essay on why goals are important

The Importance, Benefits, and Value of Goal Setting

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.

Goal setting does not have to be boring. There are many benefits and advantages to having a set of goals to work towards.

Setting goals helps trigger new behaviors, helps guides your focus and helps you sustain that momentum in life.

Goals also help align your focus and promote a sense of self-mastery. In the end, you can’t manage what you don’t measure and you can’t improve upon something that you don’t properly manage. Setting goals can help you do all of that and more.

In this article, we will review the importance and value of goal setting as well as the many benefits.

We will also look at how goal setting can lead to greater success and performance. Setting goals not only motivates us, but can also improve our mental health and our level of personal and professional success.

Before you continue, we thought you might like to download our three Goal Achievement Exercises for free . These detailed, science-based exercises will help you or your clients create actionable goals and master techniques to create lasting behavior change.

This Article Contains:

The importance and value of goal setting, why set goals in life, what are the benefits of goal setting, 5 proven ways goal setting is effective, how can goal setting improve performance, how goal setting motivates individuals, why is goal setting important for students, a look at the importance of goal setting in mental health, the importance of goal setting in business and organizations, 10 quotes on the value and importance of setting goals, a take-home message.

Up until 2001, goals were divided into three types or groups (Elliot & McGregor, 2001):

Mastery goals
Performance-approach goals
Performance-avoidance goals

A mastery goal is a goal someone sets to accomplish or master something such as “ I will score higher in this event next time .”

A performance-approach goal is a goal where someone tries to do better than his or her peers. This type of goal could be a goal to look better by losing 5 pounds or getting a better performance review.

A performance-avoidance goal is a goal where someone tries to avoid doing worse than their peers such as a goal to avoid negative feedback.

Research done by Elliot and McGregor in 2001 changed these assumptions. Until this study was published, it was assumed that mastery goals were the best and performance-approach goals were at times good, and other times bad. Performance-avoidance goals were deemed the worst, and, in fact, bad.

The implied assumption, as a result of this, was that there were no bad mastery goals or mastery-avoidance goals.

Elliot and McGregor’s study challenged those assumptions by proving that master-avoidance goals do exist and proving that each type of goal can, in fact, be useful depending on the circumstances.

Elliot and McGregor’s research utilized a 2 x 2 achievement goal framework comprised of:

Mastery-approach
Mastery-avoidance
Performance-approach
Performance-avoidance

These variables were tested in 3 studies. In experiments one and two, explanatory factor analysis was used to break down 12 goal-setting questions into 4 factors, as seen in the diagram below.

Confirmatory factor analysis was used at a later date to show that mastery-avoidance and mastery-approach fit the data better than mastery alone.

The questions for these studies were created from a series of pilot studies and prior questionnaires. Once all of the questions were combined, a factor-analysis was utilized to confirm that each set of questions expressed different goal-setting components.

Results of these studies showed that those with a high motive to achieve were much more likely to use approach goals. Those with a high motive to avoid failure, on the other hand, were much more likely to use avoidance goals.

The third experiment examined the same four achievement goal variables and revealed that those more likely to use performance-approach goals were more likely to have higher exam scores, while those who used performance-avoidance goals were more likely to have lower exam scores.

According to the research, motivation in achievement settings is complex, and achievement goals are but one of several types of operative variables to be considered.

Achievement goal regulation, or the actual pursuit of the goal, implicates both the achievement goal itself as well as some other typically higher order factors such as motivationally relevant variables, according to the research done by Elliot and McGregor.

As we can clearly see, the research on goal setting is quite robust.

Mark Murphy the founder and CEO of LeadershipIQ.com and author of the book “ Hard Goals : The Secret to Getting from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be ,” has gone through years of research in science and how the brain works and how we are wired as a human being as it pertains to goal setting.

Murphy’s book “ Hard Goals: The Secret to Getting from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be” combines the latest research in psychology and brain science on goal-setting as well as the law of attraction to help fine-tune the process.

A HARD goal is an achieved goal, according to Murphy (2010). Murphy tells us to put our present cost into the future and our future benefit into the present.

What this really means is don’t put off until tomorrow what you could do today. We tend to value things in the present moment much more than we value things in the future.

Setting goals is a process that changes over time. The goals you set in your twenties will most likely be very different from the goals you set in your forties.

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Edward Locke and Gary Latham (1990) are leaders in goal-setting theory. According to their research, goals not only affect behavior as well as job performance, but they also help mobilize energy which leads to a higher effort overall. Higher effort leads to an increase in persistent effort.

Goals help motivate us to develop strategies that will enable us to perform at the required goal level.

Accomplishing the goal can either lead to satisfaction and further motivation or frustration and lower motivation if the goal is not accomplished.

Goal setting can be a very powerful technique, under the right conditions according to the research (Locke & Latham, 1991).

According to Lunenburg (2011), the motivational impact of goals may, in fact, be affected by moderators such as self-efficacy and ability as well.

In the 1968 article “ Toward a Theory of Task Motivation ” Locke showed us that clear goals and appropriate feedback served as a good motivator for employees (Locke, 1968).

Locke’s research also revealed that working toward a goal is a major source of motivation, which, in turn, improves performance.

Locke reviewed over a decade of research of laboratory and field studies on the effects of goal setting and performance. Locke found that over 90% of the time, goals that were specific and challenging, but not overly challenging, led to higher performance when compared to easy goals or goals that were too generic such as a goal to do your best.

Dr. Gary Latham also studied the effects of goal setting in the workplace. Latham’s results supported Locke’s findings and showed there is indeed a link that is inseparable between goal setting and workplace performance.

