Whats in your tool kit?

Goal Setting & Work

Shasta County Health and Human Services Agency Department of Social Services CalWORKs Employment Services Program

Goal Setting & Work

11/08

Goal Setting

Action Items: In order to successfully set and achieve my goals, I need to do the following: (Check off each step when it is completed) Read about Setting Goals and Objectives. Follow the directions given under Tips for Managing Personal Change and think about the Key Points to Remember for Successful Change. Read More Tips to Help You Successfully Plan and Achieve Your Goals. Follow the step-by-step directions given for Visualizing Your Goals. Learn to Define Your Goals. Use the Goal Pyramid to write about how you are already prepared to achieve a goal. Use the Short-Term Goal Setting Worksheet to list your personal short-term goals. Use the Long-Term Goal Setting Worksheet to list your personal long-term goals. Get into the habit of setting your goals for a week, a month, and a year. Follow the directions for Short-Term and Long-Term Goal Setting and complete one worksheet each week for four weeks. Celebrate your achievements!

Goal Setting & Work

11/08

Setting Goals and Objectives S

For many of us, New Years resolutions are grandly made and easily broken. Why? A resolution is a decision, and to make a life change, you need more than a decision. You need a plan. The plan is your guide to put your decision into action so you can reach your goal. Whether you resolve to get a job, get a better job, lose weight, save money, adopt a healthier lifestyle or something else, New Year's resolutions can be hard to keep. By Valentine's Day, most New Year's resolutions are a distant memory. However, you can set all kinds of goals at any time during the year. Pick a day that's meaningful for you: your birthday, your anniversary, your child's birthday, or any other personal date. Fear is natural when you are attempting something new or different. If setting goals makes you feel fearful, write down every negative thing that might happen if you took action in spite of your fear. Next, write down every positive thing that has happened when you have acted in spite of fear. See yourself successfully doing the action that causes the fear. Feel the fear and take action anyway! Time and patience are usually involved in making changes. It takes time and commitment to plan for your resolutions to become habits. Setting a small goal, like getting up half an hour earlier in the morning so that you can get where you need to be on time, may seem challenging, but it just takes practice. After a few weeks or months, getting up earlier will become a positive habit. Making these small changes can give you the motivation and confidence to tackle a bigger goal. Setting realistic goals can lead to a better life and improved self-esteem. Children also benefit from seeing their parents demonstrate how to plan and reach goals. It helps them learn how to manage their time and make good choices. Learning these skills can have a lasting and positive impact on their future. Together with your child, set a healthy goal and create a plan! Working toward goals can improve your life in many ways. Once you've accomplished a goal, be it big or small, you'll know it can be done and you'll have confidence for your next goal.

Source: Information contained on this page was adapted from material found on the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration web site on 10-30-08: http://family.samhsa.gov/be/goals.aspx

Goal Setting & Work

11/08

Tips for Managing Personal Change

Identify what is in your control to change.

Identify your options (is there more than one way to achieve your goal?).

Create a support system (share your goal with people who will cheer you on). Examine your attitude (believe in yourself, stay positive). Remain flexible (dont get upset if you have to make a change to your plan - just do it).

Give yourself a break (do your best, and remember to respect yourself).

Strive to achieve balance and perspective (dont expect change to happen overnight).

Some Key Points to Remember for Successful Change

The hardest thing to change is our own attitude; nothing destroys change faster than attitudes that resist change. Failure stems from two sets of words: "I cant" and "Yes, but" Success stems from two sets of words: I can and Yes. People who are good at making change dont reject good advice just to prove they arent being controlled by those who give it. Dont let complaining be a substitute for action. Confidence comes from overcoming the fear of change. Fear of commitment to goals can make you stop setting appropriate goals. You can make new choices (set new goals) any time. Giving positive support to yourself is as important as giving it to others.

