SETTING GOALS
When considering your learning objectives and goals for the program, you will most likely need to make your goals more SMART (specific, measurable, action-oriented, realistic, and timely) in order to start working on them.
As you set goals that allow you to undergo personal or professional development, you can start to pay attention to key strategies that will best lead to optimal growth and self-learning.
There are many benefits to setting goals. When done effectively, you can gain:
Self-Awareness
The ability to recognize and understand your own feelings, boundaries, and behaviours
Self Confidence
The ability to trust yourself with confidence
Empathy
The ability to understand another person’s situation and feelings
Integrity
The ability to develop and act according to a personal code of values and ethics
Career Development
Job or work-related knowledge and skills
Personal Management
The ability to work independently and manage your time
DEVELOPING SMART GOALS
| SPECIFIC | A specific goal is one that can be easily measured and therefore has a greater chance of being accomplished than a broad goal. For example, most goals should be specific enough to achieve within the 3-months. Questions to ask: What am I trying to accomplish? Is it in my best interests? |
| MEASUREABLE | A measurable goal has criteria that allow you to measure the progress that you’ve made with your goal. Questions to ask: How will I know my goal is accomplished? How can I measure whether or not I’ve achieved my goal? How long will it take to complete my goal? |
| ACTIONABLE | An actionable goal can be reached if certain steps are followed. In other words, an actionable goal needs an action plan. Questions to ask: Is your goal action-oriented? What are the steps you need to take to achieve this goal? When do you need each action step completed by so you can finish in December? What resources will you need in order to achieve this goal? What will motivated you (short term, long term)? How and to whom will you stay accountable? How will you track your progress and know you’ve achieved your action steps? |
| REALISTIC | A realistic goal is one that is important to you and is set realistically so you know it can be achieved. It is important to make sure that you’re making the right goals for you, and not just any goal for the sake of having a goal. You don’t want to set an elaborate goal that is impossible, otherwise you’re setting yourself up for disappointment which may deter any further goal setting. Questions to ask: Are my goals realistic with the resources and timeframe available? Why is this goal important to me? |
| TIMELY | A time bound goal can be completed within a certain period of time. Questions to ask: When will I aim to have accomplished this goal? What obstacles might prevent me from completing this on time and how can I overcome them? |
When setting SMART goals, move from the general to the specific. Ask yourself: What would this goal mean if it were achieved? What would I be able to do? How would I be different from how I am now?