The Purpose of Goal Setting GLE 1O1

“Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life’s about creating yourself.” —George Bernard Shaw

Goal | noun According to the Oxford Dictionary: “the object of a person's ambition or effort; an aim or desired result; the destination of a journey.” Think of some personal examples…what would YOU consider to be a ‘goal’? Do you agree or disagree with the definition? Is it complete?

Consider This when goal setting: The Wheel of Life

Ok, so what ARE goals really? Goals can take on MANY shapes and forms. They can be in MANY areas (e.g. not just education.) Goals are meant to be achieved, but timelines vary depending on the TYPE of goal. Consider the Wheel of Life:

why set goals? If we take the time to THINK about what we want to achieve and then focus on a plan for HOW to achieve them, the chances of us staying on route and achieving is GREATER! As goals are accomplished, they are replaced with NEW GOALS. This means that the practice of goal setting is ONGOING. We always need goals! Consider this now at this stage in your life what about postsecondary studies or the workforce? what about personal and family goals for when you are an adult? think about the WHOLE REST of your life, not just about immediate goals like graduating high school!

Image compliments of Baylor University’s Community Mentoring for Adolescent Development http://www.mentoring.org/downloads/mentoring_429.pdf

Important: Setting goals in Context Context | noun “the parts of a conversation that surround a word and can show us it’s MEANING.” Context provides a way to MAKE SENSE of the goal and provide direction when composing an action plan or action steps. E.g. When setting a postsecondary goal, it helps to be IMMERSED in the context of setting the goal, such as planning in high school. Look at registrar’s websites, application processes, become familiar with what is required in order to plan the action steps. E.g. When we are young we tell people what we want to be. “I want to be an astronaut!” “Awesome! But how will you get there? Action plans are needed to ensure we can MEET THOSE GOALS.”

Next stop… What are YOUR goals?