Ella provides tips for setting effective goals, including making goals realistic, specific, and measurable. She recommends creating a chart with categories like art, career, family, and school. Under each, list goals that fit into that subject. To make goals realistic, they should be achievable given your current abilities and resources. Goals should also be specific so you know what you need to do to complete them. Measurable goals have short-term and long-term steps to track your progress. Ella gives examples of revising personal goals to meet these criteria.
2. Create Goals
To create the goals I would recommend just write down things you like are
interesting, things you might want to pursue, career ideas, dreams, things that
interest you. When I did my goals I created a chart with different subjects, and goals
that went along with the subject.
3. This is explaining the format of the next few
graphs.
Column 1 Column 2 Column 3
Achieved Currently Working On Goal
Having a star in this column
means I have achieved that
specific goal.
Having a star in this column
means I am currently working on
that specific goal.
This column is where the
specific goals are listed.
4. Art
Discover Special Things About Poetry
Get Better at Drawing
Learn More About Paintings
Learn To Be More Creative
Make Interesting Stories To Show To People Someday
5. Become A Doctor
Get A Masters In Anesthesiologist
Get A Masters In Culinary Arts
Get A Degree In Aerospace Engineer
Save Enough Money To Live Off Of For Retirement
Career
6. Build A House With Money Earned From Career
Get Married & Have Kids
Give Back All Money Borrowed EVER
Give Money To 5 Good Causes
Help My Parents And Grandparent At Old Age
Family/ Any Goal Not Fitting In Any Other
Category
7. Get All A’s
Get Into A Very Good College
Graduate Early
Not Getting Behind
Make Sure To Understand Concepts Of What I’m Learning
School
8. Visit Niagara Falls
Go To Australia
Go To Mars
Go To Mexico
Swim In All The Oceans
Travel
9. Realistic
This step is just one way to revise your goals. Making sure your goals are realistic
not only makes them easier to achieve, but easier to understand. Being able to plan
how to achieve a goal is important in achieving it.
Making realistic goals are important in making goals, because if you just aren’t able
to achieve the goal there is no point in having it, no matter if you had money, had
supporters, etc. I’m not saying don’t have any goals you don’t think you can
achieve, I doesn’t hurt to have a few goals that are going to be harder to achieve
than others. Just because you aren’t able to achieve a goal that isn’t realistic,
doesn’t make you any less than someone who can, honestly that would make me
try harder.
10. Realistic Example
Example- You want to be a professional basketball player, like Michael Jordan. Let's
also say you do not actually play on a team, but you do shoot hoops in your
driveway. Chances are you’re not going to be a professional basketball player by
just shooting around in your driveway. To make this goal more realistic say you
want to be the starter on your basketball team.
11. Specific
Once your goals are realistic, the next step is to make sure they are specific. If your
goals are specific they are easier to know how to achieve them and know if you
achieved them.
Understanding what your goals are will help you achieve them, they will be easier
to plan how to achieve them, and will be easier to know once you have achieved
them. Having a broad goal, with make it harder to understand what you goal
actually is. Broad goals are going to take more time, and still might never be
achieved.
12. Specific Example
Example- Say one of your goals is to become a better person. That will be difficult
to achieve because being a better person can mean different things. Be more kind,
have a lot of friends, donate money to homeless shelters, etc. A more specific goal
might be to create and maintain a charitable web site.
13. Measurable
Short Term Steps
These are steps that you can do currently to
help to accomplish your goals, or assist with
you long term steps.
Long Term Steps
These are steps that you can’t do currently,
but you will be able to do anytime in the
future. Any steps that may take you years to
achieve are long term steps.
To make your goals measurable, you need steps along the way. These are called short-term and
long-term steps.
14. Measurable Examples
Short Term Steps
If your goal was to be a professional basketball player.
1. Joining a local team, YMCA, schools team, etc.
2. Become a starter on that team.
3. Get scouted for college.
If your goal was to become a business owner.
1. Know what kind of business you want.
2. Got to college to learn how to keep track of
money, to spend it wisely, to keep up with supply
and demand, advertise, etc.
Long Term Step
If your goal was to be a professional basketball player.
1. Get on a national team.
If your goal was to become a business owner.
1. Buy a building for your business.
2. Hire employees.
3. Advertise your business.
15. One of My Artistic Goals
Make Interesting Stories to Show to People Someday:
Realistic- I believe this goal is realistic because people can be anyone, my parents, my siblings, my
friends, my kids, etc. For this goal I just have to create a story I believe may be interesting to
any of these people.
Specific- To make this goal more specific I could say, “Publish one or more stories or books that
people will find interesting.”
Measurable-
Short term steps- Pay attention more in Language, ask question about creating stories, read
and write stories that expand my knowledge as a writer, have friends, family, teachers
read over my work, and see what they might change to improve the story.
Long term steps- Pursue a career in language.
16. One of My Career Goals
Save Enough Money to Live Off Of for Retirement:
Realistic- I believe this goal is realistic to anyone who puts in the effort. If you have
a job, career, any way of getting income, every time you get paid set a little
aside for the future.
Specific- I believe this goal is already specified, because you only retire once.
Measurable-
Short term steps- Pay attention in classes; learn how to spend money wisely.
Long term steps- Go to college to get a high paying career.
17. One of My Family Goals
Help My Parents and Grandparent at Old Age:
Realistic- I believe this goal is realistic because it’s more than likely my parents and grandparents are going
to die before me. So I believe this goal is realistic because this goal isn’t saying I have to buy them a
huge house or something like that. Its saying help them get around, get them things, make meals for
them, etc.
Specific- To make this goal more specific I could say more on how I could help them. Help my parents and
grandparents get around, make meals, clean up after them, the little things that they might not be able
to do.
Measurable-
Short term steps- Learn more about what my parents and grandparents like, so I’m about to help
them with those things when they get older.
Long term steps- Build, buy, or rent a house big enough for everyone to live there; get a high paying
career, that allows me to take days off depending on my family's plans.
18. One of My School Goals
Get All A’s:
Realistic- I believe this goal is realistic because you can ask for help you can ask. If you need more time on
assignments set time before or after school to work on assignments. If you’re having a difficult time
staying on task give yourself a reward if you get it done; work towards something.
Specific- This goal could be more specific on the type of class, what grade you’re in. Instead it could be,
“Get all A’s until I graduate.”
Measurable-
Short term steps- Focus more in class, understand what is being taught, study, figure out the best
way for me to focus, study, and remember the things that are taught, take notes. Be organized,
set time aside for homework, studying, reading, etc.
Long term steps- Keep notes somewhere safe and where you will remember where they are at, stay
organized, choose classes that will benefit you, and your future.
19. One of My Travel Goals
Visit Niagara Falls, New York:
Realistic- I believe it is realistic to visit Niagara Falls, because my parents own a house that is
around 5 hours away from Niagara Falls. So I think if people are able to go to Niagara Falls from
around the world, I’m able to drive or be driven 5 hours.
Specific- I believe that this goal is specific because there is only one Niagara Falls in New York.
Measurable-
Short term steps- Set savings goals, record what I spend money on, decide how much I’m
willing to spend on everyday expenses, and how much I want to spend on the trip, in
general things that will help me prepare for my future.
Long term steps- Save enough money to travel to Niagara Falls, covering food, a way to get
there, bus, car, plane, train, etc., and depending on the way of transportation gas, bus
ticket, plane ticket, train ticket, etc.
20. Works Cited
This presentation is based off of Middle School Critical Thinking, Problem Solving,
and Learning Strategies, Chapter 2: Setting Goals.
Registration To This Course
