Prefinal

Week: 14-15

Topic: Personal Goal Setting

Subtopics: Locke’s Goal Setting Theory, Principles of Goal Setting, Setting SMART Goals

Student Learning Outcome: Students will be able to appreciate the value of setting personal
goals and be able to apply the SMART principle in the process.

Pre-Lectio: Students will read Locke’s Goal Setting Theory and complete the goal setting
exercises and worksheets.

Lectio: The teacher will discuss Locke’s five principles of Goal Setting and the golden rules in
setting personal goals.

Introduction

Given unlimited time and resources, what would you want to be? If you have all the money that
you need, what would you want just for yourself? What would you do if you could do or have
anything you want in your life? Responding to these questions would probably come relatively
easy because then you would not be constricted by personal or societal limitations. You can set
your answers as high as the sky or imagination will allow you to travel to infinity of answers that
you can think for yourself. Wouldn’t that be great? Of course! However, that would be called
wishful thinking and you cannot afford to confuse that with the things that you really want to
achieve for yourself.

While you would want to have so many things to happen in your lives, you need to learn to focus
on setting personal goals without sacrificing and in consideration of the “big picture” that you
want to achieve in the future. Thinking of what you want to accomplish in your lifetime will
allow you to have an overall perspective that will influence all the decisions that you will make.
Goal setting is a powerful process that will move you to turn your vision (and wishful thinking!)
into a reality. It provides focus and direction and it starts with careful consideration of what you
want to achieve. It will help you decide what is important for you to attain, build your self-
confidence and separate what is important from what is irrelevant. In between, it requires for
well-defined steps and it ends with a lot of hard work to do it.

Locke’s Goal Setting Theory

Professor Edwin A. Locke developed his goal setting theory in 1968 to order to explain human
actions in specific situations. The theory argues that goals and intentions drive human behavior
and are determined by values and beliefs. A goal is defined simply as what the individual is
consciously trying to do. Goals also affect behavior, direct attention and action. Furthermore,
challenging goals mobilize energy, lead to higher effort, and increase persistent effort. Goals
motivate people to develop strategies that will enable them to perform at the required goal levels.
Finally, accomplishing the goal can lead to satisfaction and further motivation, or frustration and
lower motivation if the goal is not accomplished (Lunenberg, 2011).

Setting specific goals (e.g. I will graduate from in four years) generates higher levels of
performance than setting vague goals (e.g. I want to graduate from college). Goals that are more
specific, challenging but realistic and harder to achieve generally have a positive impact on
performance. Locke also demonstrated that the best way to feel motivated is to push yourself to
do something that you’re not 100% certain you can achieve. Tackling challenging goals headfirst
allows you to work hard, develop your skills and reap the rewards in terms of positive feedback
and a sense of personal achievement (Young, 2017).

Goal setting theory refers to the effects of setting goals on subsequent performance. By setting
goals for yourself, you stay motivated. For example, you are 10 kilos overweight and you want
to lose some extra weight. When setting your goal, you have some choices. You can say, “I want
to lose weight this year. I will exercise and go on a diet to lose weight.” This goal is very vague
and very general in a way that you did not specify how much weight you want to lose or what
concrete steps or actions you will take to lose weight. On the other hand, you can say “I want to
lose 1 kilo a week for the next three months. I will exercise for at least 30 minutes, every
Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. I will also stop drinking softdrinks and pastries. I will limit
my rice intake to a cup per meal.” This goal is much more specific and includes actionable steps.

Five Principles of Goal Setting

Locke proposed five basic principles of goal setting: Clarity, Challenge, Commitment,
Feedback, and Task complexity.

