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2.1 Setting and Reaching Goals - Coggle Diagram
2.1 Setting and Reaching Goals
Learning Objectives
Make short-, mid-, and long-term goals that are realistic and specific and commit to them.
Set priorities for reaching your goals as a basis for time management.
Develop an attitude for success.
Learn to use strategies for staying focused and motivated.
Network with other students to help ensure academic success.
Solve problems and overcome setbacks that threaten your goals.
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.
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.
Be Careful of these issues when time managing or making goals
goals that conflict
needs to develop strategies to meet their other goals without threatening their academic success.
time management issues
even though he has enough time, he needs to learn how to manage it more effectively.
motivation and attitude
Goals also vary in terms of time.
Short-term goals focus on today and the next few days and perhaps weeks.
Midterm 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.
guidelines:
Goals should be realistic.
It’s good to dream and to challenge yourself, but your goals should relate to your personal strengths and abilities.
Goals should be specific.
Don’t write, “I will become a great musician”; instead, write, “I will finish my music degree and be employed in a symphony orchestra.”
Goals should have a time frame.
You won’t feel very motivated if your goal is vaguely “to finish college someday.” If you’re realistic and specific in your goals, you should also be able to project a time frame for reaching the goal.
You should really want to reach the goal.
We’re willing to work hard to reach goals we really care about, but we’re likely to give up when we encounter obstacles if we don’t feel strongly about a goal. If you’re doing something only because your parents or someone else wants you to, then it’s not your own personal goal—and you may have some more thinking to do about your life.
Priorities
The question of priority is really a question of what is more important at a specific time
Priorities always involve time: what is most important to do right now.
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.
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.
An Attitude for Success
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
Unproductive use of time, procrastination
If you’re committed to your goals, you can learn to adjust your attitude.
The following are some things you can start doing.
Be More Upbeat with Yourself
Choose Whom You Spend Time With
Overcome Resistance to Change
Overcome Fears
Stay Focused and Motivated
Network for Success
Tips for Success: Staying Motivated
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.
Problem Solving: When 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
Not all problems can be avoided.
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.
Seek help when you need to.
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 see you really are succeeding.
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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?
Take responsibility for your life and your role in what happens to you.
Taking responsibility doesn’t mean being down on yourself. Failing at something doesn’t mean you are a failure.
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.
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 often the major 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.