THE BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO SETTING

GOALS

What is a goal?• Something that you would like to achieve

What is the purpose of setting goals?• Goals give you direction and keep you

focused on where you want to end up.

Short-Term Goals

• Goals that can be accomplished in the near future (in a few weeks/months)• Save money for something you wish to buy• Make an “A” on your next test• Volunteer • Get your learners license

Long-Term Goals

• Goals that are more far-reaching and take a longer time to accomplish (a year or more)• Graduate high school with honors• Get accepted to college

Unrealistic Goals

• Setting goals that are unrealistic can lead to feelings of failure, lowered self-esteem and self-image

• What makes goals unrealistic?• Untimely• Requiring unavailable resources• Too generally written

What are some things that you hope to achieve in the next few

weeks/months?

What are some things that you hope to achieve in the next few years?

Get out a piece of paper….

… and write down 3-4 ST and LT goals.

SMART Goal Setting

SPECIFIC

•Goals should have expected outcomes stated as simply and clearly as possible

MEASURABLE

•Include how you will know if you met your goal

ATTAINABLE

•Goals should have outcomes that are realistic given your current situation, resources, and available time

RELEVANT•Goals should help you on your journey toward meeting larger, ultimate life outcomes.

TIME-BASED

•Goals should include realistic time frames for achievement