1. Clarity - Clear goals are measurable, unambiguous, and behavioral. When a goal is
clear and specific, with a definite time set for completion, there is less
misunderstanding about what behaviors will be rewarded. You know what's expected,
and you can use the specific result as a source of motivation. When a goal is vague -
or when it's expressed as a general instruction, like "Take initiative" - it has limited
motivational value.
2. Challenge - One of the most important characteristics of goals is the level of
challenge. People are often motivated by achievement, and they'll judge a goal based
on the significance of the anticipated accomplishment. When you know that what you
do will be well received, there's a natural motivation to do a good job. When setting
goals, make each goal a challenge.
3. Commitment – Put deliberate effort into meeting a goal. Share your goal with
someone in order to increase your accountability to meet the goal. Goal commitment
 and difficulty often work together. The harder the goal, the more commitment is
required. If you have an easy goal, you don't need a lot of motivation to get it done.
When you're working on a difficult assignment, you will likely encounter challenges
that require a deeper source of inspiration and incentive.
4. Feedback - Feedback provides opportunities to clarify expectations, adjust goal
difficulty, and gain recognition. Set up a method to receive information on your
progress toward a goal. If losing 10 kilos in three months turns out to be so hard, it is
better to adjust the difficulty of your goal mid-way through your timeline than to give
up entirely.
5. Task Complexity – If a goal is complex, ensure that the work doesn't become too
overwhelming. Give yourself enough time to meet the goal and to learn what is
expected and required for success. The whole point of goal setting is to facilitate
success. Therefore, you want to make sure that the conditions surrounding your goals
don't frustrate or inhibit you from accomplishing your goals.

Golden Rules of Goal Setting

Do you regularly set personal goals for yourself? Do you have written personal goals for this
semester? If you want to succeed, you need to set goals. To accomplish your goals, you need to
know how to set them. Here are the Five Golden Rules of Goal Setting (Manktelow, 2009)

Rule #1: Set Goals that Motivate You

When you set goals for yourself, it is important that they motivate you. This means making sure
it is something that is important to you and there is value in achieving it. if you have little interest
in the outcome, or it is irrelevant given the larger picture, then the chances of you putting in the
work to make it happen are slim. Motivation is key to achieving goals. Set goals that relate to the
high priorities in your life. Without this type of focus, you can end up with far too many goals,
leaving you too little time to devote to each one.

Goal achievement requires commitment, so to maximize the likelihood to feel a sense of urgency
and have an “I must do this” attitude. When you don’t have this “must do” factor, you risk
putting off what you need to do to make the goal a reality. This in turn leaves you feeling
disappointed and frustrated with yourself, both of which are de-motivating. You may also end up
in a very destructive “I can’t do anything or be successful at anything” frame of mind.

TIP: To make sure your goal is motivating, write down

why it is valuable and important to you. Ask yourself, “If I were to
share my goal with others, how would I tell them to convince them
it was a worthwhile goal?” You can use this motivating value
statement to help you if you start to doubt yourself or lose
confidence in your ability to actually make it happen.
Rule #2: Set SMART Goals

You have probably heard of "SMART goals" already. But do you always apply the rule? The
simple fact is that for any goal to be achieved it must be designed to be SMART. There are many
variations on what SMART stands for, but the essence is this – Goals should be: Specific,
Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time Bound. In other words, a goal that is very clear and
easily understood.

SPECIFIC
You goal must be clear and well defined. Vague or generalized goals are
not achievable because they don't provide sufficient direction. Remember, you
need goals to show you the way. Make it as easy as you can to get where you
want to go by defining precisely where it is you want to end up. The goal must
clearly state what is to be achieved, by whom, where and when it is to be
achieved. Sometimes it may even state why that goal is important. Not all of these
questions will apply to every goal, but it is important to ask all the questions in
order to assess how specific your goal is and make it as clear as possible.

MEASURABLE
Include precise amounts, dates or quantity in your goals so you can
measure your degree of success. If your goal is simply defined as "To reduce
caloric intake", how will you know when you are successful? In one month's time
if you have a 1% reduction or in two year's time when you have a 10% reduction?
Without a way to measure your success you miss out on the celebration that
comes with knowing you actually achieved something.
Measurability applies to both the end result and the milestones along the
way to attaining a goal. It answers the question of quantity – how much, how
often, how many? The milestones are signs along the way that will tell you that
you are on the right track to achieving your goal. For example, your ultimate goal
may be to save Php10,000.00 but the milestones may be to save Php900.00 every
month, which will add up to Php10,600.00 in a year. So by focusing on saving the
Php900.00 every month, you will ultimately reach your goal of Php10,000.00.
This makes the goal more attainable because it is easier to think of ways to save
Php900.00 every month than Php10,000.00 all at once.

