OVERVIEW OF GOAL SETTING

This module aims on facilitating the process of setting the

goals of students. Goal setting is the process of identifying
something that you want to accomplish and establishing measurable
goals based on the specific timeframes.
The process of setting goals allows students to choose what
they want to achieve in the future. By knowing what they want to
achieve, they know what they need to concentrate on and
improve. Goal setting gives students long-term vision and short-
term motivation. Having sharp, clearly defined goals, which
students can measure, will allow them to take pride in
accomplishing those goals. They can see clear forward progress in
what might have seemed a long drawn out process.
The purpose of this module is to aid the students expand
their comprehension and grasp for setting their goals as a
student and as a person in general. This module can help them
distinguish goals from other synonymous terms and clarify
important process step by step in building achievable goals.

DEFINITION OF GOAL-SETTING
Latham & Locke (2002) defined goals as “the object or
aim of an action, for instance, a person can attain a specific
standard of proficiency, within a specified time limit.” In other
words, goals are what we wish to accomplish and gain insights on
how we assess our present knowledge and skills.
Goal setting is an essential skill that we need to develop
for us to know on how to design our own future. It is more than
simply saying that you want something to happen. We need define
clearly exactly what you want and then understand why we want it
in the first place. As they say, a life best lived is a life by
design. It is not attained by accidents or by waiting for chances
to arrive. Only when you start to give life dimensions and color,
setting objectives and having a clear purpose, is the time you
achieve the life you want to live. Goal-setting is the process of
deciding what you want to achieve or what you want someone else
to achieve over a particular period (Cambridge University,2020).

GOAL-SETTING THEORY
In 1968, Edwin A. Locke published his groundbreaking
“Goal Setting Theory in Toward a Theory of Task Motivation &
Incentive. In this, he demonstrated that people are motivated by
clear, well-defined goals and feedback, and that a little
workplace challenge is no bad thing. Locke’s primary revelation
was around the power of setting specific and measurable goals,
rather than keeping outcomes general. He also demonstrated that
the best way to feel motivated is to push yourself to do
something that you’re not certain you can achieve. Tackling
challenging goals headfirst allows you to work hard, develop your
skills and reap the rewards in terms of positive feedback and a
sense of personal achievement. Speaking directly to Locke
ourselves, he noted that managers can also use “impossible” goals
to promote creativity – employees just need to be assured that
there’s no punishment for not meeting ambitious targets.
In a theory of Goal Setting, Locke and Latham broke down
goals into two main characteristics: Content and Intensity.
Content is the outcome of the task, and Intensity is the resource
required to achieve it – which can be both mental and physical.
The theory highlighted the importance of considering the whole
journey of completing a goal and not just the outcome. Involving
employees in directing the route taken to complete a task was
shown to increase their motivation to reach the target.
Goal-setting theory refers to the effects of setting goals
on subsequent performance. Researcher Edwin Locke found out that
individuals who set specific, difficult goals performed better
than those who set general, easy goals. Locke proposed 5 basic
principles of Goal-Setting: Clarity, Challenge, Commitment,
Feedback, and Task Complexity.

PRINCIPLES OF GOAL-SETTING
The goal-setting framework has developed more provisions
stating that when one has established specific goals to meet,
their performance is more likely productive than in the absence
of specifics. That is, setting clearly defined goals leads to
better and rewarding results. Five key principles for successful
goal achievement were suggested (Locke & Latham, 1990) due to
continuous research exploring into goal setting with task
performance.
Five Key Principles for Successful Setting of Goals
1. Commitment. Commitment refers to which an individual is
attached to their goals and to what extent we are determined to
reach that goal despite of facing obstacles. According to Locke &
Latham (1990), people tend to work harder when they are committed
to their goals even more so when it is difficult and challenging.
Moreover, a person knowing that their performance is below of
what is needed, will increase their effort or change in strategy
due to commitment in attaining their goal (Latham & Locke, 2006).
Lesser commitment to goals, specifically the challenging
ones, will increase the possibility of giving up (Latham & Locke,
1991). Miner (2005) also discussed that there are factors that
can influence our levels of commitment. Specifically, the
perceived desirable goals and the perceived ability in achieving
them. In order to be successful, one must have the desire and a
complete understanding to what is needed in order to achieve it.

2. Clarity. Having specific goals leads you to a direct path.

Vague goals have less motivational value. Arvey, Dewhirst &
Boling (1976) indicated that having clear goals positively
relates to overall motivation and satisfaction. Setting a clear,
accurate and definite goals give you a better understanding of
your task and its success will result to increased motivation.

