1. Setting achievable
goals using DAPPS

2. “We…believe that one reason so many high school and college students have so much trouble focusing on their studies is because they don’t have a goal, don’t know what all this studying is leading to.”
Muriel James & Dorothy Jongeward

3. Research at Yale University
Researchers asked members of the class of 1953 if they has specific, written, long-term goals.
Only 3% did.
20 years later, the researchers contacted the same graduates to see what happened to them.
The 3% with goals had lives that were measurably better than the 97% without goals.
The 3% who had set specific goals had accumulated more personal wealth than the other 97% put together
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4. How to set a goal To be effective, a goal needs five qualities: DAPPS
DAPPS is an acronym for
Dated
Achievable
Personal
Positive
Specific
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5. D - Dated Effective goals have specific deadlines
Short term goal usually has a deadline within a few months or less
Long term goal usually has a deadline of a year or more (sometimes 5-10 year)
As deadline approaches, your motivation typically increases. This energy helps you finish strong.
If you don’t meet your deadline, you have an opportunity to examine what went wrong and create a new plan
Without a deadline, you might stretch the pursuit of a goal over your whole life time
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6. A - Achievable Effective goals are realistic Example
Running the marathon…
Practice 1 week before the marathon by running around the block
Practice 1 year before the marathon with someone that has completed a marathon
Set your limit: not too high and not too low
Ask your self: “Can this be done?”
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7. P - Personal Effective goals are your goals, not someone else’s
Ask yourself if your current goals contribute to your personal dreams
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8. P - Positive
Effective goals focus your energy on what you do want rather than on what you don’t want
Translate negative goals into positive goals
Example
Negative: I will stop being late to class
Positive: I will arrive on time to every class
Negative: I will stop eating junk food
Positive: I will start eating healthy food
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On Course 4th Ed, Skip Downing

9. S - Specific
Effective goals state outcomes in specific, measurable terms
Example
Good: My goal is to do better this semester
Better: I will achieve a 3.5 GPA or better this semester
Good: My goal is to play better at basketball
Better: I will score at least 80% more often on the basketball court
Workbook – page 40
On Course 4th Ed, Skip Downing

10. How to set a Goal: DAPPS Rule
Dated: specific deadlines for goals
Achievable: realistic goals
Personal: effective goals are your goals, not
someone else’s
Positive: focus your energy on what you do
want rather than what you don’t want
Specific: effective goals state outcomes in
specific, measurable terms
Workbook – page 40
On Course 4th Ed, Skip Downing

11. When a man does not know what harbor he
is making for, no wind is the right wind. -- Seneca