This document discusses motivation and goal setting. It begins by outlining learning outcomes related to motivation, identifying motivational barriers and strategies, and creating goal statements. It then discusses the importance of having a plan or strategy to achieve goals and success. Motivation comes from both intrinsic and extrinsic sources. Goals should be specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-bound. Setting short-term action steps can help achieve long-term goals. Obstacles are inevitable but can be overcome with flexibility and perseverance.

1. MOTIVATION and GOAL SETTING
Learning outcomes
By the time you finish reading this chapter and completing its activities, you will be able to do the following:
 List and briefly describe the major motivating force in your
life.
 Identify a motivational barrier and at least one strategy to
overcome it.
 Create a goal statement that includes what want to do it , how
you will do it, why you will do it and when you will accomplish
it.
 Evaluate your locus of control.

2. MOTIVATION AND GOAL SETTING
• Every successful business must have a strategy—a plan of action—that simply
and clearly places it in an advantageous position in the marketplace. The corporate
strategy is all about making winning choices and using available resources to
bring about success. The same holds true for the college student. Having a well-
developed plan—your strategy to reach your goal—will help you make choices that
effectively use the resources you have.
• Motivation goes to the heart of your value the things that are important to
you. Your values determine what you want to accomplish by the end of this term—
or even by the end of this week What do you want to gain from college? Or asked
another way, why are you here (college), and what drives you to remain here?

3. Reflecting on Your Current Level of Motivation and Goal-
Skills
Before you answer the items that follow, reflect on your current level of motivation and goal-setting skills
• As you complete Activity 1, you should write from your heart. This exercise is not meant for you to answer just
like your classmate or to match what you may .As you complete Activity 1, you should write from your heart.
This exercise is not meant for you to answer just like your classmate or to match what you may .As you
complete Activity 1, you should write from your heart. This exercise is not meant for you to answer just like
your classmate or to match what you may think .
• the instructor wants to see. Take the time to give a respectful, responsible general accounting of your
experiences with motivation and goal setting. Doing a truthful self-assessment now will help you build on
skills you have while developing those you lack
• For each of the following items, circle the number that best describes your typical experience with
motivation and goal-setting skills. Here is the key for the numbers:
0 = never, 1 = almost never, 2 = occasionally, 3 = frequently, 4 = almost always, 5 = always

4. MOTIVATION AND GOAL SETTING
When considering your past successes and challenges with both motivation and goal setting, how often:

5. Add up your scores for items 1, 2, 3, and 7 Divide by 4. Write your answer here:
Using the key provided to explain each number (0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5), complete this sentence:
When it comes to goal setting, I establish clearly stated specific goals that make
me stretch and grow.
Add up your scores for items 4, 5, 6, and 8. Divide by 4. Write your answer here:
Using the key provided to explain each number (0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5), complete this sentence: When
it comes to motivation, I, am aware of what motivates me and how to take charge of
my motivation.
Based on your answers, what insights have you gained about your experiences with
organization

6. Motivation
Motivation moves you to act on or toward something. It can come
from within you, or it can be the consequence of some outside
force that drives you forward.
Actually, you do not need this text or a college instructor to tell
you what motivation is. Before you ever set foot on your college
campus, you were driven by desired you acted on those desires.
For instance, one of those desires was to attend college. You made
choices and took actions to make that happen. And here you are,
just wanted to be. Motivation provides the fuel, the energy , to move
towards your goals. To go to university.

7. WHERE DO YOU FIND MOTIVATIONS
Motivation varies from person to person depending on the opportunities,
challenges, tasks, activities, and life experiences he or she faces. An athletes
love for sports may motivate her to get to practice early and remain late. A
student who did not do as well on a reading quiz as he would have liked
pushes himself to improve by 10 points on the next quiz. Maybe you know
a single parent who attends school at night, works a full-time job during the
day, is the treasurer for her child's school PTA—and awakens early each day
to study for her college classes.
These are motivated individuals pursuing their goals. But what creates the
drive to accomplish these activities? Where does the drive come from?

