Question

Goal setting is taking the big picture and bringing it down to size. Some people want to be in a new career in five years. That's a big-picture goal. But you also have to adapt smaller goals to achieve that bigger goal. Sometimes goals are accompished on a day-by-day basis (weight loss goals are like that). Other goals are less piecemeal but are tackled in bigger chunks.

 

Let's talk about some of the mechanics that go into making a goal happen. What do you do to get started on a goal? Do you make a list? Do you jump in with both feet? Are there different approaches to different goals? Try to take achieving a goal apart and examine it piece by piece. What comes first, second and so on?

Answer 1

In order to achieve any goal, the first step, perhaps would be to throughly analyse the goal itself. If it is a long term goal, it requires to be broken down into smaller and more achievable goals. In case of short term goals, one needs to identify what steps need to be taken to reach it. In both cases, thus, a careful investigation of the goal is warranted. As an example, let us assume an undergraduate student’s goal is to attain a PhD. Attaining a PhD would require achieving several broad milestones, that are goals in themselves, such as finishing one’s undergraduate degree, applying for a master’s degree, choosing a relevant thesis for one’s master’s degree, completing one’s master’s degree, preparing a PhD proposal, applying to PhD programs and then completing one’s PhD. These smaller goals can again be broken down into further goals. For instance, finishing one’s undergraduate degree would require completing 180 credits and passing 6 semesters of examinations.