Goals: Setting and Reaching Them
Learning Objectives
Learn about the different types of goals;
Understand your motivation for setting and achieving goals;
Learn how to write strong goal statements;
Make a plan for your own goals;
Set Motivating Goals;
Set SMART GOALS;
Put your Goals into Writing;
Make and Action Plan;
Stick WITH IT!!!
“The size of your dreams must always exceed your current capacity to achieve them. If your dreams do not scare you, they are not big enough.”
– Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, former president of Liberia
MOTIVES AS GOALS
One way motives vary is by the kind of goals that students set for themselves, and by how the goals support students’ academic achievement. As you might suspect, some goals encourage academic achievement more than others, but even motives that do not concern academics explicitly tend to affect learning indirectly.
Every day we make choices. Some are as simple as what clothes we decide to wear, what we’ll eat for lunch, or how long to study for a test. But what about life-altering choices—the ones that leave us at a crossroads? How much thought do you give to taking Path A versus Path B? Do you like to plan and schedule your choices, by making a list of pros and cons, for instance? Or do you prefer to make decisions spontaneously and just play the cards that life deals you as they come?
Tips for Motivation
Keep your eye on your long-term goals while working toward immediate goals;
Keep your priorities straight—but also save some time for fun;
Work on keeping your attitude positive;
Keep the company of positive people; imitate successful people;
Don’t let past habits drag you down;
Plan ahead to avoid last-minute pressures;
Focus on your successes;
Break large projects down into smaller tasks or stages;
Reward yourself for completing significant tasks;
Avoid multitasking;
Network with other students; form a study group.
What’s Your Motivation?
What kinds of achievement goals do students hold? Imagine three individuals, Maria, Sara, and Lindsay, who are taking algebra together. Maria’s main concern is to learn the material as well as possible because she finds it interesting and because she believes it will be useful to her in later courses, perhaps at college. Hers is a mastery goal because she wants primarily to learn or master the material. Sara, however, is concerned less about algebra than about getting top marks on the exams and in the course. Hers is a performance goal because she is focused primarily on appearing successful; learning algebra is merely a vehicle for performing well in the eyes of peers and teachers. Lindsay, for her part, is primarily concerned about avoiding a poor or failing mark. Hers is a performance-avoidance goal or failure- avoidance goal because she is not really as concerned about learning algebra, as Maria is, or about competitive success, as Sara is; she is simply intending to avoid failure.
As you might imagine, mastery, performance, and performance-avoidance goals often are not experienced in pure form, but in combinations. If you play the clarinet in the school band, you might want to improve your technique simply because you enjoy playing as well as possible—essentially a mastery orientation. But you might also want to appear talented in the eyes of classmates—a performance orientation. Another part of what you may wish, at least privately, is to avoid seeming like a complete failure at playing the clarinet. One of these motives may predominate over the others, but they all may be present.
Mastery goals tend to be associated with enjoyment of learning the material at hand, and in this sense represent an outcome that teachers often seek for students. By definition, therefore, they are a form of intrinsic motivation. As such, mastery goals have been found to be better than performance goals at sustaining students’ interest in a subject. In one review of research about learning goals, for example, students with primarily mastery orientations toward a course they were taking not only tended to express greater interest in the course, but also continued to express interest well beyond the official end of the course, and to enroll in further courses in the same subject (Harackiewicz, et al., 2002; Wolters, 2004).
Performance goals, on the other hand, imply extrinsic motivation, and tend to show the mixed effects of this orientation. A positive effect is that students with a performance orientation do tend to get higher grades than those who express primarily a mastery orientation. The advantage in grades occurs both in the short term (with individual assignments) and in the long term (with overall grade point average when graduating). But there is evidence that performance-oriented students do not actually learn material as deeply or permanently as students who are more mastery oriented (Midgley, Kaplan, & Middleton, 2001). A possible reason is that measures of performance—such as test scores—often reward relatively shallow memorization of information and therefore guide performance-oriented students away from processing the information thoughtfully or deeply. Another possible reason is that a performance orientation, by focusing on gaining recognition as the best among peers, encourages competition among peers. Giving and receiving help from classmates is thus not in the self-interest of a performance-oriented student, and the resulting isolation limits the student’s learning.