Locke and Latham published work together in 1990 with their work “ A Theory of Goal Setting & Task Performance ” stressing the importance of setting goals that were both specific and difficult.

Locke and Latham also stated that there are five goal-setting principles that can help improve your chances of success.

Task Complexity

Clarity is important when it comes to goals. Setting goals that are clear and specific eliminate the confusion that occurs when a goal is set in a more generic manner.

Challenging goals stretch your mind and cause you to think bigger. This helps you accomplish more. Each success you achieve helps you build a winning mindset.

Commitment is also important. If you don’t commit to your goal with everything you have it is less likely you will achieve it.

Feedback helps you know what you are doing right and how you are doing. This allows you to adjust your expectations and your plan of action going forward.

Task Complexity is the final factor. It’s important to set goals that are aligned with the goal’s complexity.

Why the secret to success is setting the right goals – John Doerr

Goal setting and task performance were studied by Locke and Latham (1991). Goal setting theory is based upon the simplest of introspective observations, specifically, that conscious human behavior is purposeful.

This behavior is regulated by one’s goals. The directedness of those goals characterizes the actions of all living organisms including things like plants.

Goal-setting theory, according to the research, states that the simplest and most direct motivational explanation on why some people perform better than others is because they have different performance goals.

Two attributes have been studied in relation to performance:

In regard to content, the two aspects that have been focused on include specificity and difficulty. Goal content can range from vague to very specific as well as difficult or not as difficult.

Difficulty depends upon the relationship someone has to the task. The same task or goal can be easy for one person, and more challenging for the next, so it’s all relative.

On average though the higher the absolute level is of a goal, the more difficult it is to achieve. According to research, there have been more than 400 studies that have examined the relationship of goal attributes to task performance.

According to Locke and Latham (1991), it has been consistently found that performance is a linear function of a goal’s difficulty.

Given an adequate level of ability and commitment, the harder a goal, the higher the performance.

What the researchers discovered was that people normally adjust their level of effort to the difficulty of the goal. As a result, they try harder for difficult goals when compared to easier goals.

The principle of goal-directed action is not restricted to conscious action, according to the research.

Goal-directed action is defined by three attributes, according to Lock & Latham.

Self-generation
Value-significance
Goal-causation

Self-generation refers to the source of energy integral to the organism. Value-significance refers to the idea that the actions not only make it possible but necessary to the organism’s survival. Goal-causation means the resulting action is caused by a goal.

While we can see that all living organisms experience some kind of goal-related action, humans are the only organisms that possess a higher form of consciousness, at least according to what we know at this point in time.

When humans take purposeful action, they set goals in order to achieve them.

Locke and Latham have also shown us that there is an important relationship between goals and performance.

Locke and Latham’s research supports the idea that the most effective performance seems to be the result of goals being both specific and challenging. When goals are used to evaluate performance and linked to feedback on results, they create a sense of commitment and acceptance.

The researchers also found that the motivational impact of goals may be affected by ability and self-efficacy, or one’s belief that they can achieve something.

It was also found that deadlines helped improve the effectiveness of a goal and a learning goal orientation leads to higher performance when compared to a performance goal orientation.

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Research done by Moeller, Theiler, and Wu (2012) examined the relationship between goal setting and student achievement at the classroom level.

This research examined a 5-year quasi-experimental study, which looked at goal setting and student achievement in the high school Spanish language classroom.

A tool known as LinguaFolio was used, and introduced into 23 high schools with a total of 1,273 students.

The study portfolio focused on student goal setting , self-assessment and a collection of evidence of language achievement.

Researchers used a hierarchical linear model, and then analyzed the relationship between goal setting and student achievement. This research was done at both the individual student and teacher levels.

A correlational analysis of the goal-setting process as well as language proficiency scores revealed a statistically significant relationship between the process of setting goals and language achievement (p < .01).

The research also looked at the importance of autonomy or one’s ability to take responsibility for their learning. Autonomy is a long-term aim of education, according to the study as well as a key factor in learning a language successfully.

There has been a paradigm shift in language education from teacher to student-centered learning, which makes the idea of autonomy even more important.

Goal setting in language learning is commonly regarded as one of the strategies that encourage a student’s sense of autonomy (Moeller, Theiler & Wu, 2012)

The results of the study revealed that there was a consistent increase over time in the main goal, plan of action and reflection scores of high school Spanish learners.

This trend held true for all levels except for the progression from third to fourth year Spanish for action plan writing and goal setting. The greatest improvement in goal setting occurred between the second and third levels of Spanish.

In one study , that looked at goal setting and wellbeing, people participated in three short one-hour sessions where they set goals.

The researchers compared those who set goals to a control group, that didn’t complete the goal-setting exercise . The results showed a causal relationship between goal setting and subjective wellbeing.

Weinberger, Mateo, and Sirey (2009) also looked at perceived barriers to mental health care and goal setting amongst depressed, community-dwelling older adults.

Forty-seven participants completed the study, which examined various barriers to mental health and goal setting. These barriers include:

Psychological barriers such as social attitudes, beliefs about depression and stigmas.
Logistical barriers such as transportation and availability of services.
Illness-related barriers that are either modifiable or not such as depression severity, comorbid anxiety, cognitive status, etc.

For individuals who perceive a large number of barriers to be overcome, a mental health referral can seem burdensome as opposed to helpful.

Defining a personal goal for treatment may be something that is helpful and even something that can increase the relevance of seeking help and improving access to care according to the study.

