COURSE:



UNIT:C |Decision Making/Career Planning | |

|Competency |Create a career plan that leads to the achievement of career goals. |

|CM05.00 | |

|Objective |Critique personal, educational and career goals. |

|CM05.02 | |

|Journal Prompt(s) |What are my Stepping Stone Goals? |

| |How will they help me reach my personal, educational, career and lifestyle |

| |goals? |

|OUTLINE |

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|Objective 5.02: Critique personal, educational and career goals. |

|A. Use the decision-making process to determine ultimate personal, |

|educational and career goals. |

|B. Understand how to set stepping stone goals |

|1. Short term goals |

|2. Medium term goals |

|3. Long term goals |

|4. Ultimate goal |

|C. Determine stepping-stone goals in relation to: |

|1. Personal domain |

|2. Educational domain |

|3. Career domain |

|4. Lifestyle domain |

|D. Understand the SMART Process as a component of goal setting. |

|1. Specific |

|2. Measurable |

|3. Attainable |

|4. Revisited |

|5. Time |

|E. Critique personal, educational and career goals through employing the |

|SMART Process. |

|ACTIVITIES |

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|Interpersonal |

|As a class, plan an event using Stepping Stone Goals (Short-Term, Medium- Term, Long-Term and ultimate). |

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|ACTIVITIES CONTINUED |

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|Using Appendix 5.02 (1) – MAKING DECISIONS & GOAL SETTING, review and discuss the following guidelines for effective goal setting. |

|Goals should be realistic and attainable. |

|Goals are concrete and measurable. |

|Goals are expressed in specific and realistic time frames. |

|Goals are expressed in quantitative terms. |

|In addition to the guidelines above, consider the following questions when analyzing the positives and negatives of your goals. |

|Is this goal worthwhile? Is this goal consistent with my overall plans? |

|Am I ready to make a commitment to the goal? |

|Am I willing to commit to a timetable in order to measure my progress towards this goal? |

|Have I really thought through the consequences of accomplishing this goal? What are some of the barriers I may face? How will I handle the barriers? |

|Is this goal within my beliefs and values? |

|Do I visualize this goal clearly and see myself at the endpoint? |

|Am I ready to make this goal a high priority in my life? Am I willing to sacrifice other activities? |

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|Thinking Skills |

|(Using Appendix 5.02 (2) - Visualize Your Goals, design a poster to help you visualize your goals. |

|1. Create a list of your educational, career, family goals. |

|2. Look through newspapers and magazines for words and pictures that can help your visualize your goals listed above in the table. |

|3. Cut out and collect these words and pictures. |

|4. Get a piece of poster board. |

|5. Arrange the pictures and words on the poster board. Use your creativity to make a poster that will motivate you. |

|6. When you know where you want the pictures and words, glue them to the poster board. Feel free to add lettering or drawings. |

|7. You will present your poster to the class. |

|8. Hang the poster where you will see it every day. |

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|(Complete Appendix 5.02 (3) - Stepping Stone Goals, develop goals for the personal, career, lifestyle and educational domains of your life. Describe |

|the steps you will take in all three (3) domains to make your career goal become a reality. |

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|(Complete Appendix 5.02 (4) - Discovering Your Personal Purpose. Respond to the questions thoughtfully and truthfully. You may also print out the |

|entire exercise on the web site, . |

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|(Complete Appendix 5.02 (5) - Fantasy Workday (). Try to imagine the ideal work day for yourself. Don't be concerned with |

|realities - just let your imagination go. See if you can picture, in full detail, what you would be doing. Then answer the questions. |

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|ACTIVITIES CONTINUED |

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|(Complete Appendix 5.02 (6) - Goal Setting by Life Category (). Very quickly write down what you would do to change or improve |

|circumstances immediately in each area of your life. Then write a detailed paragraph about the ideal circumstances for each area. Dare to dream. |

|Explore in fullness your desires. |

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|Complete Appendix 5.02 (7) - My Goals. Think about the goals you would like to reach in your life. In the table, list your long-term, mid-term, and |

|short-term goals. List 3 to 5 goals in each category. |

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|(Complete Appendix 5.02 (8) - Goals Inventory. This inventory will help you think about some potential goals for your career, education and lifestyle.|

|Answer each question in the inventory by checking the appropriate box. Record potential goals in the space provided. |

