GI $
GOAL SETTING 107
developing and implementing goals. As you practice the process, you
will develop greater expertise and enhance the likelihood that you will
attain your chosen goals.
Key Points
- One’s values, long-range and intermediate goals, and daily tasks
should be aligned. - Goals influence motivation and learning.
- Setting and attaining intermediate goals can motivate students to
attain long-range goals. - Three properties of goals influence motivation: specificity, proximity,
and difficulty. - Each goal you set should be SMART: specific, measurable, action-
oriented, realistic, and timely. - The following steps should be used each time you set a goal:
- Identifying and defining the goal
- Generating and evaluating plans
- Making implementation plans
- Implementing the plan
- Evaluating your progress
Follow–up Activities
- Establish a Goal and Action Plan
Identify a short-term goal you would like to attain in the next few
weeks. Develop a plan for attaining it and write a brief two- to three-
page report on the extent of your goal attainment. Use the five-step
sequence identified in the chapter as headings in your paper.
- Analyze Student Behavior
Suppose you were working in your college counseling center as a peer
counselor. Two students, Alan and Felicia, come to see you to discuss
their problems. Read the brief description of each student and
identify what you have learned to date that could be applied to each
situation. Consider how you would start your discussion with Alan
and Felicia? What issues would you raise? What advice would you
give? Why?
Alan is a freshman music major who is an accomplished
bass player. He has toured internationally with some of the
best groups and is recognized as someone with a great deal