ATTAINABLE
Make sure that it's possible to achieve the goals you set. If you set a goal
that you have no hope of achieving you will only demoralize yourself and erode
your confidence. However, resist the urge to set goals that are too easy.
Accomplishing a goal that you didn't have to work very hard for can be a
frustration, and can also make you fear setting future goals that carry a risk of
non-achievement. By setting realistic yet challenging goals you hit the balance
you need. These are the types of goals that require you to "raise the bar" and they
bring the greatest personal satisfaction.
You should ensure that the goals you set are achievable. First, you must
believe that you can manage to do what you are setting out to do. If you set goals
that are unbelievable even to yourself, it is very impossible that you will achieve
 them. Second, the goals must be possible, all things being equal. There is no point
setting a goal to float in the air and defy gravity using only your mind, for
instance. No matter how hard you try this won’t be achievable. Be careful
however, that you do not limit yourself based on what other people believe to be
achievable or not. Set your own standards by understanding your own abilities,
strengths and weaknesses.

RELEVANT
Goals should be relevant to the direction you want your life and career to
take. By keeping goals aligned with this, you will develop the focus you need to
get ahead and do what you want. Set widely scattered and inconsistent goals, and
you will waste your time - and your life - away.
Your goals must be relevant to what you want to achieve in the short term
and the long term. Understanding your personal mission and purpose is critical in
this respect. Sometimes you can be tempted to do something simply because it is
easy and sounds great, only to discover later on that is has no long term
importance to what you want to achieve as an individual. Do those things that are
most important and in line with your long term goals.

TIME-BOUND
You goals must have a deadline. This again is so that you know when to
celebrate your success. When you are working on a deadline, your sense of
urgency increases and achievement will come that much quicker.
Time-bound goals sometimes overlap with the goal being Specific, but it
aims to ensure that you put a time-frame to your goals. Simply deciding by when
you want to achieve something can be a good motivator. It can prevent you from
procrastinating because you know that you are working to a deadline.

Rule #3: Set Goals in Writing

The physical act of writing down a goal makes it real and tangible. You have no excuse for
forgetting about it. As you write, use the word "will" instead of "would like to" or "might". For
example, "I will reduce my internet expenses by 10% this year." not, "I would like to reduce my
internet expenses by 10% this year." The first goal statement has power and you can "see"
yourself reducing expenses, the second lacks passion and gives you an out if you get sidetracked.
Post your goals in visible places to remind yourself everyday of what it is you intend to do. Put
them on your walls, desk, computer monitor, bathroom mirror or refrigerator as a constant
reminder.

Rule #4: Make an Action Plan

This step is often missed in the process of goal setting. You get so focused on the outcome that
you forget to plan all of the steps that are needed along the way. By writing out the individual
steps, and then crossing each one off as you complete it, you'll realize that you are making
progress towards your ultimate goal. This is especially important if your goal is big and
demanding, or long-term.
Rule #5: Stick With It!
Remember, goal setting is an ongoing activity, not just a means to an end. Build in reminders to
keep you on track and remember to review your goals continuously. Your end destination may
remain quite similar over the long term but the action plan you set for yourself along the way can
change significantly. Make sure the relevance, value, and necessity remain high.
Goal setting is much more than simply saying you want something to happen. Unless you clearly
define exactly what you want and understand why you want it the first place, your odds of
success are considerably reduced.

SMART is a useful framework for constructing effective goals. If you find yourself
unable to set a SMART goal, it is more than likely that your future plans are not clear enough
and need to be worked on. Furthermore, do not get tempted to skip the process of SMART goal
setting and “get on with it” without fully analyzing your goals. Doing this careful planning at the
beginning will save you lots of time and disappointment at a later stage and you will avoid
making costly mistakes.
The following broad guidelines will further help you set effective and SMART goals:
 State each goal as a positive statement: Express your goals positively.”Get a
high score for my Math exam!” is a much better goal than “Don’t fail my Math
exam!”
 Be precise. Set a precise goal, putting in dates, times and amounts that you ca
measure achievement. If you do this, you will know exactly when you have
achieved the goal, and can be totally satisfied from having achieved it.
 Set priorities. Give each of your goals a priority. This will help you to avoid
feeling overwhelmed by too many goals as well as to focus your attention on the
more important ones.
 Write goals down. Doing so would crystallize your intentions and gives them
more force.
 Keep operational goals small. Keep the low-level goals you are working on
small and achievable. If it is too large, it may feel like you are not making
progress towards it. However, keeping goals small gives more opportunities for
rewards and will serve to motivate you further.
 Set performance goals, not outcome goals. Set goals over which you have as
much control as possible. It would be very disappointing not to achieve a
personal goal for reasons beyond our control.
 Set realistic goals. It is very important to set goals that you can achieve and
determine what and how many skills you must develop to achieve it.
 Do not set goals too low. People tend to do this when they are afraid of failure
or when they are lazy. Set goals that are slightly out of your immediate grasp,
but not so far that it is unrealistically high and unachievable.

