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Happy New Year!!!!

It is a new year, which means a new semester and a new set of goals.  Before you begin to form your list of new goals, you must reflect on the goals from last semester. Take a look at the short and long term goals you created last semester. How did you do?  Did you accomplish everything on your list?  Did you surpass what you set out to do? Let’s take stock of what you have accomplished (and did not accomplish).  Look at what you were able to do! Congratulate and reward yourself for a job well done.  Look at the factors that affected why you were able to accomplish the goals.  What formula did you have in place that allowed you to succeed? How can you apply that formula to the new set of goals for yourself? 

 

At the same time, reflect on the goals you were unable to achieve, hold yourself accountable for the goals that you did not obtain.  Now is not the time to beat yourself for not achieving your goals. This is where you evaluate the goal(s) you did not accomplish and discover why they were not achieved.  Were there factors within your control? Were there uncontrollable factors? Did you almost meet the goal?  Look at all of the factors associated with each missed goal.  A missed goal does not mean the goal is lost forever.  It could just be bad timing or the lack of balance.  Pinpointing the reason why the goal was not accomplished will help to decipher if the goal is lost or should be revisited.  If it is salvageable, add the goal to the list of goals for the new semester. If the goal is not salvageable, evaluate all of the reasons why you were unable to accomplish the goal and try to prevent those factors from reoccurring.

After evaluating your goals, reflect on how you would do things differently.  Did your goals challenge you, did they push you to the next level of your (personal, professional, academic, financial) life, did you accomplish your goals to fast? Ask yourself these things and gear up for the new semester.  Make a list of the things you would like to accomplish this semester. Divide the list into short term and long term goals; indicating items you would like to accomplish at the beginning of the semester, items by the midpoint, and items to complete by the end of the semester. Ensure there is variety within your goals and you take a holistic approach to your goal setting.  Becoming stronger and more competent in one area of your life will not help you most in the long run.  You want to ensure you are developing and balancing all aspects of your life. Focus on your personal growth (spiritual, social, physical, financial), as well as, your professional growth (academics, experience, and skillsets).

Goal setting can be challenging especially if you are coming off a semester where you did not accomplish all you hoped.  Try to look at goals as small pictures that will come together to achieve one big picture. Accomplishing the small goals, step-by-step will help you to tackle the bigger goals piece-by-piece.  Instead of saying you want to lose 50lbs; try saying you want to lose 4lbs a month.  Instead of saying you want to earn an “A” in Molecular Biology, try focusing on earning an “A” one assignment at a time. Instead of saying you want to make new friends, try one new activity a month. Each of the smaller goals are a part of the bigger picture and as you accomplish the smaller goals they will propel you towards the bigger goal.

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Have you gotten involved with campus activities/organizations? Why not? What are you waiting for? College is about growth inside and outside of the classroom. What are you passionate about outside the classroom? What do you like? What do you want to learn more about? The only way you will get involved outside of the classroom is if you venture off and take a chance.  Find out which campus organizations are active on your campus.  You can find this information on the website, in the student activities office, or by asking other student like student governments, classmates, and your roommate.  You will find organizations from intramural sports, to drama groups, to political groups, to special interest groups such as anime, ballroom dancing, and much much more.

Identify a couple of organizations that might be of interest to you.  Find out when they meet.  How? Look for flyers on campus, use the email listed on the student activities website, or follow them on social media.  When they host events; go! When they have a meeting; attend! When they need officers on the executive board; run! This may sound easier than actually doing it, but going is the hardest part.  Once you arrive others will welcome you with open arms, because they want some who is there to support the mission, do the work, and share the same interest.

Are you afraid you won’t fit in? It’s okay and it is normal. Go to the meeting and be yourself.  You will find people that will appreciate you for who you are.  You will not have to pretend, people will navigate towards the natural you. If you attend the event and things are not what you thought they would be stay (know that you do have the option to leave at any time) and give it a chance.  Come back again, you will be a little more comfortable and you will recognize some familiar faces. After giving the experience a fair chance, if you still feel like this is not the organization for you. Go back to the drawing board; choose another organization and try again.  Continue to try and put yourself out there.  You will learn more about yourself, expose yourself to new social situations, and benefit in the long run from the experiences.

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Accountability…it sounds so serious right? Well it doesn’t have to be.  You can make setting and achieving goals fun.  Keeping yourself on track does not have to be as boring as checklist and assessments.  Well this is a challenge to try something new and achieve your goals for the semester.  Try something outside the box to highlight the short term goals you have for yourself throughout the semester.  Allow your goals to go beyond just achieving an “A” in your classes.  Allow your goals to push you beyond just the grade book.  Focus on ways to improve your social, physical, mental, emotional, and financial health.  Create a goal in each area and really try to find ways you can set expectations, conquer fears, and learn something new about yourself.  Here are a few out of the box ideas on ways you can set goals and hold yourself accountable.

  1. Give yourself a reward.  A little bigger than a piece of cake, but smaller than a new car.  Think of something that you want that will be a motivating factor to help you focus and achieve your goal. Providing one large reward at the end or smaller milestone rewards will help keep you motivated to push toward the goal.
  2. Journal it.  Keep a daily/weekly reminder of your goals and what you are doing to achieve them. Constant reminders and progress assessments will keep you pushing.
  3. Find a partner.  There is nothing like having someone to encourage you along the way.  Find someone      that will positively support your goals.  You want someone that will not be a pushover and allow you to blow off your goals. You also want do not want someone that will push you so hard that the goal seems unattainable.  Lastly, you want someone that believes in what you are trying to achieve.  Sadly, your accountability partner may not be your best friend, or even a family member.  It could be a classmate, your roommate, or a coworker.
  4. Write a letter to your future self.  Describe your goals and the obstacles you had to overcome in order to make it to the end of the semester.  Tell yourself how proud you are and how you are so much better and stronger for sticking it out.  At the end of the semester, open the sealed letter and read what you “accomplished”.
  5. Vblog or keep a photo timeline of your progress.  Express yourself on YouTube or create a picture story of your journey.  Those two minutes could be the inspiration to help someone achieve their goals.  Knowing that you have an “audience” to report to will help keep you focused.

Goal setting is an important start to each semester.  Take time to find fun ways to keep you engaged to reach the end result.  An old-fashioned checklist works just as well, but finding new ways to hold yourself accountable allows you some flexibility on the journey.