Submitted by Gyro Psychology Services
The first steps in goal setting is deciding what it is you want and why you want it. Once you’ve decided what it is you want, whether it is trying a new activity, making new friends, improving grades or decreasing stress, it’s important to map out the steps you need to accomplish what you want to achieve. Once you’ve decided what it is you want and mapped out at least the first few steps let friends, teachers and family members that you want to make a change and share your goal and plan to achieve it.
Getting support is a key component to accomplishing goals as others will support you should your resolve be shaken or that inner desire to continue to move forward begins to waver. Remember, optimism, positive thinking and focusing on what you’ve accomplished instead of how you may have messed up will help keep you moving forward toward success.
Here are a few tips that will help you get the ball rolling:
Set specific, realistic goals for yourself. Change does not come easily. Setting realistic goals increases that chances that you will accomplish them and feel the indescribable feeling of success. If you want to make new friends, it might be best to write down activities you like to do, your interests, and the types of people you enjoy spending time with. From there you can begin to explore activities where the types of people you want to meet might be (e.g., community-based classes). Then share your goal with others and get their support.
Realize that it might take some time before you see the results of your efforts. You have the power to make changes right away by focusing on goals that are short term and coincide with your established routines. Goals that are further away from your routines like being an accomplished violinist or doing barrel races at rodeos will likely take some time to accomplish. Your body, your brain and others in your environment will need some time to adjust to this change in direction. Please be patient with yourself. Focus on what you accomplish daily, celebrate your successes with the ones you love and keep moving forward toward realizing your dream.
Remind yourself of what you want daily. One tip is to look at yourself in the mirror and tell yourself what it is you want. You can also write it down first thing in the morning and write down what you did to accomplish your goal at the end of the day. You will then be positioned to seize opportunities that will help you move forward and strengthen your resolve to achieve what you want. Every time you remind yourself of your goal, you’re training your brain to make it happen. It’s magic!
Setting goals to involve pleasing others often lead to disappointment. The real key to making any change is to find the desire or motivation within yourself. Decide what you want and go after it! You have to do it because YOU want it to happen, not because a girlfriend, boyfriend, coach, parent, or someone else wants you to. The people you trust in your life will provide support to you as you move forward with accomplishing your goals providing that you are making healthy choices.
Making mistakes or misjudgements are learning opportunities. Slip-ups and mistakes are actually part of the learning process. When mistakes happen, think about what you learned from the mistake, make adjustments and move forward. Perhaps you will need to make some adjustments along the way, like being realistic about what you actually can achieve in the time frame you want. The key is to be flexible, focused, connected, and motivated to achieve what you want. Please realize that it’s totally okay to mess up when trying to make a change. It’s not easy. When the dust has settled, brush yourself off, reset, rethink and continue to move forward. The feeling of personal pride, accomplishment, resiliency and success will be sure to follow – sometimes in exciting and unpredictable ways.
Please feel free to contact us should you need help with goal setting or want to make a change, 360.236.0206. We’re here to help!
5191 Corporate Center Court SE
Lacey, Washington 98503
360.236.0206
866.616.GYRO (4976)