Source: Information contained on this page was adapted from material found on the National School Boards Association web site on 10-30-08: http://www.nsba.org/sbot/toolkit/chinv.html

Goal Setting & Work

11/08

More Tips to Help You Successfully Plan and Achieve Your Goals
1. Be specific. When thinking about goals, be as exact as possible. People who set specific goals are more likely to succeed. For example, instead of saying that you want to save money, set a specific goal to save $20 (or whatever your goal amount is) per week. 2. Put it in writing. Write down exactly what you want to achieve and post it in a place where you will see it every day. This will help remind you of what you're working toward. When you write, use positive terms. For example, instead of writing "I will stop eating junk food", re-word your goal in more positive terms: "I will make healthy food choices." 3. Set realistic goals. When you think about setting goals, make sure that they are within your reach. Be mindful of your finances, schedule, and other personal affairs. Remembering these important factors will help you set realistic goals. It's unreasonable to expect to make a lot of big changes at the same time. 4. Develop an action plan. Create a timeline with steps toward your goal. Set deadlines for each step and cross them off as you go. Sometimes just crossing things off and watching your list get smaller can give you a sense of accomplishment and help you stay motivated. 5. Believe in yourself. Stay positive about your progress. Share your goal with a friend and ask him or her to help keep your spirits up. To quote Henry Ford, "If you think you can or you can't, you're right." 6. Be flexible. Keep in mind that setbacks can happen. Don't get discouraged and give up. Try again! Your hard work will pay off! 7. Ask for help. If you get stuck or need a little encouragement, don't be afraid to talk about it. You could be surprised by the different kinds of support people might offer. 8. Reward yourself. Acknowledge your achievements, even the small ones. Reaching a goal takes hard work and you should be proud of your efforts. Celebrating could mean sharing an apple with your child or taking some time for yourself. Having clear goals and a plan can bring your family together and help you be healthier all year. All positive changes, tiny or huge, can improve your everyday life. Make this year count and create a plan to follow through on your resolutions! Dont forget, you can set all kinds of goals at any time during the year. Pick a day that's meaningful for you; it doesnt have to be a New Years resolution. What about today?

Source: Information on this page was adapted from material found on the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) web site on 10-30-08: http://family.samhsa.gov/be/goals.aspx

Goal Setting & Work

11/08

Visualizing Your Goals

Believing in yourselfbelieving that you can leap barriers and achieve your goalsis the ticket to success. One of the most powerful tools for building self-confidence is visualization. This easy technique involves imagining yourself going step-by-step to complete your goal. By visualizing in detail your successful completion of each step in an activity, you create, modify, or strengthen brain pathways that are important to train your muscles for the visualized activity. This prepares you to perform the activity itself. The technique is useful in many areas of lifefrom avoiding anxiety during a stressful situation to performing well during competition. You may find it a powerful tool to use for many situations. 1. Identify the goal you want to visualize for example, having a great interview for a cool job. 2. Find a comfortable place where you can be alone to sit and relax. 3. Eliminate all distractionsturn off the phone or television, quiet children and pets, etc. 4. Close your eyes and focus on feeling relaxed, free your mind of intruding thoughts and focus on breathing normally. 5. Now, imagine yourself ready to go to the interview. Create a picture in your mind of what you are wearing to the interview, that you have researched the company and know about the jobs responsibilities. Visualize the correct route to get there in a vehicle or bus, and imagine arriving 15 minutes early so that you have time to become relaxed and attentive. Take a moment to feel the excitement of anticipation and visualize any butterflies in your stomach flying in harmony! 6. Picture yourself greeting everyone with a firm handshake, being courteous, professional, and friendly. See yourself with the interviewers, listening carefully to their questions. Hear yourself answering their questions thoughtfully, completely, yet briefly. Take a moment to feel calm, professional, mature, and capable during this interview. 7. Now visualize yourself thanking the interviewers and shaking hands before you leave. 8. Then imagine feeling happy and proud for completing a great interview!

Source: Information contained on this page was adapted from material found on the Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Disease Control and Prevention web site on 10-30-08: http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/physical/growing_stronger/motivation/visualizing_goals.htm

