Setting goals serves as a vehicle to help you get from point A to point B. It is important to establish goals for yourself to ensure progress through the career exploration and planning process.
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 would 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 would 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 she would be an accountant, even though she knew little about what an accounting job might entail. Her math and organizational skills were strong, and she enjoyed taking economics courses as well as other courses in her accounting program. But when one of her courses required her to spend time in an accounting office working with taxes, she decided that accounting was not the right fit for her, due to the higher-stress environment and the late hours.
At first she was concerned that she invested time and money in a career path that was not a good fit. She feared that changing her major would add to her graduation time. Nevertheless, she did decide to change her major and her career focus.
Janine is now a statistician with a regional healthcare system. She is very happy with her work. Changing her major from accounting to statistics was the right decision for her.
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 point 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.
As you formulate your goals consider the following pointers to help you stay focused:
Write your goals out and post them where you can see them daily so they are at your forefront and not forgotten.
Share your goals with others. Stating your goals publicly holds you accountable.
Identify any obstacles you may encounter along the way and consider solutions. Think of people who may help you overcome the obstacles or help you brainstorm potential solutions.
Set a deadline for which you plan to accomplish your goal and monitor your progress. Be realistic and patient with yourself.
Visualize the goal. See a clear mental picture of yourself accomplishing your goal.
Be persistent and don’t give up. Don’t be afraid to ask for help when needed.
Watch the following YouTube video for an overview of SMART goals – a memory aid in setting and evaluating goals to ensure that they are Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Relevant and Time bound. After watching the video, complete Activity 4.3.
In order to achieve long-term goals (from college on), you will 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.
Take a moment and identify your short (today, this week, and this month) and medium-term goals (this year and while in college) that will help you achieve your long-term goal.
Identify 1 long-term academic or career goal.
Identify two related medium-term and two related short-term goals that will help you achieve your long-term goal.
Be SMART about it! Identify Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Relevant , activities to achieve your identified goals by a certain Timeframe.
Review the guidelines 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 exact: Set a precise goal that includes dates, times, and amounts, so that you have a basis for measuring your progress.
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.
Take the lead: 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!
Goal Priorities
My Precise Goals
What I Am Doing Now To Achieve These Goals
Example:
Long-term goal
I plan to graduate with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. My major will be Radio-Television-Film, and my minor will be Spanish
I am attending the college of my choice and getting good grades in my major.
Example:
Related medium-term goal
I would like to study abroad in Spain before I graduate.
I need to get busy with this! I will inquire this week about what I need to do next.
Example:
Related short-term goal
I will need to get financial aid for at least a portion of my studies.
I have filled out the forms for financial aid. Last week I applied for a part-time job.
Identify your
Long-term goal
Identify a related
medium-term goal #1
Identify a related
medium-term goal #2
Identify a related
short-term goal #1
Identify a related
short-term goal #2
Social Aspects of Achieving Your Goals
Setting goals can be a challenge, but working toward them, once you’ve set them, can be an even greater challenge—often because it implies that you will be making changes in your life. You might be creating new directions of thought or establishing new patterns of behavior, discarding old habits or starting new ones. Change will always be the essence of achieving your goals.
You may find that as you navigate this path of change, one of your best resources is your social network. Your family, friends, roommates, coworkers, and others can help you maintain a steady focus on your goals. They can encourage and cheer you on, offer guidance when needed, share knowledge and wisdom they’ve gained, and possibly partner with you in working toward shared goals and ambitions. Your social network is a gold mine of support.
Here are some easy ways you can tap into goal-supporting “people power”:
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
*A note about social media: More than 98 percent of college-age students use social media, says Experian Simmons. Twenty-seven percent of those students spent more than six hours a week on social media (UCLA, 2014). The University of Missouri, though, indicates in a 2015 study that this level of use may be problematic. It can lead to symptoms of envy, anxiety, and depression. Still, disconnecting from social media may have a negative impact, too, and further affect a student’s anxiety level.
Is there a healthy balance? If you feel overly attached to social media, you may find immediate and tangible benefit in cutting back. By tapering your use, you can devote more time to achieving your goals. You can also gain a sense of freedom and more excitement about working toward your goals.
Dealing with Setbacks and Obstacles
At times, unexpected events and challenges can get in the way of best-laid plans. For example, you might get sick or injured or need to deal with a family issue or a financial crisis. Earlier in this section, we considered a scenario in which a student realized she needed to change her major and her career plans. Such upsets, whether minor or major, may trigger a need to take some time off from school—perhaps a term or a year. Your priorities may shift. You may need to reevaluate your goals.
Problem-Solving Strategies
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.34
