Reaching your goals

With the end of the quarter coming in a few weeks, it would seem an opportune time to discuss goal setting. Although goal setting for academic performance is best when done at the beginning of the quarter, there is never a bad time to set goals. Setting goals and having a plan to achieve those goals can help increase your performance, help you maintain your focus and increase your belief in yourself and your ability to achieve. Goal setting can help you achieve in many aspects of your life.

I would like to provide you with some tips for setting goals and for working toward achieving them. In order to be helpful your goals must be specific and measurable. You want to be precise about what you want to do and how you will measure (i.e. studying X number of hours in a given week). You also want your goals to be realistic (i.e. studying 8 hours a week). Finally, you want your goals to be time oriented (i.e. increasing number of studying from 2 to 8 hours within 3 weeks).

Once you have the foundation in place for how to create your goals, you want to focus on ways to achieve your goal. When starting out with your goals, approach them from a positive perspective. The phrase “I will get more studying done” is much more motivational than “I will stop being lazy”. Next, remember to write down your goals. This is an important step that often becomes overlooked. Writing down goals can create a contract with yourself and keep you motivated. Remember to keep your goals manageable. Creating unattainable goals will have a negative effect on your achieving them and will rob you of your motivation. This may even decrease your motivation in other areas.

Once you have decided on a goal and begun the plan to reach that goal, use what you learn through the process to help you in the future. If your goal is very easy to achieve, then you may wish to make the goal a little harder for the next time. If you find that you struggled and did not achieve your goal, then evaluate what went wrong in the process and you can avoid that in the future.

Remember that goal setting can be very helpful and if done right, can help you stay focused and achieve as you move through your time at Rose-Hulman and even after you have graduated.

This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any disease or disorder. Nor is it intended to replace a consultation with a mental health provider.