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0 10-July-2020

Study Guide in GE1: Understanding the Self Module No. 13

STUDY GUIDE FOR MODULE NO. _13_

CHAPTER III: MANAGING AND CARING FOR THE SELF

B. SETTING GOALS FOR SUCCESS
MODULE OVERVIEW

This explains the importance of goals and the different theories that are instrumental in the
achievement of goals. The Self Efficacy Theory by Albert Bandura includes the belief in one's
effectiveness in performing specific tasks. It also presents the Theory of Mindset by Carol Dweck
which presents the difference between the fixed and growth mindset. The Theory of Goal Setting
by Locke and Latham introduces how goals are crucial in the formulation of success.

MODULE LEARNING OBJECTIVES

1. Understand the nature of goals, the factors that affect goal setting and the benefits if goal
setting to the self.
2. Develop a positive attitude in attaining goals set for the self.
3. Use concepts learned to craft carefully planned goals.

LEARNING CONTENTS (title of the subsection)

THE IMPORTANCE OF GOALS

Begin with the end in mind. – Stephen Covey

How often do you set goals? How often do you revisit your list? We all know that setting goals is
important, but we often don’t realize how important they are as we continue to move through life.

Effective goals motivate and inspire us, increase success rate, focus us, and reduce frustration. An
effective goal setting process helps us understand where we currently are, helps us choose where
we want to go, and assess the best steps to take to reach our ultimate outcome goals.

What is a Goal?

According to Wikipedia, A goal is an idea of the future or desired result that a person or a group of
people envision, plan and commit to achieve.
A goal is roughly similar to a purpose or aim, the anticipated result which guides reaction, or an end,
which is an object, either a physical object or an abstract object, that has intrinsic value.

Types of Goals

Outcome goals (Results). Outcomes goals are specific and spell out the results you hope to
achieve in the end. E.g., a high school student may set an outcome goal to become a doctor. That
goal means that she would have to take exams and compete with other students over few spots into
medical school. While you can study hard, you don’t grade your exams. While you can prepare well
for your interviews, you don’t choose yourself. As such, with most outcome goals, you can take
steps that influence the outcome in your favor but the results are ultimately not under your control.

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Process goals (Behaviors). Process goals (also called procedural goals) are the behaviors or the
strategies that will help us to perform well and increase our chances of achieving our desired
outcome goals. It’s the goal that sets the path to an outcome goal. E.g. The process goal for losing
weight may include reducing calories, riding your bicycle, and drinking lots of water. Process goals
are particularly helpful for weight loss because they help you focus on changing behaviors and
habits that are necessary for losing weight. A nice thing about process goals is that they are within
our control.

Performance goals (Standards). Performance goals set the standards at which we will perform
our process goals. This is focused on results. Performance goals are actually the results you
produce that affect the bottom line. Meeting your performance goals on your process goals is the
surest way to achieve your outcome goals. E.g. the performance goals for losing weight based on
the process goals above may be to lose weight by eating 1200 calories a day or less, riding my bike
for 30 minutes 5 times per week, and drinking 3 liters of water at per day for a period of one month.

Why is goal setting important?

1. Goals give you focus in life

2. Goals allow you to measure your
progress
3. Goals Keep You Locked In And
Undistracted
4. Goals Help You Overcome
Procrastination
5. Goals Give You Motivation

SELF-EFFICACY

Your beliefs become your thoughts. Your thoughts become your words. Your words become your
actions. Your actions become your habits. Your habits become your values. Your values become
your destiny.

Self-efficacy is the belief in one's effectiveness in performing specific tasks. Self-efficacy is one of
the most enabling psychology models to have been adopted into positive psychology. It is the
optimistic self-belief in our competence or chances of successfully accomplishing a task and
producing a favorable outcome.

4 Ways to Build Self-Efficacy

According to Albert Bandura, the fore runner of Self-Efficacy Theory, evidences four ways to
develop self-efficacy across the breadth of his research.

Mastery Experiences
Bandura (2008) argues that the most effective way to build self-efficacy is through mastery
experiences.

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There is no better way to start believing in one’s ability to succeed than to set a goal, persist through
challenges on the road to goal-achievement, and enjoy the satisfying results. Once a person has
done this enough time, they will come to believe that sustained effort and perseverance through
adversity will serve a purpose in the end; belief in one’s ability to succeed will grow.
In contrast, regularly achieving easy success with little effort can lead people to expect rapid results,
which can result in their being easily discouraged by failure (Bandura, 2008).