Some people are goal oriented and seem to easily make decisions that lead to achieving their goals, while others seem just to “go with the flow” and accept what life gives them. While the latter may sound pleasantly relaxed, moving through life without goals may not lead anywhere at all. The fact that you’re in college now shows you already have the major goal to complete your college program. A goal is a result we intend to reach mostly through our own actions. Things we do may move us closer to or farther away from that result. Studying moves us closer to success in a difficult course, while sleeping through the final examination may completely prevent reaching that goal. That may be an extreme case, yet still a lot of college students don’t reach their goal of graduating. The problem may be a lack of commitment to the goal, but often students have conflicting goals. One way to prevent problems is to think about all your goals and priorities and to learn ways to manage your time, your studies, and your social life to best reach your goals. Consider these four students:
To help his widowed mother, Yuxi went to work full time after high school. Now, a few years later, he’s dissatisfied with the kinds of jobs he has been able to get and has begun taking computer programming courses in the evening. He’s often tired after work, however, and his mother would like him to spend more time at home. Sometimes he cuts class to stay home and spend time with her;
In her senior year of college, Becky has just been elected president of her student union and is excited about planning a major community service project. She knows she should be spending more time on her senior thesis, but she feels her community project may give her the opportunity to make contacts and connections that can help her find a better job after graduation. Besides, the project is a lot more fun, and she’s enjoying the esteem of her position. Even if she doesn’t do well on her thesis, she’s sure she’ll pass;
After an easy time in high school, James is surprised his college classes are so hard. He’s got enough time to study for his first-year courses, but he also has a lot of friends and fun things to do. Sometimes he’s surprised to look up from his computer to see it’s midnight already, and he hasn’t started reading that chapter yet. Where does the time go? When he’s stressed, however, he can’t study well, so he tells himself he’ll get up early and read the chapter before class, and then he turns back to his computer to see who’s online;
Sachito was successful in cutting back her hours at work to give her more time for her engineering classes, but it’s difficult for her to get much studying done at home. Her husband has been wonderful about taking care of their young daughter, but he can’t do everything, and lately he’s been hinting more about asking her sister to babysit so that the two of them can go out in the evening the way they used to. Lately, when she’s had to study on a weekend, he leaves with his friends, and Sachito ends up spending the day with her daughter—and not getting much studying done.
What do these very different students have in common?
Each has goals that conflict in one or more ways. Each needs to develop strategies to meet their other goals without threatening their academic success. And all of them have time management issues to work through: three because they feel they don’t have enough time to do everything they want or need to do, and one because even though he has enough time, he needs to learn how to manage it more effectively. For all four of them, motivation and attitude will be important as they develop strategies to achieve their goals.
Goal work begins with setting goals and thinking about priorities. As you think about your own goals, think about more than just being a student. You’re also a person with individual needs and desires, hopes and dreams, plans and schemes. Your long-term goals likely include graduation and a career but may also involve social relationships with others, a romantic relationship, family, hobbies or other activities, where and how you live, and so on. While you are a student you may not be actively pursuing all your goals with the same fervor, but they remain goals and are still important in your life.
Goals also vary in terms of time. Short-term goals focus on today, the next few days and perhaps the next few weeks. Mid-term goals involve plans for this school year and the time you plan to remain in college. Long-term goals may begin with graduating college and everything you want to happen thereafter. Often your long-term goals (e.g., the kind of career you want) guide your midterm goals (getting the right education for that career), and your short-term goals (such as doing well on an exam) become steps for reaching those larger goals. Thinking about your goals in this way helps you realize how even the little things you do every day can keep you moving toward your most important long-term goals.
WHAT ARE YOUR GOALS?
A goal is a desired result that you envision and then plan and commit to achieve. Goals can relate to family, education, career, wellness, spirituality, and many other areas of your life. Generally, goals are associated with finite time expectations, even deadlines.
As a college student, many of your goals are defined for you. For example, you must take certain courses, you must comply with certain terms and schedules, and you must turn in assignments at specified times. These goals are mostly set for you by someone else.
But there are plenty of goals for you to define yourself. For example, you decide what you’d like to major in. You decide how long you are going to be in college or what terms you want to enroll in. You largely plan how you’d like your studies to relate to employment and your career.
