PSY 220
Check Point: Goal Selection
10/11/2012
As read in chapter 7, the matching hypothesis suggests a simple answer to the question of which goals do not or do add enhancement to a person’s well-being. Goals that fit a person’s values, needs and sense of self are likely to be the ones that increase a person’s well-being. Goals that are mismatched to with the person are known to lead to no change, or also known to even diminish well-being. (Steve R. Baumgardner, 2009) I have made many goals in my life starting throughout high school and did manage to follow through with a few that benefitted my well-being and also did not. A poorly-matched goal that I once made was to immediately push myself to go out and get a part-time job in or near my area. The reason was because my family would say rude comments about me not having a job and not being able to support myself. I desperately applied to tons of places and landed a job as a sales associate. On the third day working there I knew that I had made a mistake but I only took the job to prove to others that I am not “lazy” and also because it was the only job that offered me an interview. The negatives were that this job was forty-five minutes away from my home. I started with no money and no gas so I was having to ask my parents for money to start. I was only working three and a half hours a day making eight dollars an hour. Driving to and from work would cost me fifteen to twenty dollars a day of gas which meant that I was spending more than what I made. I was also working with a group of very unprofessional ladies who would make the job worse. I was miserable! I eventually quit and proved to my parents that finding a job is not that easy and I am not going to settle for something that does not interest me. I decided to make a well-matched goal and continued earning my degree in college but, I also decided to enroll in a Pharmacy technician program in my area. I knew what I wanted and had to do in order for me to be happy and eventually be employed at a job that I know I will enjoy. This also included the benefit of getting paid more. I completed my goal successfully and I am now a licensed pharmacy technician. The relationship between goal selection and well-being is that the way you select and sort your goals by considering what fulfills your values, needs, motives, or self-conception is known to increase the well-being of a person compared to goals that do not fit or match the person.