What Color Is Your Parachute? (25 page)

Choosing Goals

Goals have different timelines. For example, you may find it helpful to set three-month or six-month goals—or goals for your academic term. You may have papers to write or projects due during this time. For any given goal, if you make a list of what you need to do month by month or week by week, you can achieve your goal without cramming in all the work at the last minute.

You’ll probably want to take more time to think about longer-term goals, such as lifetime goals. It’s important to remember that your goals reflect your values. When you think about your goals, ask yourself:

• What is important to me?

• What do I most want to do with my time on earth?

These are not easy questions to answer, but they’re important to think about. Some of your goals may change over time while others become clearer. Whenever you accomplish a goal, find another one to take its place.

GOAL SETTING

Take a sheet of paper. Turn it so that the long edge is horizontal and fold it into four equal vertical columns. Draw a line near the top to create one row for column headings. Title the first column “What I hope to do in my life”; the next column, “Things I hope to do in the next one to three years”; and the last column, “If I were to die in six months, how would I want to spend my time?”

Set a timer for two minutes (or have a friend time you). Start with any column. Write down anything that comes into your head during those two minutes. After two minutes are up, set the timer for another two minutes and turn to one of the other columns. It makes no difference which one you do next. Complete all four columns. This whole exercise will take you just eight minutes.

Read over each column. What do you think about the things you’ve written? Are there any surprises? Were any sections more difficult to complete than others?

Take a look at that last column, “If I were to die in six months, how would I want to spend my time?” What activities did you list? The activities you’d choose if you had little time to live would be those things you value most. Look at your list in that column. Does it reflect what is most important to you?

You probably have things you have to get done in six months or there will be serious consequences (term papers and finals, for instance). But life needs some fun, too. What are some personal goals you’d like to accomplish or get started on in the next six months? Now that you’ve gained a new perspective on your six-month goals, revise the list to reflect your actual goals for the next six months, both personal and those related to school or career-planning.

It may be a few days before you want to prioritize your goals. Just thinking about things you want to do and experience in your lifetime may stimulate other ideas over the next few days. Add these ideas to the appropriate column, depending on the time frame of the goal. When your list feels complete, prioritize the list so that the items first on your list are the most important to you. Write your two or three favorite goals from each list at the center of your
Parachute diagram
.

Accomplishing Your Goals: To-Do Lists

A goal without a plan is just an idea. Once you begin to articulate your goals, it’s important to plan how you’re going to accomplish them. A good way to do this is the simple to-do list. You can also put your goals on a calendar on the dates by which you want them finished.

Let’s say that one of your goals is to attend a particular college or art or technical school. Here’s what your to-do list might look like:

1. Check out the school’s website for admissions and application information.

2. Register to take the SAT (or other admissions tests).

3. Talk to a college admissions counselor about high school courses I should take.

4. Register for those courses.

5. Take the SAT.

Perhaps, as you’re working your way through your to-do list, you learn that, because you’re going to an art or technical school, you don’t have to take the SAT, but you do have to prepare a portfolio for the admissions process. In that case, you’ll revise your to-do list to look something like this:

1. Find out the explicit requirements for the portfolio.

2. Talk to the admissions counselor about portfolio requirements and high school courses I should take.

3. Begin assembling my portfolio.

4. Complete my portfolio by the application deadline.

When preparing your to-do list, think of it as breaking down your goal into very manageable steps. If you make the steps too big, you may get discouraged. If the steps are just the right size, you’ll keep moving toward your goal. If you find that you keep avoiding your to-do list, maybe you don’t really want to achieve this goal—or maybe the steps are too big. Take one step and break it down into two or three smaller steps. Each time you complete a step, check it off. Completing a step is an accomplishment in itself. Each step you complete moves you closer to your goal.

PARACHUTE TIP

If you’d like to see how setting goals for yourself can help you bring about future success, but are unsure how to make it happen, enlist the help of an adult—someone you trust who has achieved a lot of the same goals you have. Together with your goal coach, brainstorm ideas for a very short-term goal—say, a thirty-day goal. Then brainstorm what you need to do every day to achieve your goal. Put those steps on a calendar (one you can’t miss, that’s either in your face or on your iPhone).

Reevaluating Goals

As you move toward your goal—particularly your long-term goals—you’ll have new experiences and gather new information, both about yourself and about your goal. New experiences and information will help you evaluate that goal. Sometimes the experiences you have moving toward a goal are more valuable than achieving that goal. What you learn may confirm that a particular goal is the right one for you, or your experiences may lead you to revise your goal to include new ideas or new life directions. It’s okay to let go of a goal when it no longer has meaning for you. Replace it with a new goal that is more important to you.

A Tool for Life

Goal setting isn’t something you do just once. You’ll find that the types of goals that interest you change over time. You’ll continue to set goals (and develop to-do lists to accomplish those goals) all your life. Knowing how to set and achieve goals is a very important life tool. By the goals you set and work toward, you shape your life.

IF YOU WANT TO EXPLORE FURTHER…

Bachel, Beverly K.
What Do You Really Want? How to Set a Goal and Go for It! A Guide for Teens
. Free Spirit Publishing, 2001.

Bishop, John.
Goal Setting for Students
. Accent on Success, 2009.

Videos

How to set goals (great information and music beat):
www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7j1ng7C8HI&feature=fvw
.

School program in goal setting:
www.schooltube.com/video/22535/SubDivide-Goal-Programs-for-Students
.

8

Social Networking

USING SOCIAL MEDIA TO BOOST YOUR CAREER

Social media is all about connection, communication, and conversation. Social media sites encourage community building and discussions. Social media differs from commercial media in that content isn’t just delivered to passive viewers. Most social media sites ask members to vote, comment, and share information. Site members respond to posts and create content. They can upload comments through software that allows anyone without programming skills to post or form communities around mutual interests.