Goal setting has been shown to help improve the outcome in treatment, amongst studies done in adults with depression. (Weinberger, Mateo, & Sirey, 2009)

The process of goal setting has even become a major focus in several of the current psychotherapies used to treat depression. Some of the therapies that have used goal setting include:

Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT)
Cognitive and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CT, CBT)
Problem-Solving Therapy (PST)

Participants who set goals, according to the study, were more likely to accept a mental health referral. Goal setting seems to be a necessary and good first step when it comes to helping a depressed older adult take control of their wellbeing.

Most of us have been taught from a young age that setting goals can help us accomplish more and get better organized.

Goals help motivate us and help us organize our thoughts. Throughout evolutionary psychology, however, a conscious activity like goal setting has often been downplayed.

Psychoanalysis put the focus on the unconscious part of the mind, while cognitive behaviorists argue that external factors are of greater importance.

In 1968, Edward A. Locke formally developed something he called goal-setting theory, as an alternative to all of this.

Goal-setting theory helps us understand that setting goals are a conscious process and a very effective and efficient means when it comes to increasing productivity and motivation, especially in the workplace.

According to Gary P. Latham, the former President of the Canadian Psychological Association, the underlying premise of goal-setting theory is that our conscious goals affect what we achieve. Our goals are the object or the aim of our action.

This viewpoint is not aligned with the traditional cognitive behaviorism, which looks at human behavior as something that is conducted by external stimuli.

This view tells us that just like a mechanic works on a car, other people often work on our brains, without us even realizing it, and this, in turn, determines how we behave.

Goal setting theory goes beyond this assumption, telling us that our internal cognitive functions are equally important, if not more, when determining our behavior.

In order for our conscious cognition to be effective, we must direct and orient our behavior toward the world. That is the real purpose of a goal.

According to Locke and Latham, there is an important relationship between goals and performance.

Research supports the prediction that the most effective performance often results when goals are both specific and challenging in nature.

A learning goal orientation often leads to higher performance when compared to a performance goal orientation, according to the research.

Deadlines also improve the effectiveness of a goal. Goals have a pervasive influence on both employee behaviors and performance in organizations and management practice according to Locke and Latham (2002).

According to the research, nearly every modern organization has some type of psychological goal setting program in its operation.

Programs like management by objectives, (MBO), high-performance work practices (HPWP) and management information systems (MIS) all use benchmarking to stretch targets and plan strategically, all of which involve goal setting to some extent.

Fred C. Lunenburg, a professor at Sam Houston State University, summarized these points in the International Journal of Management, Business, and Administration journal article “Goal-Setting Theory of Motivation” (Lunenburg, 2011).

Specific: Specificity tells us that in order for a goal to be successful, it must also be specific. Goals such as I will do better next time are much too vague and general to motivate us.

Something more specific would be to state: I will spend at least 2 hours a day this week in order to finish the report by the deadline . This goal motivates us into action and holds us accountable.

Difficult but still attainable : Goals must, of course, be attainable, but they shouldn’t be too easy. Goals that are too simple may even cause us to give up. Goals should be challenging enough to motivate us without causing us undue stress.

Process of Acceptance : If we are continually given goals by other people, and we don’t truly accept them, we will most likely continue to fail. Accepting a goal and owning a goal is the key to success.

One way to do this on an organizational level is to bring team members together to discuss and set goals.

Feedback and evaluation : When a goal is accomplished, it makes us feel good. It gives us a sense of satisfaction. If we don’t get any feedback, this sense of pleasure will quickly go away and the accomplishment may even be meaningless.

In the workplace, continuous feedback helps give us a sense that our work and contributions matter. This goes beyond measuring a single goal.

When goals are used for performance evaluation, they are often much more effective.

Learning beyond our performance : While goals can be used as a means by which to give us feedback and evaluate our performance, the real beauty of goal setting is the fact that it helps us learn something new.

When we learn something new, we develop new skills and this helps us move up in the workplace.

Learning-oriented goals can also be very helpful when it comes to helping us discover life-meaning which can help increase productivity.

Performance-oriented goals, on the other hand, force an employee to prove what he or she can or cannot do, which is often counterproductive.

These types of goals are also less likely to produce a sense of meaning and pleasure. If we lack that sense of satisfaction, when it comes to setting and achieving a goal, we are less likely to learn and grow and explore.

Group goals : Setting group goals is also vitally important for companies. Just as individuals have goals, so too must groups and teams, and even committees. Group goals help bring people together and allow them to develop and work on the same goals.

This helps create a sense of community, as well as a deeper sense of meaning, and a greater feeling of belonging and satisfaction.

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A goal properly set is halfway reached.

Everybody has their own Mount Everest they were put on this earth to climb.

You cannot change your destination overnight, but you can change your direction overnight.

It’s better to be at the bottom of the ladder you want to climb than at the top of the one you don’t.

Stephen Kellogg

If you don’t design your own life plan, chances are you’ll fall into someone else’s plan. And guess what they have planned for you? Not much.

All who have accomplished great things have had a great aim, have fixed their gaze on a goal which was high, one which sometimes seemed impossible.

Orison Swett Marden

The greater danger for most of us isn’t that our aim is too high and miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it.

Michelangelo

Give me a stock clerk with a goal and I’ll give you a man who will make history. Give me a man with no goals and I’ll give you a stock clerk.

J.C. Penney

Intention without action is an insult to those who expect the best from you.

Andy Andrews

This one step – choosing a goal and sticking to it – changes everything.

Setting goals can help us move forward in life. Goals give us a roadmap to follow. Goals are a great way to hold ourselves accountable, even if we fail. Setting goals and working to achieving them helps us define what we truly want in life.

