Goal Setting

Understanding Goal Setting: Practical Applications

• You need to set goals in the context of your own strengths and weaknesses

• You want to have values-congruence or having your goals and values be compatible with one another.– Identify how your academic preparation and choice of

major tie into your values– Identify the steps involved in accomplishing your goals

Goals: 3 Categories

• Focus on self and your relationships and are affected by your value system

• Can include fitness goals, family goals or being engaged in community service

Personal Goals

• Based on your desire for academic success and classroom performance

• Learning Goals- more targeted academic goal that deals with learning specific information

Academic Goals

• Define your career objectives and what you want to achieve from your chosen career

• Can include applying for a job, negotiating a work schedule, even negotiating raises

Professional Goals

Short Term v. Long Term Goals• It is important to have both

short-term and long-term goals.

• Long Term Goals – Can be intimidating because

the seem separate from the immediacy of the “now”

• Short-Term Goals – Seem more manageable

because they help you to get closer to the ultimate goal

SMARTS Goal SettingS.M.A.R.T.S. Goal Setting is a method of setting goals that focusses on six specific characteristics that make it more likely that you will accomplish the goals at hand.

1. Specific

2. Measureable

3. Actionable

4. Realistic

5. Time-Bound

6. Shared

S.M.A.R.T.S. Explained….• There has to be specific goals in mindSpecific • A measureable goal establishes a time frame and has a

foreseeable outcomeMeasureable • You must be able to take action to achieve the goal that

you have setActionable • Goals have to have a reasonable expectation to achieve

the goal given your abilities and the time available. Realistic• The goal must have a beginning and an end point on a

time line. Time-Bound• Goals need to be shared in order to increase

accountability and integrity.Shared