Synchronicity and Coincidence

When reading the article by Guindon and Hanna about Coincidence, Happenstance, and Synchronicity as well as many other topics covered, I particularly enjoyed reading about synchronicity and coincidence. Confidence has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. Coincidence helped me get to Millersville. I never had planned on visiting Millersville when I was setting up graduate school visits. I was working with my Aunt who was helping me facilitate where to go and who I should see, but I was trying to make sure I was picking the schools by myself. But one day, as I was about to finish up sending e-mails to all the graduate offices at the schools I was visiting I randomly decided to look at Millersville University. It was close to my home in Harrisburg, and was became interested in it. I set up a meeting and ironically the last school that I called became the first school I visited.

I walked into Millersville with my fiancé and went to the graduate school office. The director of graduate studies was out of the office, so I had the pleasure to meet with the Dean of Graduate Studies, Dr. Victor DeSantis. He ended up knowing my Aunt very well, and we began talking to him about my future and instantly I felt a fit. Dr. DeSantis helped me get where I am today, and who would have known that a year later, I would be working as his Graduate Assistant in the Civic and Community engagement office where he is the director of.

Synchronicity is also very interesting to me. Reading about the 3 forms, I have instances from all of them. As I read other’s reflections for the discussion post this week, I was able to look at synchronicity in a whole new light. Synchronicity is defined as the “occurrence of a meaningful coincidence in time” (Guindon & Hanna, 2002). These meaningful coincidence can help mold us into our future selves or in terms of career development, our future careers. But sometimes these meaningful coincidences are ignored or not thought that they mean anything. As career counselors, we can use these meaningful coincidences to find the inner thoughts and feelings of our clients, and help them use these coincindences to find answers about themselves that they may have thought would always be left unanswered. 

Coincidence is apart all of our lives, and with the 3 forms of synchronicity, we can look at clients in an entirely different light allowing us to help them use their coincidences to help them find their preferred career path or find their true feelings about the career that they are in. This research and readings that we do only allows us to become better career counselors for all of our future client’s. Now we will be more prepared to help them find a meaningful career that can leave to long term success, but most of all, happiness.

Resource

Guindon, M. H., & Hanna, F. J. (2002). Coincidence, happenstance, serendipity, fate, or the hand of God: case studies in synchronicity. Career Development Quarterly, 50(3), 195-208.