Greg has completed his final tour of duty with the armed services and is glad to be returning home. He is grateful that he was able to accomplish the goals he set for himself: (1) complete basic training; (2) use his newly learned skills to support his unit with honor; (3) stay healthy; and (4) return home so he can use his veteran’s benefits to complete his education. As he begins his life as a civilian, he realizes that he will no longer have an officer giving him orders and directing his every movement. He must begin to define the orders for himself and use the discipline he learned in the service to his advantage as a civilian. Greg wonders where and how to begin since his time in the military conditioned him to follow orders and work with a team to achieve the mission. Greg realizes that now he must take control of his own personal mission … to succeed in completing his degree. Greg recalls that he has given it some thought. He begins to reflect on what it would take for him to accomplish his ultimate goalof earning a degree. He thinks back to his time in basic training and remembers the phrase of the instructor, “success begins with one step at a time.” Greg keeps that thought foremost in his mind as he starts to prepare a list of goals (the steps he will need to take on the path to his ultimate goal). He remembers that he performs best when he is able to write his goals/steps down and recalls the satisfaction and motivation he gets when he is able to check them off as he completes each one. It makes him feel good to be able to see what he has accomplished on the list and have a visual picture of his movement toward his ultimate goal. This is a new beginning for him and he needs to ensure he gets the tools to help him be successful. He remembers that his advisor, Wanda, recommended a template for him to use to create a goal list as he began his first class. He wishes he had paid more attention to her because he sure could use that template. He recalls she sent it to him in an email. He searches his emails and locates the template which includes helpful reminders. Click here to download the SMART Goals template.
He begins to complete the template and vows to update it after every session to ensure he stays on track to complete his goals and accomplish the dream of earning his degree. In the case above, Greg realized that he needed to set specific goals so he had a plan to guide his steps toward completing his degree. He began by finding a resource that would help him create his goals. Now that you are completing UNIV103, what are your next steps? This assignment will give you an opportunity to create a personal goal template to use as a resource moving forward into your program. Specifically, you will: 1. Reflect upon the ideas you had as you completed the application process. 2. Create the ultimate SMART goal you would like to achieve considering the ideas you had as a starting point. 3. Using the template that Greg’s advisor provided, create at least 3 (immediate, mid-range, long-range) SMART goals each for your personal, academic, and professional life that will step you toward achieving your ultimate goal. Be sure to list advantages, disadvantages, and ultimate costs.
