1. PART IX B GOAL SETTING AS AN AID TO PSYCHOTHERAPY TO ANALYZE YOUR LIFE, WORK, AND THERAPY GOALS, USE A STRUCTURED DECISION MAKING PROCESS TO ASSIST YOU IN CHOOSING GOALS, SETTING PRIORITIES, DETECTING PROBLEMS AND BARRIERS, DEVELOPING STRATEGIES, AND SETTING SCHEDULES. USE THE PERSONAL GROWTH CALENDAR TO SCHEDULE YOUR LIFE AND WORK GOALS AND TO SET GOALS FOR PSYCHOTHERAPY OUTSIDE OF THE HOUR SESSION AND RECORD AND OBSERVE YOUR PROGRESS.

2. Reason Goal Was Chosen It is difficult for us to recognize why we are enamored of some goal. It is sometimes annoying to have to consider the influences that nudged us to choose a particular goal. This discomfort or annoyance is also true from almost any of our choices. When asked why when we were growing up, we learned to find persuasive rational explanations, usually related to the value or benefits of pursuing the chosen goal. Later we begin to be defensive about our choices. When others disagree, for whatever reason, with our choices, they sometimes try to talk us out of it by attacking what they see as phony or spurious causes or reasons and self defeating effects of pursuing these choices. We, therefore, learn to disguise from ourselves the real reasons or causes and to convince ourselves of the tenable and persuasive reasons and causes.

3. GOALS SCRATCH SHEET Write down your goals as they come to your mind. Put each goal under the category heading that seems most appropriate. Next try to think through which goals are merely necessary to reach another ultimate goal. There may be more than one goal that is subordinate to an ultimate goal and several ultimate goals could have the same subordinate goal. Draw lines between the related subordinate and ultimate goals and draw a circle around each ultimate goal. When finished, go to the second goal sheet with the concentric circles and quadrants. Goals can be what you want to be, have, or do from the immediate future to the distant future and can include undoing past events or effects and re-interpreting the past.

4. GOAL PRIORITY SCRATCH SHEET Each quadrant has its own goals. The concentric circles represent how important the goal is to you. Take the goals you listed on the first work sheet and decide which of the quadrants below they belong in. According to the goal’s importance in your life, place it nearer or farther from the center. If a goal was merely preparatory to or facilitative of reaching another goal, link the two with the ultimate goal toward the outside and the subordinate goal in toward the center. The most important goals in each category of your life would go in the very center HOME AND FAMILY OCCUPATION ROMANCE SOCIAL AND RECREATION EVALUATION OF GOALS

5. LISTING ALL POSSIBLE ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES GOAL NAME ___________________________ CONCLUSION: COMPARING RELATIVE OVERALL ADVANTAGES VS. DISADVANTAGES _________________________________________________________________________ ADVANTAGESDISADVANTAGES

6. RANKING ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES GOAL NAME ___________________________ CONCLUSION: COMPARING RELATIVE OVERALL ADVANTAGES VS. DISADVANTAGES _________________________________________________________________________ ADVANTAGESDISADVANTAGES

7. GOAL CONFLICT ANALYSIS AND RESOLUTION Search your list of goals and find those that conflict. List one goal in the left column and its conflicting goal in the right column. When the lists are complete, go back and, in the center column, describe the nature or source of the conflict. Finally, review your analysis and try to decide which of the opposing goals, in spite of your desire to keep both, you must eliminate. Goal Set A Description of ConflictGoal Set B

8. DEALING WITH GOAL BARRIERS AND CONFLICTS LIST POSSIBLE BARRIERS AND CONFLICTS THAT COULD PREVENT ACHIEVEMENT OF A GOAL LIST POSSIBLE STRATEGIES FOR OVERCOMING BARRIERS AND CONFLICTS

9. Six Month Plan for Personal Growth _________________________________ List the challenges you are going to work on and toward for the next six months. Indicate on your Calendar how far along you want to be by specific dates. Chart these on your six month Personal Growth Calendar on the next page. These challenges may be enabling to other goals, ongoing goals, final goals.

10. PERSONAL MONTHLY PLANNER MON TUES WED THUR FRI SAT SUN Describe plans for each week in spaces below MONTH_____ YEAR______ FILL IN SCHEDULES FOR ACHIEVEMENT OF GOALS WORK OUT YOUR PRIORITIES AND STRATEGIES AND PLAN YOUR SCHEDULE AND RECORD YOUR ACHIEVEMENTS BELOW Return