Social Modeling
Another way that a person can build self-efficacy is by witnessing demonstrations of competence by
people who are similar to them (Bandura, 2008). In this scenario, the person witnessing the display
of competence perceives aspects of their own identity in the actor. That is, the actor may be of a
similar age, ethnic background, sexuality, or gender as the observer (Bandura, 1997).
The observer, who witnesses the actor’s success through dedicated efforts, will be inspired to
believe that they, too, can achieve their goals.

Social Persuasion
When a person is told that they have what it takes to succeed, they are more likely to achieve
success. In this way, self-efficacy becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy (Eden & Zuk, 1995).

While not as powerful as mastery for strengthening self-efficacy (Bandura, 2008), being told by
someone we trust that we possess the capabilities to achieve our goals will do more for us than
dwelling on our deficiencies.

Therefore, a good mentor can boost self-efficacy not only through role-modeling but by serving as a
trusted voice of encouragement. 

States of Physiology
Lastly, our emotions, moods, and physical states influence how we judge our self-efficacy
(Kavanagh & Bower, 1985).
According to Bandura (2008), it is harder to feel assured of our ability to succeed when we feel
weariness and a low mood. This is especially true if we perceive these emotional and physiological
states to be indicative of our incompetence, vulnerability, or inability to achieve a goal.
Introspection and education can prevent these physical states from being interpreted negatively. For
example, when experiencing a personal or work-related failure, people can practice self-
compassion.

MINDSET

According to Carol Dweck, individuals can be placed on a continuum according to their implicit
views of where ability comes from. Some believe their success is based on innate ability while
others believe their success is based on hard work, learning, training and doggedness.

Types of Mindset

The Fixed Mindset

A fixed mindset is the belief that intelligence, talents and other abilities are set at birth. It is the belief
that a person is born with a particular set of skills and that can not be changed.

If you have a fixed mindset, you will likely fear that you may not be smart or talented enough
to achieve your goals . You may hold yourself back by engaging only in activities that you know

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you can do well.

The Growth Mindset

A growth mindset is the belief that, with effort, perseverance and drive, a person can develop
natural qualities.

If you have a growth mindset, you can develop your own skills , abilities, talents, and even
intelligence through your experiences, training and effort.

Fixed-mindset individuals dread failure because it is a negative statement on their basic abilities,
while growth mindset individuals don't mind or fear failure as much because they realize their
performance can be improved and learning comes from failure. These two mindsets play an
important role in all aspects of a person's life. Dweck argues that the growth mindset will allow a
person to live a less stressful and more successful life.

In a fixed mindset students believe their basic abilities, their intelligence, their talents, are just fixed
traits. They have a certain amount and that's that, and then their goal becomes to look smart all the
time and never look dumb. In a growth mindset students understand that their talents and abilities
can be developed through effort, good teaching and persistence. They don't necessarily think
everyone's the same or anyone can be Einstein, but they believe everyone can get smarter if they
work at it (Dweck, 2006)

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Think about this:

Why waste time proving over and over how great you are, when you
could be getting better? Why hide deficiencies instead of overcoming
them? Why look for friends or partners who will just shore up your
self-esteem instead of ones who will also challenge you to grow?
And why seek out the tried and true, instead of experiences that will
stretch you? The passion for stretching yourself and sticking to it,
even (or especially) when it’s not going well, is the hallmark of the
growth mindset. This is the mindset that allows people to thrive
during some of the most challenging times in their lives

GOAL SETTING

The Goal Setting Theory states that goal setting is essentially linked to task performance. It states
that specific and challenging goals along with appropriate feedback contribute to higher and better
task performance. (Locke, 1968)

The simple act of setting an effective goal gives you a better chance of realizing that goal.
According to Edwin Locke and Gary Latham, several principles are crucial to setting effective goals.

Effective goal-setting principles:

1. Clarity. A clear, measurable goal is more achievable than one that is poorly defined. In other
words, be specific! The most effective goals have a specific timeline for completion.

2. Challenge. The goal must have a decent level of difficulty in order to motivate you to strive
toward the goal.

3. Commitment. Put deliberate effort into meeting this goal. Share your goal with someone
else in order to increase your accountability to meet that goal.

4. Feedback. Set up a method to receive information on your progress toward a goal. If losing
30 pounds in four months turns out to be too hard, it is better to adjust the difficulty of your
goal mid-way through the timeline than to give up entirely.

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5. Task complexity. If a goal is especially complex, make sure you give yourself enough time
to overcome the learning curve involved in completing the task. In other words, if a goal is
really tough, make sure you give yourself some padding to give you the best chance at
succeeding.