8. EXTRINSIC AND INTRINSIC MOTIVATION
• Motivation comes from within you (intrinsic
motivation) or from some source out- side
you (extrinsic motivation). The single
mother who is a student may be moved
intrinsically, extrinsically, or both.
• Table 1 provides a glimpse into her
motivations

9. Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation

10. •Obviously, this single mother is driven by a variety of factors. Whether they are
intrinsic or extrinsic, they bring her closer to her goal of college graduation.
• Let's make this a little more personal. Think about the beginning of this school
term. Your professors outlined course expectations in their syllabi. Whether you
have adhered to those requirements has been up to you. Do you attend class
regularly because you enjoy the lectures, discussions, and classmates (intrinsic
motivation) or because you know that attendance counts toward your grade
(extrinsic motivation)?
• Consider that even if you do something for extrinsic reasons, it is connected
to what you want intrinsically. Take the previous example. If you go to class be-
cause it counts toward your grade, the grade is extrinsic. However, the fact that
you consider a grade valuable is tied to your intrinsic motivation. Perhaps it
represent the value you place on your work ethic, or maybe the grade is a
reflection of how you view yourself. Something inside you moves you to want that
grade.

11. CHARACTERISTICS OF A MOTIVATED LEARNER:
Can an Individual Learn to Be Motivated ?
If you understand what makes up motivation, you can more effectively evaluate your behavior—and begin to
make changes, as needed. Lets review one model that breads the behavior of motivated learners into five
distinct parts .
1. Choice
2. Effort
3. Persistent
4. Engagement

13. FLEXIBLEYET FOCUSED
• If your final result is not what you had hoped for, it
doesn't necessarily mean you lacked motivation. It
may indicate that its time to reevaluate your
choices and then recommit your efforts.
Flexibility is important You can't control
everything that will happen in college (or in
life). Remain focused on your journey, and allow
yourself the flexibility to make adjustment along
the way.

14. OVERCOMING MOTIVATIONAL BARRIERS
•For the moment, imagine that you cannot control
the external forces that stand between you and
what you would like to achieve. Whether it's an
instructors expectations, an uncaring employer,
or the state of the economy, we'll put those
factors aside for now. Instead, your target for this
section will be those things you can control— that
originates within you. Those are
motivational barriers.

15. Attitude
Think of something you have had difficulty staying motivated achieve Maybe you
have not been able to get to the gym as often as you would like each week.
Or perhaps you have not lost the weight you had hoped to shed this year. Listen to
your words .
Consider these statement:
■‘I hope to lose weight.”
■‘I will try to lose weight.”
■‘I think I will be able to lose weighs”
What do you notice about these statements, especially the italicized words? Compare
them with the following statements:
■‘I wiki lose weight.’
■‘I shall lose weighs"
■‘I pledge to lose weighs“

16. Mental Paralysis
Think of a ping-pong game. Two contestants paddle a small ball back and
forth over a table net. One player makes an incredible shot, but the
opponent makes a masterful return. Back and forth the game goes.
Eventually, one player will min.
■‘Yes, I need to study more for my math exam.”
■‘But, I really don't have any more time to devote to that class.
■“Yes, I know that time is an issue. Still, I really must devote more
time to math class.
■“But, I never have been any good at math. The extra time won’t
help anyway!”
■‘Yes, I guess I'm just destined to be a poor math student.“

17. BUT
, I MIGHT FAIL!”
We have all heard stories of people - famous and not so famous - who failed miserably but were able to rebound
from the depths of despair and achieve success. It may be hard to find the benefits in failure when it happens, but they
are there.
Consider some of these famous failures (“Famous Failures,’ n.d.):
■Award-winning actress and comedienne Lucille Ball was dismissed from acting school
■Early in the Beatles’career, a record company rejected them because it did not like their sound and thought ‘guitar
music was on its way out.“
■Future NBA Hall of Fame basketball player Michael Jordan did not make his high school basketball team.
■Long before Thomas Edison became a famous inventor, a teacher told him he was stupid.
■A newspaper fired Walt Disney because he lacked creativity

18. UNDERSTANDING EXCUSES
To handle your excuses, you must first understand what they
are and why you make them. When you use an excuse, you
attempt to explain a particular course of action you have taken
to remove or lessen responsibility or blame for a result.
Generally, excuses can be traced to fears of the unknown,
insecurities about the future, or a perceived inability to
handle a present situation. As stated earlier, when we make
excuses, we tend to fall back on try, but, and can't to
explain why we did not take action and move forward.
• Again, what we say becomes what we do.

