Goal Setting for Students That Really Works

Goal Setting for Students That Really Works
Author: Jane Saeman

What is a goal? A goal is something you are aiming to achieve. It can be a short-term goal which is something you want to accomplish within the near future, or it could be a longer term goal. One example of a short-term goal would be to complete an assignment on time, or to keep to your study schedule for a week (this would be a weekly renewable short-term goal!), or even to submit your homework on time each week.

Longer term goals require more commitment and can be such things as completely a large report on time, or even further into the future and either being accepted into a prestigious college, or graduating from a program that will give you the opportunity of being able to quickly find employment in your chosen career path.

The first stage to setting goals is to define exactly what the goal is. Most people have multiple goals, but the important thing is that each goal must be very specific about what it is you want to achieve and by when. It's not imperative that the "when" is specific because this could change depending on your life circumstances, but giving some kind of date means that you are setting up some kind of boundary as to how long you expect this goal to take to accomplish. In short, what you must do for each goal you set is to state what you want to accomplish, and when you will do it - I will complete the book report before the January 30th deadline.

It's imperative when setting goals that you do not have a goal that is dependent upon something that someone else will or won't do. Your goals must be 100% dependent only on your own efforts. The reason for this is that other people may not succeed in doing what you need them to do and this means your goal is doomed for failure.

For example, don't have a goal that says you are going to be part of the winning team at the state final. First of all your team may not get to the state final, and secondly even if it did, you may not be part of it for a number of reasons of which injury would only be one. What you can say is that your goal is to attend every football practice (injured or not) and play to the best of your ability for the entire season.

This goal only focuses on what you will do and it's completely dependent upon your own actions to achieve. Goals may be imposed upon you from time to time by teachers (assignment deadlines), parents (curfew after social activities) etc. Accept these goals as being set by people who are only interested in you achieving the very best from life. The teacher doesn't get any real reward from you passing the assignment, but you get a higher grade that may count towards an academic goal of your own.

Setting goals as a student will help you focus your thoughts on the future, both immediate and in the longer term, which will help towards you succeeding in what you hope to achieve in life. It will also help you learn a skill that will benefit you greatly once you leave the school environment and enter a workplace one.

10 Secrets to Succeeding at your New Years Resolution.success at Last

Author: Liesl Anderson |

10 Secrets to Succeeding at New Year Resolutions:
Success at last.

If you apply these 10 secrets to your New Years Resolution or any other goals you will find greater success. You results will be easier and longer lasting with out all the struggle and disappointment.
When your conscious and sub-conscious mind is aligned with the same goal success is natural.

1. Pick a resolution YOU really want. Make sure you are invested 100% in this goal. If you are doing it for your wife/husband, kids or boss you will find it more difficult. Motivation runs out fast when it is not really what YOU wanted in the first place.

2.Write it down and put it where you can see it with a date to accomplish the goal. Be realistic.

3.Break it down in little steps. Make it easy for yourself.

4.Create a positive affirmation stated in the future as if you have already accomplished it. An example would be: “ I weight 130lbs. I love exercising and my body is healthy and strong. I eat healthy meals and enjoy my food.” State this affirmation each day at least one time.

5.Consider using techniques that help you identify and release any resistance you might have in your sub-conscious mind to achieving your goal. When we fail at a goal that we really want we usually have some sub-conscious resistance to achieving the goal. An example might be: If you wanted to stop smoking on the conscious level but your sub-conscious mind wanted to hang onto the habit to manage stress in your life in a familiar way. If the sub-conscious was not brought on board with the goal then the change will not happen. Some techniques that can help change sub-conscious sabotage are: Hypnosis, Rapid Eye Technology & Emotional Freedom Techniques.

6.Reward yourself for any movement in the direction of your goal. Find something that you really want or enjoy and reward yourself with it when you hit big bench marks but remember to reward yourself daily with something smaller each day you move in the right direction.

7.If you slip backwards do not give up. Forgive yourself and ask yourself what might be blocking you and if you need to adjust your goal or change the date of accomplishment. Be realistic with yourself about what you can accomplish in the time given.

8.In list a friend or coach to help keep you on task and focused. There is safety in numbers. It is great if you have someone who is trying to accomplish the same goal that you can lean on in time of need. If you know someone is waiting for example at the gym to workout with you then you are a lot more likely to follow through. But you can choose someone who is not working toward the same goal but can be a good support in the way you need it. Make sure your personalities match with your motivation style. Do you need a gentle style or a more rigid style of motivation?

9.Determine how you are personally motivated. People are either motivated towards something positive or away from something negative. About 70% of us are motivated away from the negative. Find out how you are motivated and use that to your advantage. If you are motivated by positive then really make a big deal of the positive you will receive when you accomplish the goal. If you are motivated by negative then emphasize the negative. However as you move toward the positive rewards of the goal then start to switch your emphasis towards the rewards of the goal and away from the negative of not accomplishing the goal. An example would be if you wanted to lose weight the negative would want to get away from the health problems and the way you look. But as you move closer to the goal start to focus more on how wonderful you are feeling and looking.

10.See yourself already there. Take 10 minutes each day to close your eyes and see your goal already achieved. Feel what it feels like to be successful. Involve all of your senses in this imagery. If your sub-conscious mind can see you there and feels good about it you will succeed.

Start Fresh This New Year

Author: Dr. Noelle Nelson |

The New Year is often depicted as a baby in diapers, usually wearing a top hat, unusual head gear for a baby perhaps, but there you have it--most definitely a baby. There’s a reason for that. The New Year is a great time to start fresh, to start anew, like a baby staring wide-eyed at the marvelous world he or she is just discovering.

