My First Year > My Educational Plan > Question 1
Question 1
Being clear about your goals is one of the most effective ways to improve your performance in almost any endeavor. In reality, all human activity is goal-oriented. Therefore, using a strategy to develop your goals is arguably the best use of your time if you are interested in achieving your potential.
Without meaningful goals, you wander from one pleasant activity to another in search of diversion. When you create meaningful goals, you are establishing the priorities around which your mind will operate. This is a very powerful technique for achievement. You will understand why this is so when you consider the following advantages that come with being clear about your goals:
Your attention becomes focused on opportunities that bring you closer to achieving your goals. We all know people who achieve so much more because they appear to have more opportunities. Achievers know that they don’t necessarily have more opportunities, but they are skilled at taking full advantage of the opportunities they do have. When you are clear about your goals, you also will identify the opportunities for success you would otherwise have missed.
You will have a better idea of the abilities you need to develop . This idea alone makes a goal-setting program worth the effort! You will know what courses to take beyond the minimum requirements and which out-of-class activities will provide you with the necessary experiences. Your education becomes more meaningful and self-directed as a result of knowing the knowledge and skills you will need to achieve your goals.
Another advantage to having an effective goal-setting program is that it will lead you to improve your decision-making powers. Most of the difficulty we have making decisions is the result of our lack of understanding about our goals and their related values. Once you are clear about what outcomes are important, you can make decisions that consistently bring you closer to achieving your goals. This skill alone can separate those who make good decisions from those who make poor choices.
To begin your personal goal-setting program, complete Educational Planning Activity 1.