'Back to School' is an Opportune Time to Set Your Own Goals Too!
Any time of year is a good time to set goals and start working
towards them. However there are certain times of year when it
feels very natural to set goals. One of these times is the New
Year, and another is 'Back to School' time.
What would you love to have achieved by December? What would you
feel really proud of accomplishing? As students head 'Back to
School' to achieve their academic goals, we can take inspiration
from them and apply it to our goals.
When we begin to see advertisements for 'Back to School' and
children get ready for the new school year, it is a great time
to set goals for ourselves too. However, our goals can be
related to any aspect of our lives, and not just limited
academic goals.
When we think of going 'Back to School' we picture fall colors
and cooler weather. There is a ritual of going shopping for new
supplies and setting off on the first day dressed in a new
outfit. There is also an element of optimism and enthusiasm,
ready to embrace a new and exciting challenge of the school
year. So what can we learn from students who are heading 'Back
to School' this fall?
Resources
When students go 'Back to School' they are surrounded by many
different resources. These include tools such as new books, pens
and pencils, clothes, etceteras. Although these tools have
practical uses, they also make an important impression on the
subconscious mind by providing strong motivations such as
confidence and courage at a time that is generally filled with
apprehension.
Students are also surrounded by many types of people resources.
They have friends at school who share common interests and who
are working towards common goals. They have access to teachers,
librarians, counsellors, etceteras who impart their wisdom and
motivate and guide them to learn new information and skills.
In addition, in order for students to be successful in achieving
their academic pursuits, they also need to master the resource
of time management. They need to make effective use of their
time at school, and then they need to have the self-discipline
to manage their time at home to do homework and prepare for the
next day.
Therefore, no matter what goals you would like to achieve, you
need to think about which specific resources you would need
(i.e. what tools do you need, which people would help the most,
where will your time come from, etc.). For example, if you
wanted to get fit, then your tools might be a new gym outfit
complete with cross-training sneakers to motivate yourself to
go. Your people resources might be the trainers at the gym and
your friends who share common fitness goals. Finally you would
need to set aside time each day to attend the gym, to pack and
repack your gym bag etc.
Structure
Going 'Back to School' also provides structure. After the
freewheeling nature of summer vacation, structure can seem to be
a very unwelcome thing. Even adults often think they dislike
structure, and prefer to be spontaneous. However, having
structure in place is a very valuable mechanism to facilitate
the achievement of your goals.
Structure provides a framework so that you can do your best work
effortlessly. If you decide your goal is to get fit, then
structuring your workouts would be beneficial. You would need to
schedule when you would attend the gym, and exactly what
exercises you would be doing at each workout session.
Students have their time automatically structured. Their
day-to-day time is structured with class schedules, and the
exams that determine whether or not they have achieved their
academic goals are structured by major holidays. The first such
major holiday is in December, which gives them approximately 12
weeks to work towards their goals.
Twelve weeks is also a perfect length of time for you to work
towards your goals; long enough to see results, yet short enough
not to feel overwhelmed. Plus, if you are feeling melancholy
that the summer is over, working towards a goal can direct that
sad feeling into positive energy.
New Leaf
When children go 'Back to School' there is a feeling of newness
and excitement in the air. It does not matter what happened last
year; this year is a clean slate or a 'new leaf'. Examples of
the new leaf mentality might be: homework will be done the night
it's set, rather than the night before it's due; library books
will be returned on time, etceteras. Why not take this mind-set
and apply it to your goals? It does not matter that past
attempts to get fit were not successful, this time you WILL
succeed.
So get ready to apply the 'Back to School' mind-set. Write down
the goal(s) that you would like to achieve by December. Then
determine the resources you need. Ensure you have the structure
in place, and then turn a new leaf and jump right in!