Goals can also be sidetracked. Consider the following scenario in which a student makes a discovery that challenges her to reexamine her goals, priorities, and timetables:
Janine had thought they would be an accountant, even though they knew little about what an accounting job might entail. Their math and organizational skills were strong, and they enjoyed taking economics courses as well as other courses in their accounting program. But when one of their courses required them to spend time in an accounting office working with taxes, they decided that accounting was not the right fit for them, due to the higher-stress environment and the late hours.
At first they were concerned that they invested time and money in a career path that did not match their disposition. They feared that changing her major would add to their graduation time. Nevertheless, they did decide to change their major and their career focus.
Janine is now a statistician with a regional healthcare system. They are very happy with their work. Changing their major from accounting to statistics was the right decision for them.
This scenario represents some of the many opportunities we have, on an ongoing basis, to assess our relationship to our goals, reevaluate priorities, and adjust. Opportunities exist every day—every moment, really!
Below is a set of questions we can ask ourselves at any turn to help focus on personal goals:
What are my top-priority goals?
Which of my skills and interests make my goals realistic for me?
What makes my goals believable and possible?
Are my goals measurable? How long will it take me to reach them? How will I know if I have achieved them?
Are my goals flexible? What will I do if I experience a setback?
Are my goals controllable? Can I achieve them on my own?
Are my goals in sync with my values?
As you move through your college career, make a point to ask these questions regularly.
Keep Them S.M.A.R.T
SMART is an acronym to help guide you with goal setting. It helps you develop goals which are clear and reachable. Each letter represents a step in the process:
S is for specific, simple, significant, sensible;
M is for measurable, meaningful, motivating;
A means achievable, agreed, attainable;
R relevant, reasonable, realistic, resourced and results-based;
T time bound, time based, time limited, time/cost limited, timely, time-sensitive.
Video
This video visually represents the steps to creating SMART goals and is helpful for understanding the concept: https://bit.ly/smartgoalshowto
Know Your Priorities
Thinking about your goals gets you started, but it’s also important to think about priorities. We often use the word “priorities” to refer to how important something is to us. We might think, this is a really important goal, and that is less important. Try this experiment: go back to the goals you wrote in Activity 1 and rank each goal as a 1 (top priority), 2 (middle priority), or 3 (lowest priority). It sounds easy, but do you actually feel comfortable doing that?
Maybe you gave a priority 1 to passing your courses and a priority 3 to playing your guitar. So what does that mean—that you never play guitar again, or at least not while in college? Whenever you have an hour free between class and work, you have to study because that’s the higher priority? What about all your other goals—do you have to ignore everything that’s not a priority 1? And what happens when you have to choose among different goals that are both number 1 priorities?
In reality, priorities don’t work quite that way. It doesn’t make a lot of sense to try to rank goals as always more or less important. The question of priority is really a question of what is more important at a specific time. It is important to do well in your classes, but it’s also important to have a social life and enjoy your time off from studying. You shouldn’t have to choose between the two—except at any given time. Priorities always involve time: what is most important to do right now. As we’ll discover later, time management is mostly a way to juggle priorities so you can meet all your goals. When you manage your time well, you don’t have to ignore some goals completely in order to meet other goals. In other words, you don’t have to give up your life when you register for college—but you may need to work on managing your life more effectively.
But time management works only when you’re committed to your goals. Attitude and motivation are very important. If you haven’t yet developed an attitude for success, all the time management skills in the world won’t keep you focused and motivated to succeed.
We believe in you!
Attitude Adjustment
What’s your attitude right now—what started running through your mind as you read the “An Attitude for Success” heading? Were you groaning to yourself, thinking, “No, not the attitude thing again!” Or, at the other extreme, maybe you were thinking, “This is great! Now I’m about to learn everything I need to get through college without a problem!” Those are two attitude extremes, one negative and skeptical, the other positive and hopeful. Most students are somewhere in between—but everyone has an attitude of one sort or another.
Everything people do and how they do it starts with attitude. One student gets up with the alarm clock and cheerfully prepares for the day, planning to study for a couple hours between classes, go jogging later, and catch up with a friend at dinner. Another student oversleeps after partying too late last night, decides to skip their first class, somehow gets through later classes fueled by fast food and energy drinks while dreading tomorrow’s exam, and immediately accepts a friend’s suggestion to go out tonight instead of studying. Both students could have identical situations, classes, finances, and academic preparation. There could be just one significant difference—but it’s the one that matters.
