Many people spend so much time on the perfect plan that they delay the first step towards their goals. Crafting how to be the best version of yourself isn’t just about the quality of your goals; it’s also about the execution. Whether you’re mid-career and thinking of a Master’s or are an undergraduate eyeing a top-tier certification, we see you crafting your goal setting strategies toward the life you desire! Peterson’s is here to help you navigate the path to academic success as you set and achieve your most ambitious life goals.
The Architecture of Ambition: Categorizing Your North Star
Whether you are about to start college or are mapping out long-term career goals, clarity is your first step. Review our last blog on different goal roadmaps to define which category of accomplishment you are pursuing. Your goals could include:
- Academic Success: Mastering subject areas and tests
- Military Preparedness: Preparing for life in service
- Career: Defining the certifications and steps to get to where you want to be in 5–10 years’ time.
- Life goals: The health, mindset, and relationship benchmarks that sustain your drive.*
*We believe personal growth and professional output are inextricably linked. To grow in your career, you must also cultivate a growth mindset in your personal life.
From Plan to Action: Proven Goal Setting Strategies
24-Hour Microaction Step
You know the saying, “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.” It’s a proverb that has nothing to do with actually eating elephants (phew!) and more to do with tackling huge tasks by breaking them down into smaller, more manageable steps. To gain momentum toward your goals, we recommend viewing the goal as a whole and plotting microactions. As researcher Kelly McGonigal explains in a piece on The Science of Willpower,
“The best way to make a resolution is to think big and think small. People fail when they rattle off a whole list of changes they want to make without getting clear about what matters most to them. You’re better off picking something you really want, such as improving your physical health or saving for a down payment for your first home. Research shows that when you scale up to the big want, the biggest why, you automatically have more willpower. You’ll look for opportunities to make progress on your goal and be more likely to see how small choices can help you realize your goal. The “think small” part is giving yourself permission to take microsteps toward your goal. Sometimes we get frustrated when we don’t know exactly how we’ll reach our goals. We can’t imagine how what we’re doing now will ever get us where we want. Or we try to take huge steps all at once and end up exhausted and overwhelmed. Choose small steps you can take that are consistent with that goal. When those steps are easy, or have become a habit, look for next steps and keep going.”
Take one “micro-action” step toward your life goals within 24 hours of setting them. The more microactions you accomplish, the more momentum you carry towards the goal.
Reverse-Engineering Your Roadmap (The Strategy)
Start with the end result of your goals, like an “acceptance letter” or the first day on the job after completing your certification, and walk back to today. What are the steps in between? The answer to how to be the best version of yourself lies in daily steps.
Academic Success and Goals for School
If you’re studying for the GRE or ACT, break down time into 25-minute study sprints. Acing the test is the goal. Signing up for the exam, investing in a course to help you study, and actually studying in small increments are the microsteps.
Professional Goals
Define the certifications or skills needed to bridge the gap. You may need to master the content and timing of the test to pass the Journeyman Electric exam, or get ServSafe Manager certified to land the role of a restaurant manager. Signing up for the certification, investing in a course to support your study, and actually studying in small increments are the microsteps.
Find your prep: Explore Peterson’s Test Prep.
Managing the Dual-Track Life: Tips for the High-Achiever
Productivity Hacks
We love practical advice for those managing a 40-hour work week alongside studying, or other variations of commitments, so here are some:
- Time-block your day, every second counts!
- Use commute time for audio-based professional goals or lessons.
- Leverage Peterson’s practice tests as a diagnostic tool to save time so you can see where your specific knowledge gaps are.
- Spend 20 minutes reviewing your week’s “wins/losses”. Assess if you hit your study hours or made progress on your life goals. Adjust your “reverse-engineered” plan for the coming week based on real data, not just feelings.
An Important Mindset Shift
See your job or schooling not as a distraction from your goals, but as a laboratory for your personal growth. When you train your mind to see progress toward your goals in everything you do, you build a stronger connection to them and resilience in achieving them.
Action is a Key Metric
You may refrain from starting your strategy because you’re worried you’re not ready. The reality is, you may never feel truly ready to begin enacting your goal setting strategies; it’s important that you take a step towards them anyway. You don’t “find” the best version of yourself; you build it through daily iteration. It is through simple steps every day that you self-actualize a better you. The answer to “how to be the best version of yourself?” is found in the transition from plan to action. So, get going! We believe in you every step of the way.
