Making Good Decisions and Setting Goals

This week in my Pathways Program, which is a pre-education program by BYU-Idaho that I am in, we learned about the correct way to set goals and make good decisions.

I love this lesson and felt it was specifically for me.  I have never been a goal setter.  So this will be a hard one for me to do.  However, once I can get in a habit of doing it, I think it will be a blessing to me.

First we were taught that we need to set SMART goals.  That is Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound goals.  Wow, I know it is overwhelming to me to think about all it takes just to set one goal.  So with this you really have to think through what it is that you want and then take the time to think about how you are going to achieve it.  That is why I have never been one to set goals, it takes too much time and effort.

So for my first goal, I am setting the goal of: Finishing Out this Semester of the Pathways Program, by doing well on my assignments in a timely manner and making sure that I participate in every way until the end of the semester.

This has been a hard goal, as I keep wanting to stop.  However to get my education that I have always wanted I have to do this.  Once I finish my Pathways program then I can matriculate over to BYU-I and start my formal education, which is something that I have always wanted to do.

So first off, my goal is specific.  I need to finish this semester.
It is measurable because I need to do well on each assignment and I will look at the rubric (this is a grading tool on each assignment page) to make sure that I am doing this.
Is it attainable?  Yes, I know I can hang in there and do it.  I know that if I quit it would be a waste of money and time also.
Is it relevant?  It is in that I need it to move forward towards my formal education and it is also time-bound in that I will attain this goal by the end of the semester.
So there it is folks!  I have set probably one of the first goals in my life - Officially that is.

Yes, there have been things that I wanted and so in my mind I have set ways to achieve them, but never in a formal way like this.  Wow, I feel like I am growing up in my old age!  Haha.  I am pretty excited to accomplish this.  I will post more on how it is going as this semester continues.

I know that this is where I need to be right now in my life.  I have prayed long and hard about going back to school and I know it is where Heavenly Father wants me to be right now.  He knows my heart and he knows that this is something that is important to me.  He loves me and wants those good things for me.  I am grateful for this program that I am doing.  It is a blessing in my life.  I am growing!