So yes, you’ve made your “start fresh” New Year’s resolutions and that’s great. You’ve committed to changing old worn-out habits and creating new beneficial ones. Now, take it one step further and “start fresh” with what already makes up your life. Marvel wide-eyed at the incredible world you live in. Not just at the sheer physical beauty of our planet and the universe we inhabit, but at the people, experiences and situations of your life.

For example, look at your family with new eye. What fascinates, uplifts and inspires you about your spouse? Before you say “I wish!” be still inside and really look at your mate. Leave aside your criticisms, dissatisfactions and frustrations for now, and look at him or her as if you were just discovering them. What do you find that delights you? What do you see that you could admire? What about them puts a smile on your face? If you truly want to look upon your spouse with favor, if you really want to find something about your mate to value, to appreciate, then you will.

Do the same with your children, your co-workers, your mother-in-law, or whoever else populates your life. Start fresh. Find that something wonderful, surprising or pleasing about the person and dwell on it. Let that aspect of the individual be what you focus on, what you pay most attention to.

Then there’s your work, whether you’re a full-time homemaker, part-time worker or career professional. Look at your work deliberately to find what fascinates you, what uplifts you, what it is about your work that puts a lift in your step. Maybe it’s the work itself, the joy of doing something well. Maybe it’s those you interact with at work that give you the most joy. Maybe it’s the rewards you receive, from a happy child’s, “Great sandwich, Mom!” to a grateful client’s relief, to a paycheck, to stock options. Focus on whatever in your work brings you joy as you start fresh this New Year, and choose to back-burner the unpleasantness, difficulties and other bumps in the road.

The New Year gives us a wonderful opportunity to let go of the old and get on with the new. Sometimes the new isn’t as much about things, as it is about attitudes. When you choose to view the people in your life for the value they bring to you, to their world and to others, for what you appreciate about them, you experience people differently and your life changes for the better. When you choose to look upon your work, your day to day, with that same desire to see the value in it, you experience your work differently, and your life changes for the better.

Choose, this New Year, to start fresh in every way--new habits, new attitude, new view on life, and revel in the joy that will inevitably come your way.

Letter Of Heaven

Anak-Ku..... ..
Saat kau bangun dipagi hari, Aku
memandangmu dan berharap engkau akan
berbicara kepada-Ku, walaupun hanya
sepatah kata, meminta pendapat-Ku atau
bersyukur kepada-Ku atas sesuatu hal
indah yang terjadi di dalam hidupmu
kemarin, tetapi aku melihat engkau
begitu sibuk mempersiapkan diri untuk
pergi bekerja.

Aku kembali menanti..... ..
Saat engkau sedang bersiap, Aku tahu
akan ada sedikit waktu bagimu untuk
berhenti dan menyapa-Ku, tetapi engkau
terlalu sibuk.
Di satu tempat, engkau duduk di sebuah
kursi selama lima belas menit tanpa
melakukan apapun.

Kemudian Aku melihat engkau menggerakkan
kakimu.
Aku berpikir engkau ingin berbicara
kepada-Ku, tetapi engkau berlari ke
telepon dan menelepon seorang teman
untuk mendengarkan gosip terbaru.
Aku melihatmu ketika engkau pergi
bekerja dan Aku menanti dengan sabar
sepanjang hari.
Dengan semua kegiatanmu, Aku berpikir
engkau terlalu sibuk untuk mengucapkan
sesuatu kepada-Ku.
Sebelum makan siang Aku melihatmu
memandang kesekeliling, mungkin engkau
merasa malu untuk berbicara kepada-Ku,
itulah sebabnya mengapa engkau tidak
menundukkan kepalamu.
Engkau memandang tiga atau empat meja
sekitarmu dan melihat beberapa temanmu
berbicara kepada-Ku dengan lembut
sebelum mereka makan, tetapi engkau
tidak melakukannya.

Tidak apa-apa..... ....
Masih ada waktu yang tersisa, dan Aku
berharap engkau akan berbicara
kepada-Ku, meskipun saaat engkau pulang
ke rumah kelihatannya seakan-akan banyak
hal yang harus kau kerjakan.
Setelah beberapa hal tersebut selesai
engkau kerjakan, engkau menyalakan
televisi, Aku tidak tahu apakah kau suka
menonton televisi atau tidak, hanya saja
engkau selalu ke sana dan menghabiskan
banyak waktu setiap hari di depannya,
tanpa memikirkan apapun hanya menikmati
acara yang ditampilkan.

Kembali Aku menanti dengan sabar saat
engkau menonton TV dan menikmati
makananmu tetapi kembali kau tidak
berbicara kepada-Ku.
Saat tidur Kupikir kau merasa terlalu
lelah. Setelah mengucapkan selamat malam
kepada keluargamu, kau melompat ke
tempat tidur dan tertidur tak lama kemudian.
Tidak apa-apa karena mungkin engkau
tidak menyadari bahwa Aku selalu hadir
untukmu.
Aku telah bersabar lebih lama dari yang
kau sadari.
Aku bahkan ingin mengajarkanmu bagaimana
bersabar terhadap orang lain.
Aku sangat mengasihimu, setiap hari Aku
menantikan sepatah kata, doa atau
pikiran atau syukur dari hatimu.
Baiklah... engkau bangun kembali dan
kembali.
Aku akan menanti dengan penuh kasih
bahwa hari ini kau akan memberi-Ku
sedikit waktu.
Semoga harimu menyenangkan.

Bapamu di Sorga,

taken from fs bulletin by Lazarus