Page 50 - Foundations of Learning, 4th Edition (Revised)

Setting Goals

“While it is true that without vision the people perish, it is doubly true that without action the
people and their vision perish as well.” (Johnetta B. Cole, Former President, Spellman College)

Now that you have reflected on your life to date, explored your college and its resources, and become part of
a learning community, it is time to set some goals. Most likely, you, your classmates, and your instructor will
be discussing goals at this point in the course. Some may be shared goals, but many will be unique to you.
What are your goals for this course? This semester? This year? How can you set and achieve these goals?

Goal Setting

You most likely have heard about goal setting and its importance at one point or another. Perhaps you are
even familiar with phrases such as, “a person without goals is like a ship without a rudder,” or “not having
a goal is like trying to hit a target you can’t see or reach a destination you don’t have.” However, you may
not be familiar with the process of goal setting and the specifics that help you improve your use of the
process. The following criteria are meant to serve as guidelines as you set personal goals.

1. Goals should be written down and not simply kept as thoughts in your head. You are much more
accountable for keeping to your goals if you write them down and review them regularly.

2. Goals should be specific. The more specific the goal, the more likely you are to accomplish it. Notice
how a vague goal such as “I’ll study tonight” can be changed to the more specific goal “tonight I’ll
read a chapter in biology, and do the ten math problems assigned from Chapter 4.”

3. Goals should be measurable. A goal is measurable if you can verify or confirm that you have reached
it. A goal such as “I want to do well in psychology” cannot be measured (how do you measure
“doing well”) as compared to “I will get at least a B in psychology.”

4. Goals should be action-oriented. You can daydream, speculate, and fantasize about what you want,
but unless your goals translate into specific actions for the here and now, more than likely your
goals will simply stay creations of your mind.

5. Goals should be realistic. Goals which are unrealistically large and not attainable quickly lose
their meaning and motivational impact. Ask yourself if the goal is realistically achievable from the
standpoint of time, skills, and resources.

6. Goals should have time limits or constraints. There must be some accountability in terms of meeting
goals by some deadline. Otherwise, meaning and motivation are lost and it becomes too easy to
keep putting things off. However, it is very important to have both short-term and long-term goals.
Long-term goals let you look at the big picture, farther into the future. Short-term goals provide
continued motivation as a result of meeting and accomplishing goals/objectives on a more frequent
basis.

7. Goals should be self-chosen and not imposed upon you by others. Goals must be worthwhile to
you and have the potential to give you a sense of accomplishment. They should be something you
value and not what somebody else wants for you.

8. Goals should be written in a positive manner. Avoid using phrasing such as “I won’t fail ...” or “I
can’t do... until I do ...” or “I won’t do any worse than....” Although they may seem positive, avoid
using words such as try, hope, and think in your goal statements. Starting goals with I will… is
preferable because the other types of words give you a way out and an easy justification for not
accomplishing a goal.

44 Foundations of Learning