When you have achieved a goal, savour the time and satisfaction that it gives you. Understand
and enjoy its rewards and take note of the progress you have made towards your other goals.
More importantly, reward yourself appropriately!
EXERCISE 1: PERSONAL GOAL SETTING

On a clean sheet of paper, write the word “GOALS” and the date today. Then write down 10
goals that you would like to achieve in the next 12 months. Write these goals in the present tense,
in personal and positive word forms such as “I am, I achieve, I weigh, I have…” Whenever you
use the word “I”, you program your subconscious mind to go to work on your goal everyday.

Once you have written down your 10 goals, review your list and select the one goal that, if you
achieved it, would have the greatest impact on your life. This goal then becomes the organizing
principle for your next 12 months.

In goal setting, it is important that you are absolutely and definitely clear about what it is you
want, to create a plan to attain that goal and commit to work hard on it every day.

EXERCISE 2: Are you getting there?

Long term goals require a series of short-term goals to be completed first. Short term goals, on
the other hand, may take several years or months to complete, depending on the ultimate goal.
Considering what is needed to achieve, your long-term goals places your short-term goals in
perspective. For example, one will not become an engineer (long-term goal) without taking
classes first that will qualify him or her for an engineering program (short-term goal).

Write out 3 brief long-term goals and include 2 short-term goals that would help you in
achieving your long-term goals.

1. Long-term Goal: _________________________________________________________

Short-term Goal: _________________________________________________________
Short-term Goal: _________________________________________________________

What are you doing NOW to achieve this goal?

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________

2. Long-term Goal: _________________________________________________________

Short-term Goal: _________________________________________________________
Short-term Goal: _________________________________________________________

What are you doing NOW to achieve this goal?

________________________________________________________________________
 ________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________

3. Long-term Goal: _________________________________________________________

Short-term Goal: _________________________________________________________
Short-term Goal: _________________________________________________________

What are you doing NOW to achieve this goal?

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________

What have you done in the last two weeks towards attaining your goals?

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________

What actions can you take in the next two weeks towards attaining your goals?

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________

EXERCISE 3: SMART Goal Worksheet

Today’s Date: _____________ Target Date: ________________ Start Date: _____________

Date Achieved: _______________

GOAL:
_____________________________________________________________________________.

This goal is important because:

______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________.

The benefits/rewards of achieving this goal will be:

______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________.

Take Action!
Potential Obstacles Potential Solutions
_______________________________ ______________________________
_______________________________ ______________________________
_______________________________ ______________________________
_______________________________ ______________________________
_______________________________ ______________________________
_______________________________ ______________________________
Who are the people you will ask to help you?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________.

Specific Action Steps: What steps need to be taken to get you to your goal?

What? Expected Completion Date Completed

____________________________ __________________ ______________
____________________________ __________________ ______________
____________________________ __________________ ______________
____________________________ __________________ ______________
____________________________ __________________ ______________

Component Possible questions to answer Your answers

S What do we wish to accomplish and why?
Specific Who are involved?
What resources are involved?
When is it going to happen? 
What parts of the goal are essential?
M What was the turnover of the past year?
Measurable How do you know whether the goal has
been achieved?
What efforts are required?
How can it be measured? 
A How can the goal be accomplished?
Attainable Does the goal require the right amount of
effort?
How does the environment impact goal
achievement?
Is achieving this goal realistic with effort
and commitment?
Have you got the resources to achieve this
 goal? If not, how will you get them?
R Is the goal realistic?
Relevant (Realistic) Is it worth the time and effort?
Is it applicable in the current business
climate?
Why is this goal significant to your life?
T What is the deadline?
Time-bound When will you achieve this goal?
Is the deadline realistic?

Repititio: Students will present their personal goals and review and/or revise it as they see
necessary in consideration of the principles and rules of goal setting.

SLO Assessment and Personal Evaluation: Students will prepare a detailed 6-month plan to
reach one of their lifetime goals. They will write an action plan to realize one of their
lifetime goals following the SMART criteria.

Criteria:
 Goals are written in accordance to the SMART criteria.
 The action plan is clearly written, specific and conforms to the identified lifetime
goal.
 Details 5-10 individual actions to accomplish the 6-month plan.