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|(Complete Appendix 5.02 (9) - Ideal Job Specifications ().To your best ability, at this point in time, describe in detail the |

|ideal job specifications you would like in your next position. Include the functions you would perform, the physical environment and emotional milieu, |

|the working conditions, your preferred people characteristics, etc., needed for you to do your best and be your most productive self. |

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|(Complete Appendix 5.02 (10) - Nothing Will Keep Me from Reaching My Goals. Determine obstacles, solutions and action steps toward reaching personal, |

|lifestyle, and career goals. |

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|(Using Appendix 5.02 (11) - SMART Process, set a personal, career, lifestyle and educational domains goal and analyze it against the SMART criteria. |

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|Personal Qualities/Responsibility |

|(Complete Appendix 5.02 (12) - Action Plan: Reaching Your Goals. |

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|(Using Appendix 5.02 (13) - My Accomplishments, determine your achievement of past goals and reflect on their implications for achieving your future |

|career goals. |

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|RESOURCES |

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|Primary Resources |

|Kimbrell, Grady & Vineyard, Ben S. (2003). Succeeding in the World of Work. (7th Edition). New York, |

|NY. Glencoe/McGraw Hill. pp. 96-97. |

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|Littrell, J.J., Lorenz, James H. & Smith, Harry T. (2004). From School to Work. Tinley Park, IL. The |

|Goodheart-Willcox Company. pp. 216-217, 218-219. |

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|Carter, Carol, Izumo, Gary, Kravits, Sarah L. & Reeves, Diane L. (2001). The Career Tool Kit for High |

|School Students; Making the Transition from School to Work. Upper Saddle River, NJ. Prentice |

|Hall. pp. 51-61. |

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|Workbook Resources |

|Kimbrell, Grady & Vineyard, Ben S. (2003). Succeeding in the World of Work - Student Activity Book |

|(7th Edition). New York, NY. Glencoe/McGraw Hill. pp. 66-68, 253. |

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|Bailey, Larry J. (2003). Working, Career Success for the 21st Century - Student Working Papers and |

|Exploration Package (3rd Edition). Mason, OH. Thompson/South-Western. pp. 138. |

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|Littrell, J.J., Clasen, Annie H. & Pearson, Peggy. (2004). From School to Work – Student Activity |

|Guide. Tinley Park, IL. The Goodheart-Willcox Company. pp. 87. |

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|Supplementary Resources |

|Mendlin, Ronald, Polonsky, Marc & Farr, J. Michael. Being Job Ready – Identify Your Skills, |

|Strengths, and Career Goals. (2000). Indianapolis, IN. Jist Publishing Company. |

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|Web-Site Resources |

| (Goal Handout) |

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| (Setting Your Goals-Activity) |

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| (Goal Setting Module) |

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| (Goal Setting Tips and Articles, Set a New Goal Module) |

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| (Goals Resources) |

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| (Career Goals) |

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APPENDIX 5.02

MAKING DECISIONS & GOAL SETTING – Appendix 5.02 (1)

Goal setting is determining what one hopes to accomplish now or in the future. Once you have identified and evaluated possible careers or jobs and explored the alternatives, you are ready to choose the most feasible option. It is essential to consider the long term goals as well as the short term ones when deciding on an option. Long-term goals are usually central to one’s life. The steps taken to reach long-term goals are short-term goals that are usually accomplished in stages.

Directions: Review and discuss the following guidelines for effective goal setting.

• Goals should be realistic and attainable.

• Goals are concrete and measurable.

• Goals are expressed in specific and realistic time frames.

• Goals are expressed in quantitative terms.

In addition to the guidelines above, consider the following questions when analyzing the positives and negatives of your goals.

Answer the following questions:

1. Is this goal worthwhile? Is this goal consistent with my overall plans?

2. Am I ready to make a commitment to the goal?

3. Am I willing to commit to a timetable in order to measure my progress towards this goal?

4. Have I really thought through the consequences of accomplishing this goal? What are some of the barriers I may face? How will I handle the barriers?

