Yes, the cliché post is here, making resolutions for the new year and all, it never gets old.
This post is focused on students who want to have a memorable 2021 and are worried if their goals are either over acheiveing or under – acheiveing. Which ever way it is, let’s find out.
How to Set Goals You’ll Actually Achieve
- Be Specific – Vague is vague, if you want to make something happen, write it in detail. There’s a big difference in “I will pass all my courses ” and “I am getting A’s in all my courses “
- Goals should be measurable. As you write your goal, you need to ensure that it has built in markers for what it would mean to achieve it. You should be able to break the goal down into specific milestones along the way in order to track your progress.
- Make your goals actionable. Use action verbs to help ensure that your goals define what it is you are going to do. This type of goal will prompt you into action. This will help you throughout the year to stay motivated.
- Let your goals challenge you. Challenge yourself to be better, go go higher, if you are a bottom class student, playing safe is setting a goal to be mid-class! But the actual goal could be challenging yourself to be top of the class.
- SMARTER goals must be timebound. The most successful goals are those with a sense of urgency. But how can you ensure that your goals will trigger that response in you throughout the year? You need to time-key your goals with either a deadline, frequency or a time trigger.
- Create exciting goals. An exciting goal is one that connects with your internal motivation and inspires. This is a critical step. If your goal isn’t compelling to you personally then it will be very difficult to stick with it when obstacles come up. And they will.
- Set relevant goals. I look at this as a necessary “gut-check”. Before you commit to your goals, you must review them and ensure that they are taking into account your life circumstances as well as your values. What you hope to achieve this year must be balanced with the reality of your circumstances.
