How To Set Goals

by Deborah Erbach Burger Copyright 2004 Used with permission

What is a Goal?

Are you are wondering how to set goals. How do you effectively set goals that are realistic in your personal, academic, and career life?

Short term - A short term goal determines what I will do today, in the next hour, right now, perhaps all the way to the end of this week. It answers the question, “What am I doing right now, and when will I be finished?”

Long term-long term goals answer these questions: Where do I want to be this time next year? What will I have finished by the end of next month? What will my life be like in 5 years, or 10 years?

All goals have some traits in common, though:

A goal is:

• MY OWN—I am the only person whose participation I can control. My goals depend on my decisions, my abilities, my actions, not those of my parents, siblings, friends or others. No one can have goals for another person—those are wishes or hopes, because by definition, a goal depends primarily on the participation of the person who holds it.

• MEANINGFUL—They are meaningful in 2 ways.

1. Realistic--realistically achievable with the resources that God has given me. My resources are:

Personal: my talents, abilities, location, time, possessions, health, knowledge

Spiritual: my faith, prayer, Scripture’s wisdom and guidance

Relational: The people God has placed in my life—parents, siblings, friends, community—all those who have an interest in seeing me achieve my goals.

2. Relative—They relate to my desires and dreams, and are designed to help me reach those.

• METHODICAL— A goal can be broken down into steps or parts in my planning. I can state those parts as objectives, make a plan to reach them, and manage my resources and time along the way. There is nothing RANDOM about reaching a goal.

• MEASURABLE—I have built in ways to see and know when I am making progress (or not!!) and when I have accomplished the goal or one of its parts. Goals are not “open-ended”.

Even long term goals have a moment when they are finished, completed, and this moment can be noted. Setting goals

Now, set some of your goals! Complete the following, making sure they include the M's...

This summer I want to accomplish/achieve the following:

This school year, I want to accomplish/achieve the following:

By 5 years from now I plan to be doing…..

In 10 years, I plan to be…

We make progress toward goals, by managing our time constructively!

Need information on teen jobs?

Time Management for Teens provides useful information on how to set goals and how to reach them.

Deb Erbach Burger is a "retired" homeschool mother of 4 grown children. Deb's booklet Goal Setting and Time Management for Teens provides a more in depth look at how to set goals.

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