Pat swaggered into the counseling office and asked immediately to see the director or "person in charge." He gave the impression of someone who was confident and thought himself to be attractive. He greeted the counselor forcefully and talked loudly. He explained that he wanted help in "picking out a good job." Pat grew up on a ranch in West Texas that his father managed for a wealthy oil man. Many of the ranches in the area were large and contained significant oil and gas deposits. Pat reported that the people from his hometown were friendly and down-home, and his parents were supportive of him and assumed he would attend college. He had two younger siblings. His high school grades were slightly above average, but he had duties at the ranch that left him with little time for studying. Because of Pat's bravado and guarded comments, the counselor asked Pat to write an autobiography. The Pat of the autobiography was different from the Pat the counselor met in person. In the autobiography, Pat expressed interest in jobs he had observed in his environment -geologist, petroleum engineer, businessman. However, he was uncertain and anxious about a career choice. He also seemed nave and unrealistic about salaries and occupation options, saying, for example, that he would like to be professor so he could drive a Mercedes. The source of Pat's anxiety seemed to be confusion surrounding wanting a lot of money as well as secure job that would allow him to take care of livestock. The counselor presented Pat the Career Thoughts Inventory to examine his decision-making problems, anxiety, and conflicts. The assessment revealed he had difficulty making a decision because he was afraid of the possible outcome of that decisionthat he had made the wrong choice and wasted time and money. The counselor informed Pat that many students are undecided but it is important to put forth the effort to create some options. He developed an ILP and worked with the counselor to improve his self-esteem, debunk negative thoughts, and improve his decision-making skills. He developed his ability to explore his career options, tease out sources of his anxiety, and identify his strengths. What was the major barrier that Pat was facing in making a career decision?