Regardless of the institution they attend, successful students use five steps to set goals:

Make a scale of your priorities

You have a list of the things you want to achieve. This may depend on the lifestyle you already have or the one yet to be attained. Unconsciously, you have already set priorities and lived them. You may have been a laid-back person in certain aspects of your life. Now, choose if you want a contrast from that lifestyle or stay the same, but do measures to be able to maintain what you really are, without sacrificing what you intend to achieve. This is the time you have to be aware and set definite goals

Set Specific, measurable, and realistic long-term goals

Saying that you want to “do well” is not enough. Everybody wants that. Define what is “well” or what is “great” or what is “satisfactory.” You can start by setting on a grade you want to achieve. Is it 95% or 100%. Remember be realistic and reasonable. If you have never received a general grade higher than 85%, grade of 98% may be unrealistic, albeit admirable, but not impossible.

Set short-term goals

Long-term goals are impossible to achieve without short-term goals.For example, to achieve a long term goal of a A in biology, the student needed short-term goals. They might have included:

1. Completing all assignments
2. Attending all classes
3. Finding a study partner
4. Completing course readings on time
5. Studying hard for the mid term and final exams

Even though you may have trouble meeting all these short term goals, following through on most of them will help you achieve your long-term aspirations.

Set social, personal, and academic goals

Aside from academics, you should also set social and personal goals as well. Some students would set social goals high on their priority list not minding that they only have four or five years preparation before they hit “real world” for the duration of the rest of their life.

Some of the social ambitions may include dating, getting along with your roommate, becoming more culturally aware, and learning to feel more comfortable in social situations.

Personal goals include, exercising, keeping a balanced diet, or saving money for a future purchase.

Continually strive to meet your goals

Think of of how few people ever achieve thei dream of becoming a CEO of a large corporation, a well respected movie director, or an Olympic champion. Obviously, no one is giving away free tickets to success. However, by prioritizing, by setting realistic long-term goals and by acheiving them through short-term goals, you’ll be surprised at how much you can accomplish.

As Les Brown said, “Life takes on meaning when you become motivated, set goals and charge after them in an unstoppable manner.”

So now, know what you want and go for it!