3. Challenge. A person should set challenging yet attainable

goals. Having a challenging goal may improve the performance of a
person by having increased self-satisfaction and motivation to
search appropriate approaches that will push that person’s skills
to its maximum potential (Locke & Latham, 1990). On contrary,
goals that are not suitable to our level of ability are less
likely to be achieved which can lead to dissatisfaction and
defeat.
Achieving and anticipating achievement is what motivates us.
Knowing that a challenging goal is within our capacity to
achieve, one tends to be more motivated in completing a task
(Zimmerman et al., 1992).

4. Task Complexity. Excessively complex goals that are not

within our capacity level can become less inspiring and can give
negative impact on one’s morale, productivity and motivation
(Miner, 2005). A person should learn that giving sufficient time
is essential in dealing with complex tasks. Remember that
everything takes time and that achieving a complex task may take
longer but this allows you to assess your improvement and
strategy.

5. Feedback. The presence of instant feedback makes goal

setting more efficient (Erez, 1977). Receiving feedback such as
internal feedback can help determine the level to when a goal is
to be met and if there is progress. Actions needed can be done
through clear feedback. Furthermore, having below performance
gives us chance to reassess our ability in which we can create
new and more achievable goals. However, when there is delay in
feedback, we cannot immediately evaluate the effectiveness of our
techniques that leads to a possible reduction in our progress
(Zimmerman, 2008).

Perceiving our goals to be sufficient, sets us to feel more

capable of developing new skills and having more challenging
future goals.

TYPES OF GOAL SETTING

Generally, there are 7 types of goals. This goals depends on
the priorities of the person.
Career Goals. In career goals, the person mostly focuses on
how to be promoted; improve job performance; improve soft skills;
learn new skill related to your career; look for a career change;
improve communication; get a specific award; get promoted; or
start your own business.

Financial Goals. This is common in order to generate more

money and plan on how you can achieve that. To achieve your
financial goals, you should set a budget, adjust your spending,
save as much money as you can and think of other ways to earn
money. Financial goals focuses on how to: save for your
retirement; buy your own house; pay off loans; afford large
purchases; or create an emergency fund.
Personal Development Goals. These goals are what leads you
to become a better person. Examples: learn a foreign language;
write a book; learn to speed read; find a mentor; create a
blog/online course; improve body language/confidence; have a
better attitude; start a morning routine; or to travel to
specific destinations.
Spiritual Goals. These include goals more than yourself and
your immediate family such as: volunteer regularly; go to church
regularly; be more mindful; meditate daily; donate more money to
the less fortunate; or join prayer group.
Educational Goals. Educational goals are a combination of
your personal development and career goals. Mostly, your
educational goals deal with the things you need for your
career/future job.
Relationship Goals. Relationship goals are: leave stress at
work; dedicate alone time with your child/spouse; get more free
time; increase family time; find a significant other; have
children; get married; or save money for children’s goals.
Physical and Health Goals. The most common physical and health
goals are: start each day with a nutritious green drink; keep
vital signs in normal ranges; stay fit and active; have a regular
exercise routine; achieve a massive physical fitness goal; keep
your immune system operating at peak condition; have the energy
to get more done; or live forever or at least live to your 90’s
and beyond being healthy the whole way.

Types of Goal Based on Time

Once you set your goals, it makes a big difference when you
set time in order to achieve those goals. There are four types of
goals namely, lifetime goals, long term goals, short term goals
and stepping stone goals.

Lifetime Goals. These goals will transpire from a year to an

entire to achieve. Lifetime goals can be figured out by imagining
your future self that you would like to become. Lifetime goals
can be identified by asking yourself questions like “what has my
future self accomplished? Am I happy with what I have? Do I have
a family?”. Thinking about your future self in this context will
help you to set goals that will lead you to that future version
of yourself. More so, lifetime goals will be experienced when it
is aligned with your values in life.
 Long Term Goals. Long term goals are your pillar goals. This
means that the person should have specific time frame laid out in
achieving their goals, normally, this is 5 to 10 year goals. In
simpler terms, if you’re serious about your goals, you should set
long term goals and achieve through short term goals. Example:
Saving Php 500,000.00 for your restaurant business. This can be
achieved by saving Php 4,200.00 per month in 10 years.
Short Term Goals. Short term goals do not really mean short.
It may take a month, six months or even a year. These are your
stepping stone goals in achieving your long term goals. Going
back to the last example, saving Php 500,000.00 for your
restaurant business, your short term goal is saving Php 4,200.00
monthly.
Stepping Stone Goals. Your stepping stone goals are your
transactional goals. You can think of this as your action step to
allow you reach bigger goals. Example: Saving money monthly would
mean that: buy needs, not wants; get a part-time job; decrease
consumptions in electricity to decrease billing payment. These
stepping stone goals above will be able to help you in reducing
your expenses thus achieving your short term goals.