Setting goals also helps us prioritize things. If we choose to simply wander through life, without a goal or a plan, that’s certainly our choice. However, setting goals can help us live the life we truly want to live.

Having said that, we don’t have to live every single moment of our lives planned out because we all need those days when we have nothing to accomplish.

However, those who have clearly defined goals might just enjoy their downtime even more than those who don’t set goals.

For more insightful reading, check out our selection of goal-setting books .

We hope you enjoyed reading this article. Don’t forget to download our three Goal Achievement Exercises for free .

Elliot, A. J., & McGregor, H. A. (2001). A 2 x 2 achievement goal framework. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 80 (3), 501-519.
Locke, E. A. (1968). Toward a theory of task motivation and incentives. Organizational Behavior and Human Performance , 3 (2), 157-189.
Locke, E. A., & Latham, G. P. (1991). A theory of goal setting & task performance. The Academy of Management Review, 16 (2), 212-247.
Locke, E. A., & Latham, G. P. (2002). Building a practically useful theory of goal setting and task motivation. American Psychologist, 57 (9), 705-717.
Lunenburg, F. C. (2011). Goal-setting theory of motivation. International Journal of Management, Business, and Administration, 15 (1), 1-6.
Moeller, A. J., Theiler, J. M., & Wu, C. (2012). Goal setting and student achievement: A longitudinal study. The Modern Language Journal, 96 (2), 153-169.
Murphy, M. (2010). HARD goals: The secret to getting from where you are to where you want to be. New York, NY: McGraw Hill.
Weinberger, M. I., Mateo, C., & Sirey, J. A. (2009). Perceived barriers to mental health care and goal setting among depressed, community-dwelling older adults. Patient Preference and Adherence, 3 , 145-149.

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3 Goal Achievement Exercises Pack

The Importance of Setting Goals: 5 Best Essay Examples to Inspire You

What is Goal Setting?
Why is Goal Setting Important?
Direction and Focus: Goals help you determine what you want out of life and provide a clear direction to achieve it. They keep you focused on tasks that matter most, minimizing distractions.
Motivation: Written goals remind you why you are working hard, serving as a powerful source of motivation during challenging times.
Self-Assessment: Goals allow you to measure your progress and evaluate areas where you need improvement, which helps in personal and professional growth.
Accountability: When goals are defined, you are more likely to take responsibility for your actions because you have clear milestones to achieve.
What Makes a Good Essay on the Importance of Setting Goals?
Writing Tips for an Excellent Essay on Setting Goals:
Start with a Hook: Begin with an interesting anecdote, quote, or statistic that highlights the importance of setting goals.
Define Key Terms: Clearly explain what goal setting means and why it is important.
Use Personal Examples: Share personal experiences or success stories to illustrate the impact of goal setting.
Provide Evidence: Include data, research findings, or expert opinions to support your points.
Conclude Strongly: Summarize the main points and restate the significance of setting goals and their impact on success.
Example 1: Achieving Academic Success through Goal Setting

Introduction:

Conclusion:.

Example 2: The Role of Goal Setting in Career Advancement
Example 3: Personal Growth through Goal Setting
Example 4: Health and Wellness Goals for a Better Lifestyle
Example 5: Financial Stability through Goal Setting
Goal Setting as a Lifelong Strategy

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How Do I Write An Essay About Achieving My Goals?

Introduction.

Writing an essay about achieving your goals can be a powerful exercise in self-reflection and motivation. Whether you are writing for a class assignment, a college application, or simply for personal development, this article will guide you through the process of creating a well-structured and compelling essay on this topic. By breaking down the steps involved and providing helpful tips, you’ll be equipped to express your aspirations, outline an action plan, and highlight the significance of achieving your goals.

Step 1: Set Clear Goals

Achieving your goals starts with clearly defining what you want to accomplish. Take some time to reflect on your aspirations and think about what truly matters to you. Your goals may include academic achievements, career aspirations, personal growth, or any other area of your life that you wish to improve. Ensure that your goals are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART goals). By setting clear goals, you will be able to better articulate your vision in your essay.

Step 2: Plan Your Essay Structure

Before diving into the writing process, it’s essential to plan the structure of your essay. This will ensure that your ideas flow smoothly and logically, engaging the reader from start to finish. Generally, an essay consists of three main parts: an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion.

The Introduction: Begin your essay with a captivating introduction. Grab the reader’s attention with an anecdote, a relevant quote, or a thought-provoking question. Clearly state your goals and the significance they hold for you. Conclude the introduction with a concise thesis statement that presents the main focus of your essay.

Body Paragraphs: The body of your essay offers an opportunity to elaborate on your goals and the steps you are taking or planning to take to achieve them. Divide your body paragraphs based on the subtopics or themes you want to discuss. For each paragraph, present a specific goal, provide relevant details, and explain why it is important to you. Consider incorporating examples, personal experiences, or research to support your statements and make your essay more persuasive.

The Conclusion: Wrap up your essay with a strong conclusion that reinforces the main points you have discussed. Avoid introducing new information here. Instead, highlight the potential impact of achieving your goals and leave the reader with a final thought or call to action.

Step 3: Conduct Research

If your essay requires factual information or expert opinions, conducting research will provide you with valuable insights to enhance your writing. Utilize reputable sources such as scholarly articles, books, or credible websites to gather information that supports your aspirations. When referencing sources, make sure to cite them properly using the appropriate citation style (e.g., MLA, APA).

Step 4: Draft and Revise

Now that you have a plan and have conducted research, begin writing the initial draft of your essay. Start with the body paragraphs, as they contain the core content of your essay. Ensure each paragraph follows a logical flow and connects back to the main focus of your essay.

