by Shawnee Sagers
What is a Goal?
You set a Goal whenever you say, "I want to..." Your Goal might be that you want to get a pet dog. Or that you want to learn to dance - or to play football well. Or your goal might be to get better grades at school.
For example, I set a goal to become the National Little Britches Rodeo Association Princess.
Why are Goals important?
When you have a Goal, it gives you something to look forward to. Goals are kind of like a ladder. We start at the bottom of the ladder and with each step we take to reach our goal we climb the ladder until we are at the top achieving our goal.
When is a Goal a good Goal?
It's always good to have a wish. But, in order to make a wish become a goal you have to work at it. Here is a list of four things that make a good Goal:
1) A good Goal says EXACTLY what you want.
For example, when I set my goal to become the NLBRA Princess, I didn’t just say “I want to be a princess.” Instead, I said “I want to become the 2008 National Little Britches Rodeo Association Princess.” Once I had the goal imagined exactly as I wanted to achieve it I wrote it down. You can choose any goal you want for yourself, but remember, in order to really have a goal you must write it down!
2) A good Goal says WHEN you want it.
When I decided what I wanted my goal to be then I had to set a target date for when I wanted to achieve the goal. I had it really easy because the date was set for me because it was a competition. You may have a goal to get better grades in school, so you may have a certain time you MUST have it done. But, you may set a goal that doesn’t have a certain time for completion. If this is the case you need to set your own time.
3) A good Goal is when you believe it.
In order to reach a goal, you must really believe that you can achieve the goal. For example if you say ”I want to play in the NBA next year.” that isn’t a real goal. However, if you say “I want to play in the NBA when I am 20 years old.” That is a goal that could happen. For me, I have a future goal of becoming Miss Rodeo America by the time I am 24. I knew that I could not set this as a goal for right now, but becoming the NLBRA Princess is a smaller goal that I could achieve right now, and it also helps me get closer to my future goal. If you believe it you can do it.
4) A good Goal says HOW you're going to get it.
In order to reach a goal, you have to list the steps it will take to do that. For me I knew that I had to practice all of the parts of my contest. I wrote down things such as when and what to practice, I set a daily schedule for myself, I made up and took practice tests, I had to practice riding my horse each day. No matter what your goal is you need to write down and then follow the steps that you must take to reach the goal.
5) A good Goal has an ENDING
You will know when you have reached your goal because certain things happened. I knew that I had reached my goal when I had completed my contest and had been announced the 2008 NLBRA Princess.
6) A good Goal will keep you motivated
In order to reach a goal, you must really want to do it. I suggest writing things down that will help keep you motivated. If the goal is worth achieving, it will be very hard at times. Good goals require work. Sometimes you can become discourages. By writing down some reasons why you want to keep working on your goal you will be more likely to stick to it. I stayed motivated even during the HARD hours and hours of practices because I knew how exciting it would be to win the saddle and wear the crown. I keep a picture of the 2007 Miss Rodeo America as the wallpaper on my phone also, because looking at her helps to remind me of my goal.
Sometimes we don’t achieve our goals the first time. Does this mean that we have failed? Absolutely not, Thomas Edison failed many times before he successfully made a light bulb. Can you imagine if he had given up on his first failed try? Luckily for us he kept trying. I too, failed my first try. I set a goal to be the 2007 Princess and was awarded the 1st attendant. This didn’t stop me from trying again, in fact, it made me try harder to achieve my goal the next year.
You set a Goal whenever you say, "I want to..." Your Goal might be that you want to get a pet dog. Or that you want to learn to dance - or to play football well. Or your goal might be to get better grades at school.
For example, I set a goal to become the National Little Britches Rodeo Association Princess.
Why are Goals important?
When you have a Goal, it gives you something to look forward to. Goals are kind of like a ladder. We start at the bottom of the ladder and with each step we take to reach our goal we climb the ladder until we are at the top achieving our goal.
When is a Goal a good Goal?
It's always good to have a wish. But, in order to make a wish become a goal you have to work at it. Here is a list of four things that make a good Goal:
1) A good Goal says EXACTLY what you want.
For example, when I set my goal to become the NLBRA Princess, I didn’t just say “I want to be a princess.” Instead, I said “I want to become the 2008 National Little Britches Rodeo Association Princess.” Once I had the goal imagined exactly as I wanted to achieve it I wrote it down. You can choose any goal you want for yourself, but remember, in order to really have a goal you must write it down!
2) A good Goal says WHEN you want it.
When I decided what I wanted my goal to be then I had to set a target date for when I wanted to achieve the goal. I had it really easy because the date was set for me because it was a competition. You may have a goal to get better grades in school, so you may have a certain time you MUST have it done. But, you may set a goal that doesn’t have a certain time for completion. If this is the case you need to set your own time.
3) A good Goal is when you believe it.
In order to reach a goal, you must really believe that you can achieve the goal. For example if you say ”I want to play in the NBA next year.” that isn’t a real goal. However, if you say “I want to play in the NBA when I am 20 years old.” That is a goal that could happen. For me, I have a future goal of becoming Miss Rodeo America by the time I am 24. I knew that I could not set this as a goal for right now, but becoming the NLBRA Princess is a smaller goal that I could achieve right now, and it also helps me get closer to my future goal. If you believe it you can do it.
4) A good Goal says HOW you're going to get it.
In order to reach a goal, you have to list the steps it will take to do that. For me I knew that I had to practice all of the parts of my contest. I wrote down things such as when and what to practice, I set a daily schedule for myself, I made up and took practice tests, I had to practice riding my horse each day. No matter what your goal is you need to write down and then follow the steps that you must take to reach the goal.
5) A good Goal has an ENDING
You will know when you have reached your goal because certain things happened. I knew that I had reached my goal when I had completed my contest and had been announced the 2008 NLBRA Princess.
6) A good Goal will keep you motivated
In order to reach a goal, you must really want to do it. I suggest writing things down that will help keep you motivated. If the goal is worth achieving, it will be very hard at times. Good goals require work. Sometimes you can become discourages. By writing down some reasons why you want to keep working on your goal you will be more likely to stick to it. I stayed motivated even during the HARD hours and hours of practices because I knew how exciting it would be to win the saddle and wear the crown. I keep a picture of the 2007 Miss Rodeo America as the wallpaper on my phone also, because looking at her helps to remind me of my goal.
Sometimes we don’t achieve our goals the first time. Does this mean that we have failed? Absolutely not, Thomas Edison failed many times before he successfully made a light bulb. Can you imagine if he had given up on his first failed try? Luckily for us he kept trying. I too, failed my first try. I set a goal to be the 2007 Princess and was awarded the 1st attendant. This didn’t stop me from trying again, in fact, it made me try harder to achieve my goal the next year.
I truly believe that each one of you has the ability to do or become whatever you want to, But, life will pass you by and your wishes will just be wishes if you don’t set goals and stick to them.
Awesome post. Something all of us Young or Old need to remember. I was better at setting goals when I was younger and it was a good reminder that I should still be setting and accomplishing goals today. As a mom I tend to focus more on helping my husband and kids accomplish their goals. Thanks Shawnee
ReplyDeleteGoals are so important. If you do not set goals you don't have anything to strive for. I really wish that I did a better job myself for setting goals. You can accomplish so much if you have a plan.
ReplyDeletecongratulations, goals are a huge part of success, and not always easy. keep up the hard work. ww
ReplyDelete