'Set your goals high — don't underestimate your abilities'

"Without goals, and plans to reach them, you are like a ship that has set sail with no destination." -- Fitzhugh Dodson

So what is a goal? The Random House Webster's Dictionary states that a goal is, "The result or achievement toward which effort is directed."

Your goal may be to be accepted into the college or university of your choice, to reach a higher position in your workplace or perhaps to simply finish your homework on time.

Mary Taylor, a career counselor at Timpview High School, advises students to "begin your goal process as a freshman in high school. Your plan can be altered or changed, but to be successful, you should always have goals to reach."

Be realistic with your goals, says Robert B. Fox, a retired guidance counselor, who has worked with students at Cyprus High School in Magna. "To reach a goal you have to first have it in your mind; a dream to reach. Then you have to work towards the dream and realistically know what it will take to reach it. That is why you must take it in small steps. Don't get discouraged. You may even wish to revise or change your goals as you mature and gain experience."

Ana Mitchell, an associate lecturer and dietitian at Brigham Young University, explained how her family couldn't afford to send her to college, so at an early age she had to begin preparing goals on how to earn money for her future schooling. She had always had the goal of becoming a college teacher.

"I had goals every summer for earning 'x' amount of money to pay for a semester of college," said Mitchell. "I was pretty careful in terms of goal-setting financially. . . . Set your goals high. Don't underestimate your abilities."

Fox added, "Don't set just one goal. Have an alternate or two in case you change your mind."

Fox also feels it is helpful to discuss your plans with your parents or a trusted adult. "Listen to their advice, but remember that you don't always have to accept what others say you should or shouldn't pursue as a goal."

A Web site for St. Mary's College in Queensland, Australia, at www.smc.qld.edu.au/goals, offers goal-setting tips for students. According to the site, "Research has shown that people who use goal setting effectively suffer less from stress and anxiety, concentrate better, show more self-confidence, perform better and are happier and more satisfied."

Experts offer the following guidelines for setting goals effectively:

Be realistic.

Be positive.

Be precise.

Write it down.

Re-examine over time.

Some goals may not happen the way we planned. You don't have to set your goals in concrete.

"Sometimes our goals don't work out the way we want them to," Mitchell said. "However, something else (may) turn up and something else work out. Know not to give up if one goal that is set is not achieved."

Coryn Cope is a junior at Timpview High School in Provo and a member of the Deseret Morning News Pulse team of high school writers. If you are a Utah high school student and have a topic you would like to see covered, please e-mail pulse@desnews.com or write to Susan Whitney at the Deseret Morning News.

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