Here are some characteristics associated with a positive attitude:
Enthusiasm for and enjoyment of daily activities;
Acceptance of responsibility for one’s actions and feeling good about success;
Generally upbeat mood and positive emotions, cheerfulness with others, and satisfaction with oneself;
Motivation to get the job done;
Flexibility to make changes when needed;
Ability to make productive, effective use of time;
And here are some characteristics associated with a negative attitude:
Frequent complaining;
Blaming others for anything that goes wrong;
Often experiencing negative emotions: anger, depression, resentment;
Lack of motivation for work or studies;
Hesitant to change or seek improvement; and
Unproductive use of time, procrastination.
Video
This 9-minute video unpacks the psychology behind procrastination, helps you draw connections between your personality type and procrastination and offers several strategies for overcoming procrastination: https://bit.ly/beatprocrastination7steps
We started this section talking about goals, because people’s goals and priorities have a huge effect on their attitude. Someone who really wants to succeed in college is better motivated and can develop a more positive attitude to succeed. But what if you are committed to succeeding in college but still feel kind of doubtful or worried or even down on yourself—what can you do then? Can people really change their attitude? Aren’t people just “naturally” positive or negative or whatever? While attitude is influenced by one’s personality, upbringing, and past experiences, there is no “attitude gene” that makes you one way or another. It’s not as simple as taking a pill, but attitude can be changed. If you’re committed to your goals, you can learn to adjust your attitude.
We all have conversations with ourselves. I might do badly on a test, and I start thinking things like, “I’m just not smart enough” or “That teacher is so hard no one could pass that test.” The problem when we talk to ourselves this way is that we listen—and we start believing what we’re hearing. Think about what you’ve been saying to yourself since your first day at college. Have you been negative or making excuses, maybe because you’re afraid of not succeeding? You are smart enough or you wouldn’t be here. Even if you did poorly on a test, you can turn that around into a more positive attitude by taking responsibility. “OK, I goofed off too much when I should have been studying. I learned my lesson—now it’s time to buckle down and study for the next test. I’m going to ace this one!” Hear yourself saying that enough and guess what—you soon find out you can succeed even in your hardest classes.
Make a Plan
Okay, you’ve got a positive attitude. But you’ve got a lot of reading for classes to do tonight, a test tomorrow, and a paper due the next day. Maybe you’re a little bored with one of your reading assignments. Maybe you’d rather play a computer game. Uh oh—now what? Attitude can change at almost any moment. One minute you’re enthusiastically starting a class project, and then maybe a friend drops by and suddenly all you want to do is close the books and relax a while, hang out with friends.
One of the characteristics of successful people is accepting that life is full of interruptions and change— and planning for it. Staying focused does not mean you become a boring person who does nothing but go to class and study all the time. You just need to make a plan.
Planning ahead is the single best way to stay focused and motivated to reach your goals. Don’t wait until the night before an exam. If you know you have a major exam in five days, start by reviewing the material and deciding how many hours of study you need. Then schedule those hours spread out over the next few days—at times when you are most alert and least likely to be distracted. Allow time for other activities, too, to reward yourself for successful studying. Then when the exam comes, you’re relaxed, you know the material, you’re in a good mood and confident, and you do well
Planning is mostly a matter of managing your time well, as we’ll discover later. Here are some other tips for staying focused and motivated:
If you’re not feeling motivated, think about the results of your goals, not just the goals themselves. If just thinking about finishing college doesn’t sound all that exciting, then think instead about the great, high-paying career that comes afterward and the things you can do with that income;
Say it aloud—to yourself or a friend with a positive attitude: “I’m going to study now for another hour before I take a break—and I’m getting an A on that test tomorrow!” It’s amazing how saying something aloud puts commitment in it and affirms that it can be true;
Remember your successes, even small successes. As you begin a project or approach studying for a test, think about your past success on a different project or test. Remember how good it feels to succeed. Know you can succeed again;
Focus on the here and now. For some people, thinking ahead to goals, or to anything else, may lead to daydreaming that keeps them from focusing on what they need to do right now. Don’t worry about what you’re doing tomorrow or next week or month. If your mind keeps drifting off, however, you may need to reward or even trick yourself to focus on the here and now. For example, if you can’t stop thinking about the snack you’re going to have when you finish studying in a couple hours, change the plan. Tell yourself you’ll take a break in twenty minutes if you really need it—but only if you really work well first;
If you just can’t focus on what you should be doing because the task seems too big and daunting, break the task into smaller, manageable pieces. Don’t start out thinking, “I need to study the next four hours,” but think, “I’ll spend the next thirty minutes going through my class notes from the last three weeks and figure out what topics I need to spend more time on.” It’s a lot easier to stay focused when you’re sitting down for thirty minutes at a time;
