Leaving the Classroom: A Transitioning Teacher Podcast

5 Ways to Achieve Your Goals

Setting goals is a process that, in most cases, comes before a specific outcome you have in mind. When I wanted to leave the classroom and become an instructional designer. I set myself a goal to have an ID role by the end of that school year. I set that goal in January of that year and achieved it just a couple of months later.  To reach that goal required me not only to work really hard but to have the right mindset through that process. In this episode, I give you actionable steps to take to help you focus, improve your performance, and reach your goals.

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Enjoy the podcast transcription:

Hello, everyone. Welcome to leaving the classroom. I'm Kristi Oliva. I'm so glad you are here today. Today I am talking about goal setting, why it is important and why you should be doing it. Setting goals is a process that most cases comes before a specific outcome you have in mind. When I wanted to leave the classroom and become an instructional designer, I set myself a goal to have an ID roll by the end of that school year. I set that goal in January of that year and achieved it just a couple of months later. To reach that goal required me not only to work really hard, but to have the right mindset through that process.

Now I also love dreaming big and vision boarding. I'm currently leading my mentor group at IDOL courses Academy through a vision boarding exercise. We're taking several weeks to make physical vision boards that will serve as our motivation and what we look to to just dream.

Let me tell you a story about Jack Canfield. Jack Canfield is the famous author of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series, which has sold more than 250 titles and 500 million copies in print over 40 languages. He is also a motivational speaker, trainer and entrepreneur. Here's what he says. I've been using vision boards in one form or another since the 1970s. My first vision board was a $100,000 bill that I made myself, I taped it to the ceiling above my bed so that I would see it every day when I woke up. I set the goal for myself that I wanted to make $100,000 in one year. At that point I was making $8,000 a year so this was more than 12 times my annual income. Every morning when I would wake up I would visualize that would close my eyes and visualize my $100,000 lifestyle. What it would be like where I would live. The Navajo rugs I was going to put on my walls, the little lake house I would have, the car I would own and everything else I could think of. Guess what happened? Within about 30 days I started having $100,000 ideas for the first time in my life. Within a year I had earned $92,000 It was an amazing breakthrough. At the end of that year, my wife asked me, Do you think it'll work for a million dollars? I said, I don't know it worked for $100,000. So let's do it. We made a million dollar bill and put that on the ceiling. And within a few years, I received my first $1 million check for a book royalty for the first Chicken Soup for the Soul. Now this may seem unthinkable for someone like you and me. But why can't we have the same success and mindset as Jack Canfield? To get comfortable enough with dreaming so big, you need to work your way up and baby steps start with something simple and attainable. This will make sure that you don't get too discouraged. You want to set yourself up for an easy win. Not too easy, but easy enough that it will boost your confidence and encourage you to continue setting goals and reaching them.

Listen, research shows that the most motivating thing in the world is seeing progress, which motivates more progress. That research shows that progress is more motivating than rewards than money, success, recognition, time off anything. So when you see progress on your baby step goal, you will be motivated to make more progress. To help you make progress towards your goals. I have five things that can help you reach them.

The first one is to state your goals positively. Use a positive statement that can help you work harder and do better. So instead of a negative statement, like stop eating sweets, set a goal like sweets only on Saturdays. Instead of leave the classroom set a goal like get an instructional design role by March, make it positive.

Number two, set your priorities. setting your priorities can help avoid getting overwhelmed by having too many goals and directing your attention to things that matter most. Priority literally means most important, so you cannot have more than one thing that is the most important. Prioritize your list of goals and plan accordingly.

Number three, show dedication. If you really are eager to reach your dream, you will have to show dedication and give every bit of your energy to it. No holds barred. This is your life we are talking about. It's too important not to give it your all.

Number four, write SMART goals. SMART stands for specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time bound. Let's look at this a little bit closer, specific, is your goal clear and simple? If it's not, then it will be difficult to keep motivated and focus your efforts towards those goals. So when thinking of your goal, try answering these five questions. What is it that you want to accomplish? Why is this goal important to you? Who is involved in this process? Where is it located? Which resources will you use? Be specific? The M is for measurable. Your goal should be measurable by the criteria you set for yourself. If you have no criteria to assess your progress, it will be very difficult to stay on track when measuring your goals. Keep in mind these questions, how many or how much and how do you know when you've accomplished your goal, make it measurable. The A is for achievable for your goals to work, it has to be realistic and achievable. Although it might be challenging and require your skills to be improved, it still has to be doable. So think about your achievable goal. And you may come across your previous goals that didn't work and reflect on them. Identify and acknowledge this, and that will be essential to bringing you closer to it. Here are some questions to ask yourself about Is it achievable goal. How can you accomplish your goal? Considering the possible factors how realistic is this goal? The R is for relevant. Always look at the bigger picture when your goal setting. How relevant will it be and who would benefit from it? In this step, ask yourself these questions. Is your goal worthwhile? Is it the right time? Does it match your efforts and your needs? is it applicable to you at this time? And the T is for time bound. What is the time period you've decided to achieve your dream? All tasks should have a deadline to help you prioritize the things you need to complete your goals. Ask yourself these questions. When can you expect to achieve your goals and what can you do right now to get you there? All right.

So here's number five on our list. Surround yourself with a good support system. Consider yourself lucky if you are surrounded by positive people who uplift you towards your goals.

Well, that's where IDOL courses Academy comes in. We have mentors and coaches to help you build your professional portfolio, revise your resume, prepare your interviews, and give you valuable feedback on what you design. Sign up for IDOL courses Academy using my code CLASSROOM100 and get $100 off enrollment today. It's time to take control and make the career change that will change your life. It changed mine. See you next time.

Send your stories or your questions to [email protected] or share them with me on Instagram  @leavingtheclassroom.