Once you have completed your draft, take time to review and revise. Pay attention to grammar, spelling, and sentence structure. Ensure that your ideas are presented clearly and cohesively. Consider seeking feedback from others, such as teachers, family members, or friends, to gain different perspectives and improve your essay even further.

Step 5: Add Personal Reflection

In addition to presenting your goals and action plans, be sure to include personal reflections throughout your essay. Explain why achieving these goals is meaningful to you and how they align with your values and aspirations. By sharing your personal insights and emotions, you will create a more engaging and authentic essay.

Step 6: Edit and Proofread

Before submitting your essay, it is crucial to edit and proofread your work. Review your essay for any errors, both grammatical and typographical. Ensure that your ideas are coherent and logical, and that your writing flows smoothly. Consider using online grammar checkers or seeking assistance from a professional editor if needed.

Writing an essay about achieving your goals allows you to reflect on your aspirations, establish a concrete plan, and demonstrate your determination to succeed. By following the steps outlined in this guide, you can create a compelling essay that effectively communicates your goals and motivates both yourself and your readers.

Goal Getting

What is goal setting and why is it important.

These days, the idea of setting goals is touted everywhere – by motivational speakers, in self-help books, and in countless success stories. It’s become the standard approach for chasing what we want, be it personal growth or career success.

Yet, amidst all this buzz about goal setting, it’s natural to wonder if it’s just a passing trend or if it truly holds weight. Do we really need to set goals to reach our ambitions?

This article delves into the science behind goal setting, uncovering why it’s a critical tool for success. We’ll explore real-life instances where setting clear goals has led to remarkable achievements in various aspects of life.

What is goal setting, maximizing your success potential, elevating motivation and performance, strengthening resilience in adversity, fostering personal growth and development, 1. set a smarter goal, 2. break down your goal into smaller milestones, 3. create an action plan, 4. track your progress, consistent action, stay adaptable, overcome obstacles, final thoughts.

To grasp goal setting, it’s essential to first differentiate between goals and objectives .

Imagine a goal as your long-term destination – the broader picture you’re aiming for.

Objectives are like the steps on the path to that destination. They’re the smaller, specific tasks you need to accomplish to reach your overarching goal.

Goal setting is about pinpointing these objectives and developing a strategy to hit them. It’s a process of figuring out what you need to do and planning how to do it. American motivational speaker Les Brown once said,

“Your goals are the roadmaps that guide you and show you what is possible for your life.”

This encapsulates the essence of goal setting – it’s like creating a roadmap for your life or your organization.

The practice usually involves breaking down a big goal into smaller, achievable objectives. It’s about outlining the steps to take for each objective, setting deadlines, and establishing ways to track your progress.

This method not only makes your goals more attainable but also gives you clear milestones to reach along the way.

Understanding your goals gives you a sense of purpose and direction. It’s a powerful way to keep focused on what matters most to you.

Plus, goal setting isn’t limited to one area of life. It can enhance academic performance, boost your career, and foster personal growth. It offers a structured approach where you can channel your efforts and resources effectively to achieve what you set out to do.

Why Is Goal Setting Important?

Understanding the impact of goal setting helps clarify its significance. The American Psychological Association has identified ways goal setting affects outcomes, which can be summarized in four key areas: [1]

Choice – Goal setting sharpens your focus. It helps you concentrate on actions that are in line with your goals and avoid distractions. This selective approach means you’re more likely to engage in activities that bring you closer to your goals.
Effort – Goals drive you to work harder. This increased effort stems from a desire to reach your goals and the value you place on achieving them. Simply put, having a goal often means you’re willing to put in more effort than if you were aimlessly working.
Persistence – Goals foster resilience. When facing challenges or setbacks, a clear goal can be a powerful motivator to keep going. It’s about maintaining your course even when the going gets tough.
Cognition – Goal setting leads to deeper reflection on your actions and habits. It encourages you to think about what’s needed to achieve your goals, often leading to positive changes in behavior, like adopting new habits or routines.

With these outcomes in mind, we can see the benefits of goal setting:

By focusing your efforts on relevant activities and steering clear of distractions, goal setting helps you make the most of your time and resources. This targeted approach increases your chances of success.

For instance, someone aiming to lose weight will likely prioritize healthy eating and exercise while avoiding high-calorie foods and sedentary behaviors.

Setting goals means committing to specific outcomes within a set timeframe, which can be a strong motivator. This commitment can lead to better performance and achievement. Studies have shown that people tend to perform better when working towards specific goals. [2]

Goals provide a sense of purpose and direction, helping you anticipate and prepare for challenges.

When you’re clear about what you want to achieve, you’re more likely to seek necessary resources and support, turning setbacks into opportunities for growth and learning.

Goal setting is like plotting a personal roadmap. As you progress towards your goals, you often gain new insights and perspectives, leading to personal growth.

For example, someone training for a 10k race might start with shorter runs and gradually build up, discovering their potential in the process. Setting goals also encourages self-reflection and self-improvement, fostering continuous personal development.

How to Set Goals Effectively

Now that we’ve established why goal setting is crucial, let’s talk about how to do it effectively. The key is not just setting goals but setting them the right way.

You might be familiar with the concept of SMART goals , but I suggest going a step further with SMARTer goals.

Beyond being Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-Bound, a SMARTer goal delves into understanding what you really want to achieve and why . This clarity and purpose are what keep you driven.

Using the 5 Whys framework is a great way to uncover this. You keep asking “why” until you hit the core reason behind your goal.