Never, ever multitask while studying! You may think that you can monitor your emails and send text messages while studying, but in reality, these other activities lower the quality of your studying;
Imitate successful people. Does a friend always seem better able to stick with studying or work until they get it done? What are they doing that you’re not? We all learn from observing others, and we can speed up that process by deliberately using the same strategies we know works with others. Visualize yourself studying in the same way and getting that same high grade on the test or paper;
Separate yourself from unsuccessful people. This is the flip side of imitating successful people. If a roommate or a friend is always putting off things until the last minute or is distracted with other interests and activities, tell yourself how different you are. When you hear other students complaining about how hard a class is or bragging about not studying or attending class, visualize yourself as not being like them at all;
Reward yourself when you complete a significant task—but only when you are done. Some people seem able to stay focused only when there’s a reward waiting;
While some people work harder for the reward, others are motivated more by the price of failing. While some people are almost paralyzed by anxiety, others are moved by their fear to achieve their best;
Get the important things done first. We’ll talk about managing your academic planner and to-do lists later in the section, but for now, to stay focused and motivated, concentrate on the things that matter most. You’re about to sit down to read a chapter in a book you’re not enjoying, and you suddenly notice some clothing piled up on a chair. “I really should clean up this place,” you think. “And I’d better get my laundry done before I run out of things to wear.” Don’t try to fool yourself into feeling you’re accomplishing something by doing laundry rather than studying. Stay focused!
Network for Success
Making friends with people with positive attitudes not only helps you maintain a positive attitude yourself, but it gets you started networking with other students in ways that will help you succeed.
Did you study alone or with friends in high school? Because college classes are typically much more challenging, many college students discover they do better, and find it much more enjoyable, if they study with other students taking the same course. This might mean organizing a study group or just getting together with a friend to review material before a test. It’s good to start thinking right away about networking with other students in your classes.
If you consider yourself an independent person and prefer studying and doing projects on your own rather than with others, think for a minute about how most people function in their careers and professions, and what the business world is like. Most work today is done by teams or individuals working together in a collaborative way. Very few jobs involve a person always being and working alone. The more you learn to study and work with other students now, the more skills you are mastering for a successful career.
Studying with other students has immediate benefits. You can quiz each other to help ensure that everyone understands the course material; if you’re not clear about something, someone else can help teach it to you. You can read and respond to each other’s writing and other work. You can divide up the work in group projects. And through it all, you can often have more fun than if you were doing it on your own.
Studying together is also a great way to start networking—a topic we’ll discuss more in upcoming student success materials. Networking has many potential benefits for your future. College students who feel they are part of a network on campus are more motivated and more successful in college.
Here are some easy ways you can tap into goal-supporting “people power”:
Make new friends;
Study with friends;
Actively engage with the college community;
Volunteer to help others;
Join student organizations;
Get an internship;
Work for a company related to your curriculum;
Stay connected via social media (but use it judiciously);*
Keep a positive attitude;
Congratulate yourself on all you’ve done to get where you are.
Setbacks Happen
Even when you have clear goals and are motivated and focused to achieve them, problems sometimes happen. Accept that they will happen, since inevitably they do for everyone. The difference between those who succeed by solving the problem and moving on and those who get frustrated and give up is partly attitude and partly experience—and knowing how to cope when a problem occurs.
Lots of different kinds of setbacks may happen while you’re in college—just as to everyone in life. Here are a few examples:
A financial crisis;
An illness or injury;
A crisis involving family members or loved ones;
Stress related to frequently feeling you don’t have enough time;
Stress related to relationship problems.
Some things happen that we cannot prevent—such as some kinds of illness, losing one’s job because of a business slowdown, or crises involving family members. But many other kinds of problems can be prevented or made less likely to occur. You can take steps to stay healthy, as you’ll learn in the Health section. You can take control of your finances and avoid most financial problems common among college students, as you’ll learn in the Money item. You can learn how to build successful social relationships and get along better with your instructors, with other students, and in personal relationships. You can learn time management techniques to ensure you use your time effectively for studying. Most of the sections in this book also provide study tips and guidelines to help you do well in your classes with effective reading, note-taking, test taking, and writing skills for classes. Preventing the problems that typically keep college students from succeeding is much of what this book is all about.
