As beings of zest and determination, we humans are driven by the desire to achieve. However, this desire is only made a reality by those who accomplish their goals. It is thus necessary to train students to set and achieve personal goals so that this develops into a habit and they can walk the extra mile when it comes to achieving success later in life as well. Personal goals are nothing but simply goals specific to an individual. Parents and teachers play a big part in helping students set and achieve their goals that are capable of shaping their future.
Personal Goals for Elementary Students
Even though the goals for elementary students can be goals related to education, it is also necessary to focus on their behaviour, healthy habits and personal achievements. Goals for younger children should not disregard simplicity and short timeframes as they tend to lose interest very quickly.
Example 1: Finish Homework Early Every Week
A personal goal can be set for them that they complete their homeworks early every week so that it can be submitted at least one day before the final day of submission.
Example 2: Speak Up More in Class
It is often a trouble for most kids to be comfortable speaking up in a class. A personal goal can be set to talk at least a certain number of times in a class. This helps students to build self-confidence and understand the importance of sharing knowledge with one another.
Personal Goals for Middle-Grade Students
When in middle school, goal setting is a common activity for students as this is the time they learn the importance of time to an extent. Personal goals for the teenagers need to be more engaging and should happen over comparatively longer periods of time. Some genres of personal goal setting for middle school students can be friendships, organization, time management and more.
Example 3: Cleaning and Organizing The Locker
Cleaning and organizing is often said to be therapeutic as they involve your senses into clearing a mess. The process of decluttering a space physically, has a decluttering effect on your mind as well. Thus, a student in middle-grade may set personal goals of cleaning their locker at school as well as at home.
Example 4: Being Happy For Others’ Successes
When in one’s teenage years, it is natural to get jealous or be disheartened when seeing someone else succeed. This, however, can be changed with the help of personal goal setting. You may help your child to understand the importance of being happy for others. With this, they can be told to set a target of being happy for others’ successes.
Personal Goals for High School Students
When in high school, students have either already realized that they should have set goals earlier or are usually stuck in a continuous loop of trying to achieve a goal. At this point of time, personal goals may include study habit building, time management, professional growth and personal development as a whole. The best thing about being in high school is that one can set more than one goal at the same time and still try and achieve them all.
Example 5: Create An Effective Study System
Knowing yourself is a tougher job than imagined. To develop an effective study system for oneself, one must try and understand how their brain works and what strategies work best for them so that they can be beneficial in both their professional and personal life. This is the time when students explore the numerous options available to find out what suits them the best.
Example 6: Keeping Parents Informed
Post reaching high school, students tend to grow a tad bit distant from their parents as the generational gap leads to confusions and disagreements. This is part and parcel. Thus, once in high school, students should take it as a goal to keep their parents informed about their whereabouts, regardless of the disagreements or distant environments.
Personal Goals for College Students
College students are already involved in the personal goal setting mindset so it is easier for them to make the most rational decisions when it comes to personal goal setting. Their goals may include learning professional skills, life skills, being better at relationships and much more. The best thing about being in college is that now, their goals can be short-term as well as long-term and may go on simultaneously.
Example 7: Choose an Elective Outside My Comfort Zone
When offered with numerous subjects to choose from for a hobby or for skill development, a college student may go for something that is beyond their comfort zone but is of interest to them. Making lists, weighing pros and cons may help.
Example 8: Finding The Right Mentor
The role of a mentor in one’s life is that of heavenly intervention as a good mentor can change their lives. To find the right mentor, a student needs to know best about their own interests and have a great grasp of knowledge in it. The right mentor will again help set new goals.
At Marigold International School, we take conscious efforts to encourage students to set personal goals. The education structure and process of knowledge delivery is in itself a way of sparking curiosity among students.