19. WHAT IS A GOAL?
The first part of this chapter looked at what drives a person to a destination. Now, let's turn our attention
to that end point—to the goal your motivation moves you toward.
Generally, people think of a goal as a place they want to reach. The “place” can be academic (“I
want an A in history’), it can be personal and nonacademic (‘I will run and finish a five-mile race”), or
it can be community oriented (‘I will help paint the community center”).
We all have goals of one kind or another. They can be simple, short-term goals, like cleaning a
room, or they can be more complex long-term destinations, like becoming qualified for a
particular career.

20. WHY DOYOU NEED GOALS? CONVERTING FANTASIES TO DREAMS—AND
DREAMSTO REALITIES
Almost everything you have done in your life has
connected directly to goal setting. For instance, have
you ever done any of the following?
■Tried out for an athletic team?
■Saved your money to buy someone a gift?
■Taken certain high school courses so that you could
apply to college?
■Filled out an application for a summer job?
■Asked someone for a date?

21. LONG-TERM GOALS NEED SHORT-TERM ACTIONS
Goals go beyond the classroom. In fact, goals address many issues in life.
Figure 2
gives a broad overview of categories of goals.
The four main categories of goals, which are shown in the middle tier of
Figure 2, can be classified as long-term goals.
They are large goals that will be accomplished in the future. They will not
be reached in a day or two. In the case of career goals, years will be
required.

23. WHAT DOES A CLEARLY STATED GOAL LOOK LIKE
The questions in Activity 4 provide a glimpse into the parts of a goal. (For a more detailed discussion, see Wilson [1994], pp. 4—9)Auseful goal—as
opposed to a mere fantasy—must provide the means to help you reach your desired destination (see Figure 3).
The first step to reach your challenge involves developing a goal statement— a concrete step to make your dreams become reality. A clearly stated
goal has the following six properties:
1.Aclear goal is written. This is the step in which you state precisely what you want to achieve. Once it has been put in writing, it becomes an
affirmation of intent. Put it where you will see it every day. Some people find the process of actually writing a goal awkward and a waste of time.
Nevertheless, this is a valuable exercise as you develop the habit of establishing long-range plans.
2.A clear goal must be specific and measurable. Exactly what will be accomplished? Saying ‘I want to have a better English grade” is admirable,
but it is incomplete. How do you define truer? If your current grade is a D, would you be satisfied with a D+ (which, after all, is better than a D)? By
do you wish to raise your grade? By when? How will you know when you have achieved the goal? Write in concrete terms so that you clearly know
when you have achieved the goal. Here is a much clearer statement: “I want to get a B in my English class by the end of the semester." There is no
doubt, as to what you want to accomplish. You have also identified the time frame in which you want to accomplish the goal

24. 3.A clear goal has to be realistic. It should be challenging, yet attainable. Saying you will raise your English grade
from an F to and A by the end of the week is not realistic. Challenge yourself, but do not frustrate yourself. Refer to
the discussion earlier about H.O.G.s.
4.A clear goal must have a practical “road map.” Know where you are going, how you are going to get there, and
when you plan on arriving.Aimlessly wandering toward a goal will waste your valuable time. Simplify the goal by
dividing it into manageable, bitesize action steps. In other words, once you have set a long-range goal, identify the
action you need to take to achieve that goal. Move toward your goal with specific, measurable, and responsible action
steps. Rather than tackle too much at once, establish manageable and action- oriented steps.
5. A clear goal anticipates potential problems and obstacles. Your goals will not be immune æ twists and turns of the road.
Don’t become paranoid or obsessive about potential problems, but do anticipate some of the problems you may encounter. If you do
obstacles will less likely surprise you—or be as demoralizing.
6 . A clear goal has built-in incentives. Even though you want to reach a point where your goals are intrinsically
motivating, you should (and enjoy) your achievements. Provide appropriate rewards for yourself as you make
progress.