For example, consider the goal of ‘getting promoted.’ Let’s break it down:

Why do you want to get promoted? “To have more responsibilities at work.”
Why do you want more responsibility? “To contribute meaningfully and have a say in decisions.”
Why is contributing and decision-making important? “I want to progress in my career and be part of the company’s success.”
Why do you want career progress and to contribute to success? “To feel fulfilled at work and achieve financial stability for my family.”
Why is fulfillment and financial stability important? “To live comfortably and securely while providing for my family.”

See how we moved from a simple desire for promotion to understanding the deeper motivation of living a comfortable and secure life while supporting your family?

This deeper purpose will keep you going even when things get tough.

So, the SMARTer goal becomes:

“I want to get promoted within the next year by taking on more responsibility and making meaningful contributions to the company’s success, to achieve financial stability for myself and my family and feel fulfilled in my work.”

For more insights on setting long-term goals and achieving significant success, check out How to Set Long Term Goals to Achieve Big Things .

Tackling a big goal can feel overwhelming. That’s why breaking it down into smaller, manageable steps – or short-term goals – is vital.

This approach keeps you motivated and prevents that feeling of being swamped by the enormity of the task.

Let’s take our example of aiming for a promotion. We can divide this larger goal into achievable milestones:

Initial Discussion : Within the next 3 months, have a conversation with your supervisor about possible new responsibilities.
Taking on More : Aim to handle at least one new responsibility in the next 6 months.
Skill Enhancement: Attend a professional development course or conference in the next 6 months to sharpen skills crucial for your role.
Project Completion : Identify and successfully finish a project that positively impacts the company within 9 months.
Regular Feedback : Every other week, get feedback from your supervisor and peers to ensure you’re on the right track with your new responsibilities.
Performance Review : In 12 months, aim for a performance review that indicates you’re ready for that next step up.

By focusing on one step at a time, you can maintain motivation, as each milestone achieved is a sign of progress.

Additionally, breaking down your goals helps you identify potential challenges and obstacles early on. This foresight allows you to plan and strategize effectively, keeping you on course to achieve your ultimate goal.

Now that you’ve segmented your goal into manageable milestones, the next crucial step is to map out a detailed action plan.

This plan will be your guide, outlining the specific steps you’ll take to reach each milestone. Here’s how to structure it:

Set Timelines for Each Milestone

Assign a specific timeline to every step in your action plan. This creates a structured approach, helping you track progress and stay focused. It’s like having mini-deadlines that keep you moving forward steadily.

Identify Necessary Resources and Support

Consider what you need to achieve each milestone. This might include additional training, certain tools or software, or support from colleagues or mentors.

Knowing what you need in advance prevents last-minute scrambles and ensures you’re well-equipped for the task.

Regularly Review and Adjust Your Plan

It’s essential to revisit your plan periodically. This is not about rigidly sticking to a plan but adapting as you go.

Regular reviews help you identify any roadblocks or unexpected challenges and adjust your strategy accordingly. It’s about being agile and responsive to the situation.

Creating and following a structured action plan keeps you focused and motivated. It’s a tangible representation of your journey, turning the abstract goal into concrete steps.

Plus, it gives you the satisfaction of ticking off each milestone as you complete it, fueling your motivation even further.

The final step in effective goal setting is monitoring your progress. Seeing how far you’ve come, especially during challenging times, can give you that extra push you need to keep going.

Some reasons why tracking progress is so important:

Boosting Motivation

It’s inspiring to see the ground you’ve covered. Each milestone reached is a mini-celebration, a tangible sign that your efforts are paying off.

Ensuring That You’re Moving the Needle

Regularly tracking progress ensures you’re moving in the right direction. It’s a reality check. If you find you’re lagging in certain areas, you can adjust your strategy and get back on course.

Improving Adaptability

Goal tracking is also about recognizing and responding to challenges. When you monitor your progress, you can quickly identify and address any issues, making your path to the goal more efficient.

For business or personal development goals, a spreadsheet or a goal-tracking app might be ideal to help you track your progress. For fitness goals, a fitness tracker could be the way to go.

The key is consistency. Choose a method that fits your goal and your style, and stick with it. Seeing your progress visually can be a powerful motivator, transforming the abstract concept of a goal into something tangible and achievable.

How to Set Goals

How to achieve your goals.

The true essence of goal setting isn’t just in the planning; it’s in the doing. Turning your goals from plans into reality requires consistent action and dedication.

To actually reach your goals, you need to stick to your plan and take steps regularly.

Here’s how to make it happen:

It’s not about making huge leaps every day. Even small, consistent steps can lead to big achievements over time.

Regular action keeps the momentum going and brings you closer to your goal.

Be ready to tweak your plan as needed. Life throws curveballs, and being flexible in your approach means you can navigate these changes without losing sight of your goal.

Challenges are part of the journey. Instead of viewing them as roadblocks, see them as opportunities to learn and grow. Every problem you solve makes you better equipped for the next one.

For more in-depth guidance, take a look at The Ultimate Guide to Goal Achieving & Goal Setting . With the right approach, you can achieve your goals and lead a fulfilling life.

Goal setting is a continuous journey, not just a one-off task. It’s about integrating your goals into your daily life and treating them as promises to yourself.

The value of a goal lies not only in its achievement but also in the growth and learning you experience along the way.

Be patient and keep pushing forward, even on tough days. Every small step counts. And don’t forget to celebrate your progress, no matter how minor it may seem. These celebrations are reminders of your capability and dedication.

Ultimately, the journey towards your goals is as significant as reaching them. It’s a path of personal growth and satisfaction, knowing you’re actively shaping your life according to your aspirations.