Not all problems can be avoided. Illness or a financial problem can significantly set one back—especially when you’re on a tight schedule and budget. Other problems, such as a social or relationship issue or an academic problem in a certain class, may be more complex and not easily prevented. What then? First, work to resolve the immediate problem:
Stay motivated and focused. Don’t let frustration, anxiety, or other negative emotions make the problem worse than it already is;
Analyze the problem to consider all possible solutions. An unexpected financial setback doesn’t automatically mean you have to drop out of school—not when alternatives such as student loans, less expensive living arrangements, or other possible solutions may be available. Failing a midterm exam doesn’t automatically mean you’re going to fail the course—not when you make the effort to determine what went wrong, work with your instructor and others on an improved study plan, and use better strategies to prepare for the next test;
Seek help when you need to. None of us gets through life alone, and it’s not a sign of weakness to consult with your college counselor if you have a problem;
When you’ve developed a plan for resolving the problem, work to follow through. If it will take a while before the problem is completely solved, track your progress in smaller steps so that you can be assured that you really are succeeding. Every day will move you one step closer to putting it behind you.
Video
This video packs a lot of wisdom into 2-minutes, play to learn how former President Obama solves problems: www.bit.ly/C20_PresidentObama
After you’ve solved a problem, be sure to avoid it again in the future:
Be honest with yourself: how did you contribute to the problem? Sometimes it’s obvious: a student who drank heavily at a party the night before a big test failed the exam because they were so hung over they couldn’t think straight. Sometimes the source of the problem is not as obvious but may become clearer the more you think about it. Another student did a lot of partying during the term but studied all day before the big test and was well rested and clear-headed at test time but still did poorly; they may not yet have learned good study skills. Another student has frequent colds and other mild illnesses that keep them from doing their best: how much better would they feel if they ate well, got plenty of exercise, and slept enough every night? If you don’t honestly explore the factors that led to the problem, it’s more likely to happen again;
Take responsibility for your life and your role in what happens to you. Earlier we talked about people with negative attitudes, who are always blaming others, fate, or “the system” for their problems. It’s no coincidence that they keep on having problems. Unless you want to keep having problems, don’t keep blaming others;
Taking responsibility doesn’t mean being down on yourself. Failing at something doesn’t mean you are a failure. We all fail at something, sometimes. Adjust your attitude so you’re ready to get back on track and feel happy that you’ll never make that mistake again;
Make a plan. You might still have a problem on that next big test if you don’t make an effective study plan and stick to it. You may need to change your behavior in some way, such as learning time management strategies. (Read on!)
Video
In this video, wisdom is shared from the classic book, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey, www.bit.ly/C20_7Habits.
Below is a simple list of four problem-solving strategies. They can be applied to any aspect of your life.
What is the problem? Define it in detail. How is it affecting me and other people?
How are other people dealing with this problem? Are they adjusting their time management skills? Can they still complete responsibilities, and on time?
What is my range of possible solutions? Are solutions realistic? How might these solutions help me reach my goal/s?
What do I need to do to implement solutions?
You may wish to also review the earlier set of questions about focusing with intention on goals.
Be confident that you can return to your intended path in time. Acknowledge the ways in which you need to regroup. Read inspiring words from people who have faced adversity and gained. Line up your resources, be resolved, and proceed with certainty toward your goals.
How Can I Set And Achieve My Goals?
Goals are commitments we make and keep in order to achieve the future we want for ourselves.
Some of us might find it difficult to answer when someone asks, “What do you do?” or “What do you want to do when you ‘grow up’?” It is easy to get caught up in our day-to-day lives and lose track of who we want to be, what we want to have, or what we wish to achieve in the future. Building a practice of goal-setting can help clarify, focus and motivate us.
Here’s an article with resources and tips for getting clear on goal setting as a skill, https://www.dyanavalentine.com/studentsuccess/goals.