25. TIPS ON DEVELOPING YOUR ACTION STEPS
1. Once you have identified a goal, identify the most important step you can take to move toward it—right now.
Doing so requires you to prioritize your steps.
2. Make a commitment to take this important step as soon as possible. Can you do it tonight Tomorrow?
3. Be diligent, but be flexible. That is, treat your goals and their action steps with respect, but understand that you
may need to make adjustments. As the Dalai Lama has said, “Remember that not getting what you want is
sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck”—as you will be forced to look in a new direction.
4. Be willing to ask for help. The three Fs-friends, family, and faculty—can be wonderful resources.

26. Identifying Clearly Stated Goals
Dominic, from the chapter-opening story, has asked you to review the following list of personal goals. Put a check
/) in the circle next to each item you think clearly states a goal and an X in the circle next to each item you think
is not very clear.
• O Iwill do better in school by the end of this term.
• O Iwill raise my math average by at least one letter grade.
• O Iwill write something worthwhile in English class.
• O I need to remember more stuff.
• O I want my instructors to like me.
• O I will be able to write a clear thesis statement for every essay I am assigned.
• O I will study more effectively by appropriately rewarding myself each time I move closer to my goals.
• O I will be nicer to my family.
• O I will become a better friend.
• O I will become healthier by doing at least 30 minutes of aerobic exercise four days per week.

27. OBSTACLES, MISSTEPS,AND DETOURS
Think about your favorite movie or novel for a moment.* Can you remember the hero or heroine?
That person likely started at a certain point in his or her life and ended at another at the conclusion of
the story. In most novels and movies, the final scene represents some type of success or progress for the
main character. However, that achievement does not occur without twists and turns of the plot. Those
adventurers 0r misadventure keep you turning the pages of the book or sitting in your seat watching
the screen.
As the hero or heroine makes progress toward a particular goal, an obstacle presents itself and thwarts
him or her from the goal. To continue requires gathering his or her thoughts, refocusing, and then
moving ahead toward the goal. This continues until the final scene. Plotting the journey of the lead
character would look more like the up-and-down path you see in Figure 4 than a straight line.

29. Here are some common obstacles to achieving goals:
1. Not expecting mistakes. If you expect to move along without any glitches and one occurs, you may become so dejected that you will give up.
For instance, when planning the steps to finish a term paper, leave flexibility and ‘breathing room“ for an unexpected detour, like a computer
malfunction. Being prepared for missteps and wrong turns will make you better able to handle them. They still won't be pleasant, but you will
be able to remain focused in dealing with them.
2. Blaming obstacles for your luck of abilities. Sometimes, an obstacle is beyond your control. Sometimes, it happens because you have never
worked toward this type of goal bef6re.You might become frustrated with a particular instructor's teaching style, or the content of a course may stretch
you beyond your previous knowledge and experience. It can become too easy to say “I'm stupid” or ‘I don't do history!” Skill levels can change. Each
time you enter a classroom, you bring your of shirk to a classroom.
3. Not changing your environment. If you want to increase your biology grade by one letter grade by the end of the term, you may need to change
your study environment. Or maybe the study group you work with is not right for you. Take stock of where, when, and how you are doing things,
and then make a well-planned move. It may mean having to make choices about when and where to meet with your friends. Learn to say no if
saying yes to a particular situation will compromise your goals. Refer to the sections earlier in this chapter called Commitment and Are You in the
Way?

30. LOCUS OF CONTROL
•You may face one more potential obstacle that springs from how you see your- self in
the world. Do you believe that your actions can influence the why things turn out? Do
things just happen to you, or do you cause things to happen?
• How you answer questions like these reflects your locus of control, a concept
attributed to psychologist Julian Rotter (Mearns, n.d.). It refers to how much you
believe your actions may affect your future. In short, do you seen your actions to
affect your life, or do you wait for someone or something to happen to you?
• A simplified description of locus of control is the focus one’s power. Do you believe
the power to control events resides within you, or do you believe events are controlled
by outside forces?
• A student with an internal locus of control, for example, explains a poor test
grade by looking into the mirror and saying “I should have studied more” or
‘Before the next exam, I will be sure to visit my professor in his office.“ The
responsibility is placed on that student's shoulders by that student.