5. Is this goal within my beliefs and values?

6. Do I visualize this goal clearly and see myself at the endpoint?

7. Am I ready to make this goal a high priority in my life? Am I willing to sacrifice other activities?

Visualizing Your Goals

My Goals Poster – Appendix 5.02 (2)

List Your Goals

Think about the big goals you have for your life. Below is a table with some categories to help you. List your goals in this table. You can list more than one goal in each category.

|Category |Goals |

|Education | |

|Career/job | |

|Family life | |

|Home | |

|Car | |

|Other material goods | |

|Travel | |

|Other | |

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Visualize Your Goals

Motivation is having the inner drive to reach your goals. Motivation helps you keep going during difficult times. Often, your motivation improves when you can see or imagine your goals. The following project will help you visualize your goals.

Make a Poster

1. Look through newspapers and magazines for words and pictures that can help your visualize your goals listed above in the table.

2. Cut out and collect these words and pictures.

3. Arrange and glue the pictures and words on a poster board; feel free to add lettering or drawings. Use your creativity to make a poster that will motivate you.

4. You will present your poster to the class.

5. Hang the poster where you will see it every day.

Adapted from:

Berk, Amy. (2006). Teenwork: A Guide for Finding Jobs. Goodheart-Willcox. Tinley Park, Illinois.

Stepping Stone Goals – Appendix 5.02 (3)

Directions: Develop Stepping Stone Goals for the personal, career, lifestyle and educational domains of your life.

Personal Domain

Ultimate Goal: ____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

|Short Term Goal(s) | |

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|Medium Term Goal(s) | |

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|Long Term Goal | |

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Lifestyle Domain

Ultimate Goal: ____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

|Short Term Goal(s) | |

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|Medium Term Goal(s) | |

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|Long Term Goal | |

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Appendix 5.05 (3): Stepping Stone Goals Continued

Educational Domain

Ultimate Goal: ____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

|Short Term Goal(s) | |

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|Medium Term Goal(s) | |

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|Long Term Goal | |

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Career Domain

Ultimate Goal: ____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

|Short Term Goal(s) | |

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|Medium Term Goal(s) | |

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|Long Term Goal | |

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Discovering Your Personal Purpose – Appendix 5.02 (4)

Directions: Respond to the following questions thoughtfully and truthfully. You may also print out the entire exercise on the web site.



1. What activities do you enjoy performing? (List why you enjoy them and what is enjoyable about them.)

2. What are you good at? (List skills, talents, and special knowledge.)

3. Think of a specific situation in which you felt successful. Describe the time, place, and activity. Write what you were doing and how you were feeling.

4. Think of a time you did something meaningful, that was satisfying to you. Describe the situation (as in 3 above) and why it had meaning.

5. Think of another specific situation in which you felt successful. Describe the time, place, and activity. Describe what you were doing and how you were feeling.

6. List three QUALITIES you are proud of ... and describe WHY.

_____________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

6. Describe your VISION of an "ideal world" if you could make it happen.

Appendix 5.02 (4): Discovering Your Personal Purpose Continued

Review the above information and circle 15 - 20 key words or ideas. Summarize the key words and select the l0 - l2 that are most important to you and record them here. At this point it is often helpful to share your answer with a close friend. The images you have recorded and the language used describe what is meaningful to you.

To create a purpose statement use the words listed above to develop a series of "reiterative" statements until you find the one that resonates with you.

My purpose is to _________________________________________________

My purpose is to__________________________________________________

My purpose is to__________________________________________________

Source:

Fantasy Workday – Appendix 5.02 (5)



Directions: Close your eyes for a moment and try to imagine the ideal work day for yourself. Don't be concerned with realities - just let your imagination go. See if you can picture, in full detail, what you would be doing. Then, open your eyes and answer the following questions.

You wake up - at what time?

You get dressed - describe clothes.

What kind of preparations do you have to make?

Do you have to work or do you work because you want to?

You are ready to leave for work - what time?

How do you get there? How far is it?

Do you do anything special on the way to work?

You get to work.

Where are you? (city, small town, office park, home, etc.)

Describe the work setting.

What kind of work do you do?

How long have you worked here?

What are your hours?

What do you get paid?

