want to do at all!

After you escape your own echo chamber and foster a potentially new bunny, it’s time to evaluate. How often do you talk about this new goal or interest of yours? Ask yourself why you are pushing yourself to pursue it. Does it align with your personal values, priorities, and life goals? All of these are important questions to ask yourself before you commit.

Chasing Multiple Bunnies At Once

There are over 50,000 professional skills, 12,000 careers, and 250+ research subject areas that exist in our world. It wouldn’t be surprising if you wondered how to catch multiple bunnies.

One suggestion is to multi-task. But it’ll be important to matching low-energy tasks in your plan with ones that are more demanding. For example, you could analyze data while watching a mindless Netflix show or listen to a podcast as you do your laundry.

Another suggestion is to combine interests into an applicable task. For example, a SyBBURite has merged her interest in 3D printing, cell culture, programming, and biomaterials in her research project. Interested in graphic design? There’s a lot you can do with fostering that skill in science, from figure creation to wireframing diagrams.

When You’re Not Catching Bunnies…

In the end, you are an ambitious, hard-working, and passionate student at Vanderbilt who probably wants to make the most of your experience in college. It is important to sometimes take a step back and realize there is still a huge world out there to explore too outside of Vanderbilt, including the city the university calls home and beyond. There are also amazing people around you to become friends with and learn about their backgrounds, aspirations, and interests – people like you, who are also chasing their own bunnies.

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Sources

Ally Questell (October 28, 2021). How to Catch a Bunny. ThinkTank Topical Talk.

Boudreaux, M. J., & Ozer, D. J. (2013). Goal conflict, goal striving, and psychological well-being. Motivation and Emotion, 37(3), 433–443. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11031-012-9333-2

LinkedIn (2018). The Skills companies need most in 2019 – And how to learn them. https://www.linkedin.com/business/learning/blog/top-skills-and-courses/the-skills-companies-need-most-in-2019-and-how-to-learn-them