When I was much younger, I was a firm believer in going with the flow. I thought planning ahead was for people who had a hard time getting by without a plan in mind. There was too little room left to be creative and spontaneous. I liked the idea of being able to accomplish things on the spur of the moment and meeting deadlines at the last minute.
But as I grew up and realized that I had to make decisions for myself. And that I was entirely responsible for every next move that I make, my perspective started to shift. I started looking at things from a whole new angle. Missed deadlines, falling behind, having no sense of purpose. All of these things banded together to have a snowball effect on my life. I was in a desperate need for some serious goal-setting in my life. Which would serve as a catalyst for my personal and academic growth.
Setting goals does not mean making a timetable of activities you must do and when. It can be about anything that you need to achieve in your near or distant future. Your way of setting goals can be a lot different from someone else’s way of setting goals depending on the type of your personality. But before you get on with that, make sure your goals are SMART. They should be Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic/Relevant and Time Bound.
The first thing you must do to be able to make smart goals is to engage in introspection. You need to have a clear idea about things you struggle with the most that demand your immediate attention. You need to dissect your weaknesses and your strengths. It is not necessary for you to only have academic goals, they can be about your personal growth, co-curricular activities, and much more. A person with a keen interest in sports does not really need to set goals for his outdoor activities because that is something he can get done with the utmost ease.
If setting goals will help you get better at something, then that means, you need to have a list of milestones that encourage you to make the small leaps. Think of it as a video game. If there were no milestones or levels to clear, then the whole game would be pointless. The same way, you need to have some sense of achievement in order to move forward in your life.
The concept of setting smart goals may seem tedious at first. But once you are able to tick off items in your checklist, it will give you the self-confidence and motivation you need to improve your performance and get ahead in life.
