4.3: Rewarding Yourself When You Achieve Your Goals
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The best part of goal-setting is the reward for achieving your goals. Remember the words “intrinsic” and “extrinsic” from the Motivation chapter and from earlier in this chapter? If you plan both intrinsic and extrinsic rewards for a goal, your motivation will be higher because you’ve thought in advance about the positive outcomes of your hard work. Examples of intrinsic rewards are a sense of accomplishment, pride, satisfaction - all leading toward increased self-efficacy. Examples of extrinsic rewards are going on a trip, dinner at your favorite restaurant and buying something nice for yourself. Intrinsic rewards are more powerful because no one can take those emotions and thoughts away from you, but extrinsic rewards can be fun. Why not plan for both and enjoy your accomplishments!
I made it a goal in college to have a 3.2 minimum GPA and to be active in 3-6 clubs each semester. And addition to academic learning, I also wanted to expand my knowledge on anything and everything, and to become a part of my college community. I took 18-19 credits each semester and had a 90 minute road trip commute to campus, which significantly limited my time for extracurricular activities. I ended up not taking out the necessary time to study for my classes and this hit me hard after I completed my first year and noted that my overall GPA was less than what I had hoped for. I knew I had to control of my situation and made time for both my classes and my extracurricular activities period of physical calendar work best for me. Each night, I spent just a few minutes making a to-do list of items that needed to get done the following day (studying, research, homework, etc.). From that to-do list, I'd create a detailed block time schedule for myself for the following day. I learned that unexpected things happen and that I had to prioritize each item by importance. Sometimes that meant not attending a campus event I had looked forward to because I had to finish a class assignment. So if my car suddenly broke down or there was an accident on my way to the campus library that cut into my study time, that meant I needed to make up that time by not attending a campus event or not going out for lunch with my friends before class. Prioritizing what was important really helped me make the most of my busy schedule and in the end I was glad for it because it helped me stay on track of my goals of getting good grades and being able to partake in college life at the same time.
- Rabyia Ahmed, Academic Advisor