Simple question: Do you know what you are trying to achieve (in your education or just in life in general) - and why? Really think about that question. It's more important that anything. If you don't understand what you're trying to achieve or why you're trying to achieve it then you have absolutely no hope of getting there. Why? Well where are you trying to get to anyway? You haven't even defined it remember! So step one is to create a goal want to achieve and a goal you actually understand.
Once you have created a goal you want to achieve and understand you can move to the next level. The next level asks you to ponder the following questions: who do you need to become in order to achieve your goals? What do you need to do in order to achieve your goals? Are you being brutally honest about whether you are working diligently towards your goal or are you really just hoping that by some miracle your goal will be achieved?
Let's look at this another way. What actions do you take each and every day in order to progress your skills and attitude to the point where your goal can become a reality? Are you taking any actions? Or are you just doing what you normally do but hoping that because you "set a goal" that something amazing will happen?
As people, we love to focus on events - not the process. What do I mean by that? Well, we love to step on the scales and see that we are four pounds lighter than we were last week - we don't love the training and the dieting! Do we? We love to watch and experience the Super Bowl, we don't love to watch the hours of practise and drills the players go through to perfect their on-field systems which allows them to make it to the big game. We love events - not processes.
This is exactly what happens in our studies. Most students have a dream of that going to College or University, or having a great career one day or of starting their own business, but the process of actually getting to that level of education is often long and painful. All of the homework, the tests, the exams and the assignments required to get good grades can really break the back of even a student with the best intentions!
Passing school is hard and getting good grades is even harder. But the rewards (i.e. events) along the way, such as getting a positive report card, serve to reinforce the desire and attitude required to go through the process to see the ultimate event happen. It's survival of the fittest. When events don't happen, or the event seems too far away and out of each, the process becomes too much to handle.
So what does this mean to us in terms of goal setting and goal achievement? Given that we now know that we don't like processes and we do like events, it makes a lot of sense that we may enjoy setting goals such as "I want an A average in all of my subjects" but we don't like doing the hard work to make sure that the goals actually happen. The process is hard and can be boring and tedious. We want the event (A average for every subject) not the hard work!
So, when you set a goal you need to consider the process of how this goal is going to come about. If you decide that you want to get an A+ in Maths (and by the way rule number one of goal setting is to make the goal specific not airy fairy like "I want to improve in Math") then what you really need to ask yourself is "Who do I need to become to achieve an A+ in Maths? What actions do I need to take on a daily basis to achieve an A+ in Maths?"
Goals don't just happen. They are clearly defined and then deliberately worked towards. You create an event (an A+ in Maths) and then you have to go through the process to get there. Focus on the process and the event will happen. Focus on the event (like everyone wants to) and nothing will happen. The choice is yours!
Once you have created a goal you want to achieve and understand you can move to the next level. The next level asks you to ponder the following questions: who do you need to become in order to achieve your goals? What do you need to do in order to achieve your goals? Are you being brutally honest about whether you are working diligently towards your goal or are you really just hoping that by some miracle your goal will be achieved?
Let's look at this another way. What actions do you take each and every day in order to progress your skills and attitude to the point where your goal can become a reality? Are you taking any actions? Or are you just doing what you normally do but hoping that because you "set a goal" that something amazing will happen?
As people, we love to focus on events - not the process. What do I mean by that? Well, we love to step on the scales and see that we are four pounds lighter than we were last week - we don't love the training and the dieting! Do we? We love to watch and experience the Super Bowl, we don't love to watch the hours of practise and drills the players go through to perfect their on-field systems which allows them to make it to the big game. We love events - not processes.
This is exactly what happens in our studies. Most students have a dream of that going to College or University, or having a great career one day or of starting their own business, but the process of actually getting to that level of education is often long and painful. All of the homework, the tests, the exams and the assignments required to get good grades can really break the back of even a student with the best intentions!
Passing school is hard and getting good grades is even harder. But the rewards (i.e. events) along the way, such as getting a positive report card, serve to reinforce the desire and attitude required to go through the process to see the ultimate event happen. It's survival of the fittest. When events don't happen, or the event seems too far away and out of each, the process becomes too much to handle.
So what does this mean to us in terms of goal setting and goal achievement? Given that we now know that we don't like processes and we do like events, it makes a lot of sense that we may enjoy setting goals such as "I want an A average in all of my subjects" but we don't like doing the hard work to make sure that the goals actually happen. The process is hard and can be boring and tedious. We want the event (A average for every subject) not the hard work!
So, when you set a goal you need to consider the process of how this goal is going to come about. If you decide that you want to get an A+ in Maths (and by the way rule number one of goal setting is to make the goal specific not airy fairy like "I want to improve in Math") then what you really need to ask yourself is "Who do I need to become to achieve an A+ in Maths? What actions do I need to take on a daily basis to achieve an A+ in Maths?"
Goals don't just happen. They are clearly defined and then deliberately worked towards. You create an event (an A+ in Maths) and then you have to go through the process to get there. Focus on the process and the event will happen. Focus on the event (like everyone wants to) and nothing will happen. The choice is yours!
About the Author:
HelpMeToStudy.org is the best resource for learning new study skills, changing your study habits and finding the best studying tips available. We will help you change the way you think about study - and even better - we will show you how to study effectively: How To Study Effectively | How To Set Goals
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