Success and Setting Goals

“Success is the continuous journey towards the achievement of predetermined worthwhile goals.”

- Tom Hopkins, world-renowned Trainer

Goals unlock your positive mind and release ideas and energy for goal attainment. Without goals you simply drift and flow on the currents of life. With goals, you fly like an arrow, straight and true to your target.

The truth is that you probably have more natural potential than you could use if you lived one hundred lifetimes. Whatever you have accomplished up until now is only a small fraction of what is truly possible for you.

One of the rules for success is this, it doesn’t matter where you’re coming from; all that matters is where you’re going, and where you are going is solely determined by yourself and your own thoughts.

Clear goals increase your confidence, develop your competence and boost your levels of motivation

Why People Don’t Set Goals

Here is a good question: If goal setting is automatic, why is it that so few people have clear, written, measurable, time-bounded goals that they work toward each day? This is one of the great mysteries of life. There are four possible reasons why people don’t set goals.

1. Goals Aren’t Important

First, most people don’t realise the importance of goals. If you grow up in a home where no one has goals, or you socialise with a group where goals are neither discussed nor valued, you can very easily reach adulthood without knowing that your ability to set and achieve goals will have more of an effect on your life than any other skill.

2. They Don’t Know How

The second reason that people don’t have goals is because they don’t know how to set them in the first place. Even worse, many people think that they already have goals, when in reality, what they actually have are a series of wishes or dreams like, “Be happy,” or “Make a lot of money,” or “Have a nice family life.” But these are not goals at all. They are merely fantasies that are common to everyone. A goal however is something distinctly different from a wish. It is clear, written and specific. It can be quickly and easily described to another person. You can measure it, and you know when you have achieved it, or not.

It is possible to take an advanced degree at a leading university without ever receiving one hour of instruction on goal setting. It is almost as if the people who determine the educational content of our schools and universities are completely blind to the importance of goal setting in achieving success later in life. And of course, if you never hear about goals until you are an adult, you will have no idea how important they are to everything you do.

3. The Fear of Failure

The third reason that people don’t set goals is because of the fear of failure. Failure hurts. It is emotionally and often financially painful and distressing. Everyone has had failure experiences from time to time. Each time, they resolve to be more careful next time and avoid failure experiences in the future. They then make the mistake of unconsciously sabotaging themselves by not setting any goals at which they might fail. They end up going through life functioning at far lower levels than are truly possible for them.

4. The Fear of Rejection

The fourth reason that people don’t set goals is because of the fear of rejection. People are afraid that if they set a goal and are not successful, others will criticise or ridicule them.

S.M.A.R.T. Goals

Setting Smart Goals

Smart Goals is a method of setting goals that breaks down your goals into bit sized chunks and allows you to make sure that your goals are compatible with reality, you and what you really want.

S - Specific, significant, stretching

M - Measurable, meaningful, motivational

A - Attainable, achievable, acceptable, action-oriented

R - Realistic, relevant, reasonable, rewarding, results-oriented

T - Time-based, timely, tangible:

Specific

The first term stresses the need for a specific goal over and against a more general one. This means the goal is clear and unambiguous.

A specific goal will usually answer the five "W" questions:

What: What do I want to accomplish?
Why: Specific reasons, purpose or benefits of accomplishing the goal.
Who: Who is involved?
Where: Identify a location.
Which: Identify requirements and constraints.

Measurable

Measurable stresses the need for concrete criteria for measuring toward the attainment of the goal. The thought behind this is that if a goal is not measurable, it is not possible to know if you are making progress towards it. Measuring progress helps you reach your target and experience the exhilaration of achievement that spurs it on to continued effort required to reach the ultimate goal.

A measurable goal will usually answer questions such as:

How much?
How many?
How will I know when it is accomplished?

Attainable

Attainable stresses the importance of goals that are realistic. While an attainable goal may stretch you order to achieve it, the goal is not extreme. Goals that are out of reach or too easily may be considered meaningless. When you identify goals that are most important to you, you begin to figure out ways you can make them come true. You develop the attitudes, abilities, skills, and capacity to reach them.

An attainable goal will usually answer the question:

How: How can the goal be accomplished?

Relevant

The fourth term stresses the importance of choosing goals that matter. Many times you will need support to accomplish a goal: resources, a champion voice, someone to knock down obstacles.

Relevant goals (when met) drive the team, department, and organization forward. A goal that supports or is in alignment with other goals would be considered a relevant goal.

A relevant goal can answer yes to these questions:

Does this seem worthwhile?
Is this the right time?
Does this match our other efforts/needs?
Are you the right person?

Time-bound

The fifth term stresses the importance of grounding goals within a time frame, giving them a target date. A commitment to a deadline helps you focus your efforts on completion of the goal on or before the due date. This part of the S.M.A.R.T. goal criteria is intended to prevent goals from being overtaken by the day-to-day crises that invariably arise in an organization.

A time-bound goal is intended to establish a sense of urgency. A time-bound goal will usually answer the question:

When?
What can I do 6 months from now?
What can I do 6 weeks from now?
What can I do today?

Building a Career Action Plan

Establish your career priorities
Articulate your vision
Inventory your current skills and resources
Identify your barriers
Set goals
Evaluate opportunities

A Career Action Plan helps you to focus on your goals and plans for the future. It helps you to work out how you are going to achieve what you want relating to school, work and life. A Career Action Plan lets you apply your skills and knowledge to successfully move into your preferred career.

Throughout the year it is important for you to spend some time thinking about the goals and plans you set for yourself, and what it was like applying your skills and knowledge to successfully move into your preferred career. Reflecting on what you wrote in your Career Action Plan throughout the year, you might need to include some new things in your next Career Action to help you to achieve your long-term goals.

Careers Expos / Open Days:

Victorian Careers Show 2025

Wednesday 14 May to Friday 16 May 2025

9am-3pm

Exhibition Pavilion 1, Melbourne Showgrounds, Epsom Rd, Ascot Vale, VIC.

https://www.resourcesforcourses.com.au/

Academy of Interactive Entertainment (AIE) Open Day, Saturday 24 May 2025

10 AM - 3 PM

AIE Melbourne, 18-38 Siddeley St, Tower 4, Atrium Level

Endeavour College of Natural Health

Open Day, Sat May 31, 2025

10 AM – 12 PM

Level 2, 368 Elizabeth St, Melbourne VIC 3000

Trade & Tech Fit Career Expo

Date: Tues 3 June - Wed 4 June 2025

Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre,

1 Convention Centre Place, South Wharf

Contact the Careers and Pathways Coordinator for assistance.

Chris Kotsonis

Careers and Pathways Coordinator

Email: Chris.Kotsonis@education.vic.gov.au

Food Technology

Year 9 Make, Bake and Decorate