And to help you make the process more effective, try our Time Flow System to find your North Star and create actionable plan to reach it.

[1]	^	American Psychological Association:
[2]	^	American Psychologist:

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Essay on Goals in Life

Students are often asked to write an essay on Goals in Life in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Goals in Life

Introduction.

Goals in life are like a compass, guiding us towards our desired destination. They provide a sense of direction and purpose, helping us focus and organize our efforts efficiently.

Importance of Goals

Goals are important as they motivate us to strive for success. They make us resilient, enabling us to overcome obstacles and challenges that may come our way.

Types of Goals

Goals can be short-term or long-term. Short-term goals are achievable quickly, while long-term goals require time and persistent effort.

In conclusion, setting goals is essential for personal growth and success. Always remember, a goal without a plan is just a wish.

250 Words Essay on Goals in Life

The importance of setting goals.

Setting goals is integral to our growth and progress. They serve as a blueprint for our future, guiding our actions and decisions. Goals foster resilience, as they urge us to persevere despite setbacks. They also encourage self-development, pushing us to acquire new skills and knowledge.

Goals can be broadly classified into short-term and long-term goals. Short-term goals act as immediate milestones, while long-term goals shape our vision for the future. Balancing both is crucial, as short-term goals often pave the way to long-term accomplishments.

Goal Setting and Achievement

Effective goal setting requires specificity, measurability, attainability, relevance, and timeliness (SMART). This approach ensures our goals are realistic and achievable. Moreover, consistent evaluation and adjustment of our goals is essential, as it allows us to stay aligned with our evolving aspirations and circumstances.

In conclusion, goals are fundamental to our life’s journey. They provide direction, foster resilience, and encourage personal growth. Balancing short-term and long-term goals, along with effective goal-setting strategies, can lead us to success. Ultimately, it is through setting and achieving our goals that we write our own life story.

500 Words Essay on Goals in Life

Goals are the compass that guides us through life, providing direction and purpose. They are the stepping stones towards achieving our ultimate dreams and aspirations. Goals, whether personal, professional, or academic, are significant as they shape our lives, fuel our ambition, and give us a sense of accomplishment.

Goals also foster resilience, as they often require sustained effort and dedication. They teach us the value of perseverance, as the journey towards achieving them is usually filled with obstacles and setbacks. However, these challenges serve to strengthen us, enhancing our problem-solving skills and fostering personal growth.

Goals can be broadly categorized into short-term and long-term goals. Short-term goals are immediate objectives that can be achieved within a relatively short timeframe. These could range from completing a project, passing an exam, or learning a new skill.

Goal Setting Strategies

Effective goal setting requires thought and planning. One popular method is the SMART framework, which stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. This approach encourages us to set goals that are clear and precise, have a defined timeline, are realistically attainable, and align with our broader life objectives.

Another crucial aspect of goal setting is maintaining flexibility. Life is unpredictable, and circumstances can change unexpectedly. Therefore, it’s essential to be adaptable and open to modifying our goals as needed.

If you’re looking for more, here are essays on other interesting topics:

Apart from these, you can look at all the essays by clicking here .

Why Goal Setting Is Important: How to Set Goals to Help You Succeed

Goalswe all have them in one form or another. this is why the art of goal setting becomes an important skill to master..

Goals—we all have them in one form or another, though they can vary widely and wildly.

And while one person might be planning a trek up Everest and another may be planning to retire at forty, another’s goal might simply be getting out of bed that day.

As human beings, we often set goals as a way of improving, or evolving: To lose weight, to get healthy, to improve our attachment styles in relationships, to focus more on our art, to get into law school, or to start a family. But while there is an abundance of goals one can hope to achieve, it often seems there are far more goals that go unfulfilled.

This is why the art of goal setting becomes an important skill to master.

If you work hard striving for goals and yet never seem to get very far, it’s possible that a little more groundwork could be the ticket. You may need to spend more time reflecting on what you truly want, and turning those clear wants into concrete, formal goals.

While it’s most certainly true that the journey is the destination, our chances of ever reaching a destination—not to mention, getting the most out of a journey—depend heavily on our clarity of desire and intention. In other words, clear goal setting is a key part of getting done what we want to accomplish.

What is goal setting?

Goal setting can be defined as the process in which you identify something you wish to achieve, and go about setting a timeframe in which to achieve it, complete with measurable objectives along the way.

According to famed life coach To n y Robbins , learning to set goals in one area of your life makes it easier to do the same in other areas, and setting goals with milestones along the way which allow for small, progressive wins helps pave the way for larger achievements.

People across all backgrounds, experiences, and industries set goals in order to make progress towards them, in large part because goal setting helps us keep the long term big picture in mind while also motivating us in the short term.

Ultimately, effective goal setting, proper time management and a well organized goal setting strategy is the key to progress and making the most of your life. By defining smart goals, not only will it help you understand the different types of goals and their relationship to one another, but it will set you up on a road to long-term success.

What are the 3 types of goals?

Process goals.

Process goals, also known as procedural goals, are based on specific, measurable actions, such as aiming to work on your novel for one hour every morning, or doing yoga for 30 minutes a day.

Setting a process goal means honing in on strategies related to what you want to achieve entirely within your control, and finding ways that will increase your chances of accomplishing what you set out to do.

Particularly helpful for altering habits and behaviors, process goals often include clearly scheduled plans, such as exercising 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week, for a 1 month. As luck (or dedication) would have it, process goals also help pave the way for outcome goals.

Outcome goals

If process goals are the journey, outcome goals are the destination.