How to Set the Right Goals

Here are some guidelines on setting effective goals. Research supports the value of SMART
goals which are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-specific.

 Make your goals specific. The more specific a goal is, the easier it will be to focus on it and
take the necessary action to accomplish it. For example, a goal such as “I will study more” is
rather vague. “I will study every day between 2 and 4 PM in my office” is specific and
provides you with an actionable plan.

 Set measurable goals. Another criterion that makes a goal useful is that you can measure
it. “I’ll do better” is not really measurable. If you set a goal to study a certain number of hours
or to raise your exam score to a particular level, however, you have something concrete to
aim for.

 Keep your goals attainable and realistic. If you set goals that are overly ambitious, you’re
setting yourself up for failure. For example, if you currently devote two hours per week to
studying, a goal of studying for 10 hours per week is probably not realistic. Start by
increasing it to 3 or 4 hours.

 Time-specific. When you’re studying, you need to keep to a tight schedule. Make sure your
goals are consistent with your academic calendar and your other responsibilities.

 Set long-term and short-term goals. In addition to setting SMART goals, it’s good to have
goals that are both short and long-term. A long-term goal might be to find a job in your
chosen field. “I’m going to become a veterinary nurse” would be a long-term goal. You
should also have short-term goals such as “I’m going to finish this unit by Friday evening at
8PM.”

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How to Stay on Track with Your Goals

Setting goals is an essential first step towards greater academic success. However, many people
start off with the best of intentions but abandon their goals. There are many distractions that can get
in the way. Here are some ways to stay focused on your goals.

 Take consistent action on your goals. When you take action, you remind your brain to
move towards your goal. Even small symbolic actions can help. For example, clearing off
your desk so it’s a more organized study area can help you feel more motivated.

 Write down your goals. Research indicates that people who write down their goals
are 33% more likely to achieve them.

 Revisit your goals frequently. The mind works more efficiently when you repeat
instructions. One reason it’s useful to write down your goals is that you can read them to
yourself daily. It’s also helpful, however, to repeat them to yourself mentally or even in
conversations with others.

 Set new goals when appropriate. Goals don’t need to be set in stone. You don’t want to
abandon a goal just because it’s challenging. However, you may find that as you gain
experience you need to revise a goal. For example, you may need to adjust your goals
regarding study hours based on your results and other responsibilities.

LEARNING ACTIVITY 1

Response to Challenge: The Fixed Mindset and the Growth Mindset

A scenario is given and indicate on the boxes given on how a person with a Fixed Mindset will
respond to the scenario and how will a person with a Growth Mindset react to similar scenario.

Scenario Fixed Mindset Response Growth Mindset Response

Your teacher asked you to work

on a group project which will be
submitted at the end of the
month. You were assigned to be
the leader. As a leader, you
assigned each member to work
on a certain part of a project. Two
weeks have passed and you only
see so little progress on your

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project as most of your

classmates as unresponsive on
the tasks assigned to them.

LEARNING ACTIVITY 2

Formulating a Long Term Goal.

a. SPECIFIC. What do you want to achieve?

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b. MEASURABLE. How would you know if you have achieved your goal?
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c. ATTAINABLE. What resources can you use to achieve your goal? What needs to be done to achieve
your goal?
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d. RELEVANT. Why is the goal important to your life?

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e. TIME-BOUND. When will you achieve this goal?

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SUMMARY

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Goal setting is something most of us recognize as necessary for our success. A strong sense of
efficacy enhances human accomplishment and personal well-being in many ways. People with high
assurance in their capabilities approach difficult tasks as challenges to be mastered rather than as
threats to be avoided.

In contrast, people who doubt their capabilities shy away from difficult tasks which they view as
personal threats. They have low aspirations and weak commitment to the goals they choose to
pursue. When faced with different task, they dwell on their deficiencies, on the obstacle they will
encounter, and all kinds of adverse outcomes rather than concentrate on how to perform
successfully.

REFERENCES

Degho, S. Degho, G., De Claro, LJ., Lejano, J. Understanding the Self: An Outcome based
Workbook for College Students. Mutya Publishing House, 2018.
https://positivepsychology.com/bandura-self-efficacy/
https://www.iedunote.com/self-efficacy-theory
https://www.appvoc.com/study-goals/
https://www.brainpickings.org/2014/01/29/carol-dweck-mindset/
https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/dwecks-mindsets.htm
https://thepowermoves.com/mindset-carol-dweck-summary/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carol_Dweck

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