What are your benefits?

Appendix 5.02 (5): Fantasy Work Day Continued

What level is the job? (professional, management, technical, training, apprentice)

Do you plan your work or does someone do it for you?

How do you work? (alone, in a group, contact with others)

What do you work with? (people, data, things, nature, a combination)

Describe some of the people who work in your area.

To whom do you report?

What do you like about your job or occupation?

How long do you see yourself remaining at this job?

Goal Setting by Life Category – Appendix 5.02 (6)



1. Very quickly write down what you would do to change or improve circumstances immediately in each area of your life.

a. Work/Career

b. Personal

c. Social

d. Educational

e. Financial

f. Lifestyle

2. Then, write a detailed paragraph about the ideal circumstances for each area. Dare to dream. Explore in fullness your desires.

Work and Career:

Money:

Creative Self-Expression:

Relationships:

Health:

Appendix 5.02 (6): Goal Setting by Life Category Continued

Personal Growth:

Fun and Recreation:

Lifestyle/Possessions:

Other:

My Goals – Appendix 5.02 (7)

What are Goals?

Long-term goals are goals that you want to achieve in the far future, for example, five to ten years from now. Examples of long-term goals include getting a black belt in karate, graduating from college, buying a house.

Mid-term goals are goals that you want to achieve in the near future, for example, the next six months to a year. Examples of mid-term goals include getting a brown belt in karate, getting an “A” in English, buying a new outfit.

Short-term goals are goals that you want to achieve very soon, for example, in the next few days or weeks. Examples of short-term goals include signing up for karate classes, getting an “A” on the next English test, saving money regularly.

My Goals

Think about the goals you would like to reach in your life. In the table below, list your long-term, mid-term, and short-term goals. List 3 to 5 goals in each category.

|Short-Term Goals |Mid-Term Goals |Long-Term Goals |

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Planning

Achieving goals takes planning. Often, the best way to achieve a long-term goal is to set short-term and mid-term goals that will help you reach your long term goal. Choose one of your long-term goals and write it in the last column in the table below. Then, list three to five short-term goals and three to five mid-term goals that will help you reach this long-term goal.

|Short-Term Goals |Mid-Term Goals |Long-Term Goals |

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Adapted from:

Berk, Amy. (2006). Teenwork: A Guide for Finding Jobs. Goodheart-Willcox. Tinley Park, Illinois.

Goals Inventory – Appendix 5.02 (8)

Directions: This inventory will help you think about some potential goals for your career, education and lifestyle. Answer each question in the inventory by checking the appropriate box. Record potential goals in the space provided.

|Area |Yes |No |Not Sure |

|Education: Do you want to . . . | | | |

|Get training for work? | | | |

|Improve yourself in some way? | | | |

|Learn new skills? | | | |

|Learn another language? | | | |

|Other: | | | |

|Career: Do you want to . . . | | | |

|Get a job? | | | |

|Learn new work skills? | | | |

|Earn a job promotion? | | | |

|Be known as a good worker? | | | |

|Other: | | | |

|Family: Do you want to . . . | | | |

|Get married? | | | |

|Raise children? | | | |

|Save money to buy a home? | | | |

|Spend most of your leisure time with your family? | | | |

|Other: | | | |

|Social Life: Do you want to . . . | | | |

|Make new friends? | | | |

|Join clubs, teams or other groups? | | | |

|Host parties? | | | |

|Go to social activities? | | | |

|Other: | | | |

|Personal: Do you want to . . . | | | |

|Help improve your community? | | | |

|Volunteer | | | |

|Serve you community or country? | | | |

|Other: | | | |

Education Goal: _________________________________________________________

Career Goal: ____________________________________________________________

Family Goal: ____________________________________________________________

Social Goal: _____________________________________________________________

Personal Goal: __________________________________________________________

Ideal Job Specifications – Appendix 5.02 (9)



Directions: To your best ability, at this point in time, describe in detail the ideal job specifications you would like in your career. Include the functions you would perform, the physical environment and emotional milieu, the working conditions, your preferred people characteristics, etc., needed for you to do your best and be your most productive self.