Goal Setting & Work

11/08

Define Your Goals

When taking on any challenge, its a good idea to define your goals. You should identify what you want to accomplish and how you will carry out your plan. This is important when making positive change and it will help you succeed. Set short-term and long-term goals. For example: A specific short-term goal may be to start strength training; the long-term goal may be to get hired for a job where strength is required (for example, working in a warehouse). Your goal may also be controlling your weight or saving $20 a week. Whatever goal you choose, these goals must be easily measurable: Have you or have you not begun a strength training program? These are attainable goals if they can be reached by efforts of your mind or body and as long as your doctor approves. These goals are relevant to getting the job you want or living a long healthy life. Your goals should be time-based: you should contact gyms or read or watch video instruction on strength training, buy or borrow the equipment you need, and set your exercise schedule within the next 5 days. Start the strength training program within the following 2 to 3 days. The goals and time frames are entirely up to you. You may want to focus your long-term goals on improving a specific health condition, such as reducing pain from an old injury, increasing muscle mass to help with getting the job you want, weight control or saving money. Your overall success depends on setting goals that are truly important to youand possessing a strong desire to achieve them. Be S M A R T when setting goals: Specific: I will start a job in a warehouse position or lose 10 pounds or save $20 dollars a week. Measurable: Started job at warehouse or lost 10 pounds or saved $80 this month. Attainable: Goal can be reached by efforts of the mind or body. Relevant: Goal has a clear and logical connection to getting what you want. Time-limited: Schedule a timeline for each step toward your goal, and have an end date.

Source: Information contained on this page was adapted from material found on the Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Disease Control and Prevention web site on 10-30-08: http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/physical/growing_stronger/motivation/define_goals.htm Goal Setting & Work 11/08 6

Goal Setting Pyramid

Identify one goal you would like to achieve. Then think about how you are already prepared to achieve that goal. Next, think about plans you need to make to achieve your goal.

What is my goal?

How am I already prepared (in terms of skills, knowledge, motivation, etc.) to achieve the goal?

What is my plan for reaching the goal?

Source: Information contained on this page was adapted from material found on the Department of Health & Human Services, Administration for Children & Families web site on 10-30-08:
http://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/hslc/For%20Parents/Inside%20Head%20Start/Personal%20and%20Professional%20Development/parent_lea_00139_022807.html

Goal Setting & Work

11/08

Short-Term Goal Setting Worksheet

Identifying Your Short-Term Goals Identify at least two of your own short-term goals and write them on the personal goal-setting worksheet provided. If you have more goals, write them down as well. Remember that each goal should be S-M-A-R-T: specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-based. Setting these short-term goals will help motivate you to make the program a regular part of your life. Examples: 1. 2. 3. 4. I will talk to my doctor about starting this program. I will buy or borrow the equipment I need and be ready to exercise within 2 weeks. I will look at my calendar and schedule 3 to 5 half-hour blocks of time for exercise each week. I will invite my spouse/friend/family member to join me in these exercises.

My personal short-term goals:

1.________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ 2.________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ 3. ________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ 4. ________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ 5. ________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ 6. ________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________

Source: Information contained on this page was adapted from material found on the Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Disease Control and Prevention web site on 10-30-08: http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/physical/growing_stronger/motivation/goalsetting_worksheet.pdf Goal Setting & Work 11/08 8

Long-Term Goal Setting Worksheet

Identifying Your Long-Term Goals Identify at least two long-term goals and write them on the personal goal-setting worksheet provided on page 10. If you have more goals, write them down as well. Are there activities that you want to do more easily over the long term? Are there things that you havent done in some time that you want to try again? Listing these goals will help you stay with the program, see your progress, and enjoy your success. (Dont forget to use the S-M-A-R-T technique.) Examples: 1. 2. 3. 4. I will do each exercise 3 to 5 times each week. After 2 weeks of the program, I will increase the weights Im using. Within 1 month, I will increase my scheduled exercise time from 30 to 45 minutes per session. I will continue to increase the time and intensity of my program until I can lift the weight required for a job in a warehouse.

My Personal Long-Term Goals:

1.________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ 2.________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ 3. ________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ 4. ________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ 5. ________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ 6. ________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________
Source: Information contained on this page was adapted from material found on the Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Disease Control and Prevention web site on 10-30-08: http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/physical/growing_stronger/motivation/goalsetting_worksheet.pdf

Goal Setting & Work

11/08

Short-Term and Long-Term Goal Setting

Get into the habit of setting short-term and long-term goals. Take this worksheet and write in the date. Then, for each category below, set a goal. Here are different ways to do this:

Write down what you want to get done. Tell someone what you hope to do. Shut your eyes and picture yourself accomplishing the goal. Draw a picture of yourself having reached your goal.