Key Takeaways
Goals should be realistic, specific, and time oriented, and you must be committed to them;
Setting priorities helps keep you focused on your goals but doesn’t determine how you use your time at all times;
Attitude is an important reason students succeed or fail in college. Everyone can work on developing a more positive, motivating attitude;
Planning, the essence of time management, is necessary to stay focused and continue moving toward your goals;
Networking with other students helps you stay motivated as well as making studying more effective;
Since problems and setbacks are inevitable, knowing how to solve problems is important for reaching goals. With a good attitude, most common student problems can be prevented.
Your Turn: Activity
GOAL REVIEW
On a sheet of paper or document, answer the following questions:
Which of the following goal statements is written in a way that shows the person has carefully considered what they want to achieve?
I will do better in my math course;
I will earn at least a B on my next English paper;
I will study more this term.
List ways in which a negative attitude can prevent students from being successful in college;
Think about your friends in college or other students you have observed in one of your classes. Choose one who usually seems positive and upbeat and one who sometimes or frequently shows a negative attitude about college. Visualize both their faces—side by side—as if you are talking to both of them. Now imagine yourself sitting down to study with one of them for a final exam. Describe how you would imagine that study session going;
Think back on the four students described at the beginning of the chapter. Each of them is experiencing some sort of problem that could interrupt their progress toward their goals. Think about each student and write down a solution for each problem that you would try to work out, if you were that person:
For Yuxi:
For Becky:
For James:
For Sachito:
List a few things you can do if you’re having trouble getting motivated to sit down to study.
Your Turn: Activity
WRITE YOUR OWN ACADEMIC GOALS
In order to achieve long-term goals (from college on), you’ll need to first achieve a series of shorter goals. Medium-term goals (this year and while in college) and short-term goals (today, this week, and this month) may take several days, weeks, months, or even a few years to complete, depending on your ultimate long-term goals. Identify what you will need to do in order to achieve your goals. Gain a full view of your trajectory.
Objectives:
Identify and prioritize 3–5 long-term academic goals;
Identify three related medium-term and short-term academic goals;
Identify what you are doing toward achieving these identified goals (for example, how you are managing time).
Directions:
Review the statements and examples below, and fill in the blank sections to the best of your ability.
Guidelines:
Phrase goals as positive statements: Affirm your excitement and enthusiasm about attaining a goal by using positive language and expectations;
Be exacting: Set a precise goal that includes dates, times, and amounts, so that you have a basis for measuring how closely you achieve your goals;
Prioritize: Select your top goals, and put them in order of importance. This helps you understand the degree to which you value each of them. It will also help you better manage related tasks and not feel overwhelmed;
Assume you are the captain of your ship: Identify goals that are linked to your own performance, not dependent on the actions of other people or situations beyond your control;
Be realistic but optimistic and ambitious: The goals you set should be achievable, but sometimes it pays to reach a little higher than what you may think is possible. Certainly don’t set your goals too low;
Be hopeful, excited, and committed: Your enthusiasm and perseverance can open many doors!
Examples of Long-Term Academic Goals:
I will graduate with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. My major will be Radio-Television-Film, and my minor will be Spanish;
I will graduate with a Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service degree with a major in international history;
I will earn an associate’s degree in nursing (ADN).
Examples of Medium-Term or Short-Term Academic Goals:
I will study abroad in Spain before I graduate;
I will get involved in a service-learning project in my community, as part of my preparation for eventual service work;
I will join the student government organization so that I can gain some experience at the community college where I take classes part-time.
YOU WILL achieve goals because you clearly organize the process and follow through with commitment. Focus your sights on what you want to acquire, attain, or achieve. Prioritize the steps you need to take to get there. And organize your tasks into manageable chunks and blocks of time. These are the roadways to accomplishment and fulfillment. You’ve got this!
N.B.: The Student Success Library item was customized for Santa Monica College (SMC) in Santa Monica, CA. You may come across SMC-specific resources, links, or activities that do not apply to you. Search for your own school’s resources or google for similar tools that can help you where you live, study and work.
This work, Goals: Setting and Reaching Them, is part of the Student Success Library, which is a derivative of Student Success, originally modified by Vanessa Bonilla, Dr. Tyffany Dowd, Jackeline Felix, Dyana Valentine, Olivia Vallejo and Daniella Washington from the original Student Success by Graciela Martinez, Anh Nguyen, and Liz Shaker under CC BY-SA 4.0. Student Success Library is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 by Dyana Valentine. Last edit date: July 2022.