Functions:

Physical Environment:

Emotional Milieu:

Working Conditions:

People Characteristics:

No Obstacle Will Keep Me from Reaching My Goals – Appendix 5.02 (10)

Directions: Determine obstacles, solutions and action steps toward reaching personal, lifestyle, and career goals.

Personal Domain

|Goals |Obstacles |Solutions |Action Steps |

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Lifestyle Domain

|Goals |Obstacles |Solutions |Action Steps |

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Appendix 5.02 (10): No Obstacle Will Keep Me from Reaching My Goal Continued

Career Domain

|Goals |Obstacles |Solutions |Action Steps |

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SMART Process – Appendix 5.02 (11)

Directions: Set a personal, career, lifestyle and educational domain goal and analyze it against the SMART criteria.

Personal Goal:

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

Specific? ________________________________________________

Measurable? _____________________________________________

Attainable? ______________________________________________

Revisited? ______________________________________________

Time? _________________________________________________

Career Goal:

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

Specific? ________________________________________________

Measurable? _____________________________________________

Attainable? ______________________________________________

Revisited? ______________________________________________

Time? _________________________________________________

Appendix 5.02 (11): SMART Process Continued

Lifestyle Goal:

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

Specific? ________________________________________________

Measurable? _____________________________________________

Attainable? ______________________________________________

Revisited? ______________________________________________

Time? _________________________________________________

Educational Goal:

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

Specific? ________________________________________________

Measurable? _____________________________________________

Attainable? ______________________________________________

Revisited? ______________________________________________

Time? _________________________________________________

Action Plan – Appendix 5.02 (12)

Reaching Your Goals

Directions: Identify a goal and write it in the space provided below. Develop a step-by-step action plan to help you reach your goal. Record the steps in the space provided below. Hang the plan in a place where you will be likely to see it often.

GOAL: ________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

STEP 1: ________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

STEP 2: ________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

STEP 3: ________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

STEP 4: ________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

My Accomplishments – Appendix 5.02 (13)

Directions: Determine your achievement of past goals and reflect on their implications for achieving your future career goals.

|My Accomplishments |Impact on Future Career Goals |

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INSTRUCTIONAL HAND-OUTS

Motivation, Goal Setting, and Success

Motivation is the combination of desire, values, and beliefs that drives you to take action. These three motivating factors, and/or lack of them, are at the root of why people behave the way they do. Because you ultimately control your values, beliefs, and desires, you can influence your motivations. This means, if you consider something important and assign value to it, you are more likely to do the work it takes to attain the goal. When motivation originates from an internal source and is combined with a realistic goal and circumstance, the odds of a good outcome are greatly increased.

In order to get motivated and stay motivated, try the following: 1) identify your values, beliefs, and desires, 2) recognize your strengths and weaknesses and use this information to establish realistic goals, 3) understand the role of personal circumstance, and 4) realize that success is the merger of all three factors.

Values, Beliefs, and Desires

To understand what motivates you, you’ll need to understand what is important to you. If you have never thought about this question, do it now. Consider issues such as family, relationships, learning/school, grades, work, aspirations, achievement, status, money, travel, social causes, social life, following a dream, etc. People’s goals and desires grow from their values and beliefs. Once you have made your personal list, begin to think about how the items relate to one another. Are some issues more important to you than others? Are some more important in short-term while others are more important in the long-term? Are they linked in some critical way? These issues and relationships are always alive inside us. By becoming consciously aware of them, you can begin to modify, control and understand them.

Judging the quality and depth of your motivation is important, because it is directly related to your commitment. Often students find that they “want” a good academic outcome, but they can’t seem to make it happen. Sometimes, this gap occurs when there is a clash between what they are striving for (a good academic outcome/degree) and what they would rather be doing (following a dream of singing in a country-western band). It’s OK for values, beliefs, and desires to be in conflict, but it is important to recognize when they are and act appropriately on this information. In the example above, this student needs to both rethink and internalize the relationship of school and dream or she needs to change her circumstances. But without such a clarification her motivation will continue to lag and her performance will be less than it could be.