Use whatever works for you! At the beginning of the next week, set goals again using a new copy of the handout (there are four copies). You may carry goals over from the previous week if they are still things you would like to do. DATE:__________________ WEEK (circle) 1 2 3 4 My goal for this week:

My goal for this month:

My goal for this year:

When I reach the end of a year and look back, what accomplishments would I like to see?

Source: Information contained on this page was adapted from material found on the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children & Families web site on 10-30-08:
http://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/hslc/For%20Parents/Inside%20Head%20Start/Personal%20and%20Professional%20Development/parent_lea_00140_022807.html

Goal Setting & Work

11/08

10

Short-Term and Long-Term Goal Setting

Get into the habit of setting short-term and long-term goals. Take this worksheet and write in the date. Then, for each category below, set a goal. Here are different ways to do this:

Write down what you want to get done. Tell someone what you hope to do. Shut your eyes and picture yourself accomplishing the goal. Draw a picture of yourself having reached your goal.

Use whatever works for you! At the beginning of the next week, set goals again using a new copy of the handout. You may carry goals over from the previous week if they are still things you would like to do. DATE:__________________ WEEK (circle) 1 2 3 4 My goal for this week:

My goal for this month:

My goal for this year:

When I reach the end of a year and look back, what accomplishments would I like to see?

Source: Information contained on this page was adapted from material found on the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children & Families web site on 10-30-08:
http://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/hslc/For%20Parents/Inside%20Head%20Start/Personal%20and%20Professional%20Development/parent_lea_00140_022807.html

Goal Setting & Work

11/08

11

Short-Term and Long-Term Goal Setting

Get into the habit of setting short-term and long-term goals. Take this worksheet and write in the date. Then, for each category below, set a goal. Here are different ways to do this:

Write down what you want to get done. Tell someone what you hope to do. Shut your eyes and picture yourself accomplishing the goal. Draw a picture of yourself having reached your goal.

Use whatever works for you! At the beginning of the next week, set goals again using a new copy of the handout. You may carry goals over from the previous week if they are still things you would like to do. DATE:__________________ WEEK (circle) 1 2 3 4 My goal for this week:

My goal for this month:

My goal for this year:

When I reach the end of a year and look back, what accomplishments would I like to see?

Source: Information contained on this page was adapted from material found on the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children & Families web site on 10-30-08:
http://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/hslc/For%20Parents/Inside%20Head%20Start/Personal%20and%20Professional%20Development/parent_lea_00140_022807.html

Goal Setting & Work

11/08

12

Short-Term and Long-Term Goal Setting

Get into the habit of setting short-term and long-term goals. Take this worksheet and write in the date. Then, for each category below, set a goal. Here are different ways to do this:

Write down what you want to get done. Tell someone what you hope to do. Shut your eyes and picture yourself accomplishing the goal. Draw a picture of yourself having reached your goal.

Use whatever works for you! At the beginning of the next week, set goals again using a new copy of the handout. You may carry goals over from the previous week if they are still things you would like to do. DATE:__________________ WEEK (circle) 1 2 3 4 My goal for this week:

My goal for this month:

My goal for this year:

When I reach the end of a year and look back, what accomplishments would I like to see?

Source: Information contained on this page was adapted from material found on the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children & Families web site on 10-30-08:
http://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/hslc/For%20Parents/Inside%20Head%20Start/Personal%20and%20Professional%20Development/parent_lea_00140_022807.html

Goal Setting & Work

11/08

13

Celebrating Your Achievements

Making any major life change can be trying. A great way to motivate yourself to keep with the program is to properly celebrate your achievements. This may be as important as setting goals and visualizing success. When you accomplish one of your short-term or long-term goals, reward yourself well! 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Make plans with good friends to see a movie or go hiking. Go on a weekend getaway. Treat yourself to an ice cream cone, a new book, or something else new. Plan a meal out at your favorite restaurant. Get tickets to your favorite theater production or athletic event. Pamper yourself with a massage, manicure, or pedicure. Enroll in a class, such as ballroom dancing, yoga, or pottery making. Invite friends and family to a backyard potluck get-together.

Source: Information contained on this page was adapted from material found on the Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Disease Control and Prevention web site on 10-30-08: http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/physical/growing_stronger/motivation/celebrate_achievments.htm

Goal Setting & Work

11/08

14