A Mindset of Setting Goals

As a student and person, you have goals. Whether your goals pertain to your academic, athletic, or future plans, we all have that end result for the goal. However, we spend too much time focusing on the end result rather than the journey.

Think of it this way, you’re on summer vacation and about to take a trip to Yellowstone National Park, but you and your family are driving there. While Yellowstone will surely be an experience to remember, think of all the time you will spend driving. With a long ride like this, what will you do? Will you simply do nothing and make no memories on the ride? Time will pass slowly if you are only focusing on the end destination instead of the entire journey. You will most likely be miserable, and set a negative tone for the trip. Stepping out of the analogy for a second, think of this in a goal setting way. You are more likely to quit your goal if you aren’t having fun or making strides along the way. You will lose motivation towards this goal that you obviously want–why would you set a goal that doesn’t benefit you?

Now entering back into the analogy, imagine on the road trip to Yellowstone you add some activities to the drive. You add music to the trip, you make stops at restaurants, you take the scenic path instead of traveling highways, and you have conversations with your family. What do all of these things have in common? These things are making the journey more enjoyable. Who said that reaching goals had to be miserable or difficult? By taking in the journey, you allow yourself to enjoy the end result more. Would you rather be staring at the sun setting in Yellowstone feeling unfulfilled or would you like to be watching the sunset with all the new memories you made? Now, just look at goal setting from a general point of view. If you set a time frame, have rewards along the way, and make the goal measurable, does it not seem easier to complete a goal if you have these tools– if you have the journey?

Oftentimes we only look for what we will get instead of the process. That is the biggest mistake you can make. You will inevitably lose motivation, and you will become frustrated for not completing this specific goal. By making the way of reaching the goal more enjoyable, you are rewarding yourself with not only the end result, but the result of all you acquired through it. The reason we set goals is because we are trying to better ourselves–mentally, physically, or emotionally–, and we can make it a whole lot easier if we focus on the journey along with the end result of your goal.