Strengths, Weaknesses and Goal Setting

One of the keys to college success is having a realistic view of your strengths and weaknesses. Do an informal assessment of your abilities. Reflect on what you have learned about yourself in the past from classroom experiences, conversations with teachers and advisors, standardized tests, projects and activities, and outside activities. Consider specifically your reading, writing, oral communication, math, computer, musical, artistic, physical, interpersonal, and analytic skills. An accurate and honest assessment of your abilities is essential. It prevents you from under-estimating or over-estimating your skills and directs you toward attainable and appropriate goals. Having an accurate direction is important in maintaining motivation.

Knowing what you value and desire, along with an assessment of your strengths and weaknesses, makes it possible to establish personal goals. Most people already have a mix of short-term and long-term goals of some type in mind for themselves. Students often are aiming towards a particular test, project, class, grade point, degree, graduate program, professional school, or career. These are often complemented by other goals such as living a healthy lifestyle, maintaining personal integrity, volunteering, working, nurturing relationships, or growing as a person. It is not unusual for short-term goals to support long-term goals. For example, a student’s long-term goal to teach elementary school might be supported by a series of short-term goals related to class attendance, study habits, project preparation, test performance and commitment to outside activities. All goals, whether short-term or long-term, should incorporate these common attributes:

• Be realistic. Goals should be based on your abilities and circumstances.

• Be possible. Don’t establish constraints that make the realistic, unrealistic.

• Be flexible. Anticipate bumps in the road and expect to work around them.

• Be measurable. Have a target in mind so you know when you have reached your goal.

• Be under your control. Set your own goals based on your values, interests, and desires. Target things where you can control the outcome.

Write down your goals and post them somewhere you can review them regularly. This will serve as a reminder of what you’re working toward and help to keep you motivated and on track. When your goals slip from sight and lose importance, motivation and success deteriorate as well.

Personal Circumstance

Once you have set goals that match your beliefs, values and desires, you should be in position to act on them successfully. However, your motivation can be undermined if you fail to consider your circumstances or if your circumstances change, but your goals don’t. A goal may match your values (“I want to earn a degree in nursing”) and may be realistically set (“I want to do it in 4 years) when you begin your academic journey, but may need modification and readjustment as time passes. If you earned grades lower than you expected to, you may need to lighten your course load or adjust your work and/or leisure hours. A loss of interest might mean you need to investigate other majors. Changes in relationships or family make-up can also introduce new constraints on your plan.

Unfortunately, when circumstances change, students are often unwilling to make related adjustments in their self-expectations. In these cases, students rarely perform up to their expectations, become frustrated, and lose motivation. However, motivation and performance can be maintained when personal circumstance is taken into account. Students who are willing to redefine their goals to account for their changed circumstances can remain motivated and on the path to success.

Motivation + Goals + Circumstance = Success

Motivation, goals, and circumstance are all related to success. You can increase the odds of your success by first, defining what is important to you, establishing goals based on these values, desires, and beliefs, and finally, tailoring your achievement expectations to match your circumstances. If you fail in any of these steps, you will undercut your motivation, fail to work up to your abilities, and diminish your chances of success.

Watch out for these two common pitfalls:

• If you’re not honest with yourself about what is important to you and how these factors relate to each other – you can be in a position where you are acting on weaker motivations, but allowing your stronger motivations to interrupt your progress. For example, a student might be in school and performing poorly because he/she really wants to be establishing his/her own web-based business. In this case he/she either needs to commit to a reprioritization of values (school is more important than the dream) or adjust his/her goals to better match his/her desires and say “I’ll follow my dream first and then go to school.” Watch out for a mismatch of values/beliefs/desires and goals.

• Be realistic in setting your goals and always consider your circumstances. When goals aren’t realistic or when circumstances conspire against you, it is important to adjust. A student who comes to college with the goal of expecting to earn a nursing degree in 4 years, but finds the work more difficult than he/she anticipated may need to adjust his time frame in order to achieve his/her goal. Likewise, if this same student found that he/she needed to work to support his/her college costs or take on greater family responsibilities, it might be similarly necessary for him/her to adjust his/her goals as well.

When your goals are realistic and match your desires, you will be motivated. When you’re motivated and work hard towards your goals, you will succeed. When you succeed, your motivation will grow, you will set new goals, and continue to achieve. Know yourself, know your circumstances, set realistic goals, and start to succeed now!

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