Outcome goals are based on the precise end results you want to achieve. This could mean scoring a position you’ve been vying for, getting into the NHL, winning a grant, or building your own house.

Outcome goals are challenging to control due to external influences. For instance, saying, “I will become an acupuncturist” tells you what result you’re looking for, but not how to get there. While you can study hard, you don’t grade your own exams.

Ultimately, while we can take steps to influence the outcome in our favor, the final results are more or less beyond our control.

Performance goals

Performance goals are largely controllable, though not entirely, and they are based on your personal standards. Aiming to graduate at the top of your class is a good example of a performance goal.

Think of it this way: performance goals set the bar for our process goals. They’re results-focused. For example, while your process goal might be to jog an hour a day for 3 months, and your outcome goal might be to win a marathon, your performance goal might involve gradually improving your speed.

Ultimately, the best way to attain an outcome goal is to align your performance goals with your process goals.

Why is goal setting Important?

It’s actually relatively simple. If you want to accomplish personal goals, or improve, succeed, or even excel at something, goal setting practices are necessary. Without them, we lack direction and attention.

Agency. Setting goals helps us grab the reins that steer our lives, while also providing a benchmark to evaluate whether or not our trajectory is well-aimed at success.
Growth. Setting goals is also the most natural way in the world to set yourself up for personal growth and expansion, as goals and goal achievement push us out of our comfort zones, facilitating transformation in ways that previously may not have seemed possible.
Fulfillment. For many, a feeling of fulfillment can only come with the sense that we’re working toward achieving some kind of success, whatever dreams you may have. In other words, progress and satisfaction are profoundly linked.

How to achieve your goals

It can be very helpful to begin the goal setting process by looking at your long term vision. By breaking down your lifetime goals into smaller goals, you can achieve goals over a progressive time frame: ten years, two years, one year, until you get to next month, next week, and finally, today.

Once you’ve looked at the big picture and broken it down into numerous smaller pictures, you’re ready to start moving toward achieving them. This is the key to effective goal setting.

Let’s break down this important prep work, shall we?

Want to achieve? Here’s how to set goals

Brainstorm. Take 5 or 10 minutes to brainstorm a list of any and all things you hope to do, create, achieve, have, or experience in the next 20 years (or however many years you want). Don’t hesitate—just write it all down, whether it seems realistic or not.
Organize. Since deadlines are integral to setting goals, go through your list and next to each goal, indicate how many years (or months) it will take to achieve them.
Review. Look through your list again, and select your top 4 goals. Try to pick some short and some longer term. Ideally, these are the goals which excite you. Then, write a blurb for each, detailing why you will definitely be achieving the goal within your scheduled time frame (i.e., what’s driving you to succeed?).
Assess. Look over your list again with fresh eyes and determine whether your goals are clearly defined, measurable, and realistic. Do they have a deadline built in? Most of us work best with a bit of pressure in the mix.

What are the 5 steps to goal setting?

1. set smart goals.

Harnessing the SMART framework as a 5-step strategy for setting personal goals with a clear purpose can be super helpful for setting you on the path to successful goal fulfillment! Here’s what SMART stands for:

Perhaps the most important thing is that your goal setting be clear and concrete. Avoid vagueness when setting goals because you’ll only end up lacking direction. Think of goals as lanterns, lighting up your path. The more precise and well-defined your goals are, the clearer your path to success will be.

Be sure to include precise dates, scores, amounts, etc., in your goals so you have a straightforward way of measuring your progress. If your goal is “To eat less sugar,” it will be difficult to determine at what point you’ve successfully achieved it. Instead, come up with tangibles so you can measure feedback, like “a 50% reduction in one year.” That way, you’ll have a much clearer idea when a celebration is in order!

While it’s important not to let others tell us what is and isn’t realistic when it comes to goal setting, it’s important to look inside yourself and determine whether it's actually possible to achieve the goals you set forth. If you set a goal you have no hope of achieving (i.e., switching careers to become a rocket scientist) you will end up discouraged. At the same time, try not to set goals that are too easy either. Individuals should have goals that occupy the sweet spot: realistic yet challenging. These are the types that push you to grow.

It may go without saying, but your goals should be relevant to whatever direction you want your life and/or career to take. Otherwise, why set goals? If your goals diverge with the trajectory you’re currently on, you may end up struggling to make time or stay focused. By keeping your goals aligned with your current path, you'll develop the self-discipline you need to fulfill your goals. All of that said, if your goal is to alter your current life path, and you’re motivated enough to follow through on the challenges, don’t let anyone else’s list of rules discourage you.

Time-bound

To get what you want to achieve, you have to give your goals a deadline, even if you’re not a deadlines person. Achieving goals is hard to do any other way. Goal setting theory tells us that deadlines give us a well-suited sense of urgency, remind us to celebrate victories (both big and small), and ultimately help us to achieve our goals with time to spare for other things.

2. Identify your greatest motivators.

Any goals you set for yourself should motivate you, and in order to motivate you, they need to mean something to you. If your goal doesn’t fully interest you, or in some way contradicts your bigger picture, then the chances that you’ll make it a reality are low.

One of the best goal setting tips is that, wherever possible, you should set goals aligned with your highest priorities: your career, your couple goals , your family. Without high priority focus, you can end up with too many goals, scattered over different parts of your life. This can be overwhelming or frustrating and leave you with little time to spend on each. This in turn is demotivating.

Focused motivation is the fuel you need to make it happen!

3. Write it down.

Taking the time to think about a goal thoroughly enough to put it in writing makes it real. You no longer risk letting it slip your mind.

Use concrete language like “will” instead of “would like to” or “might.” For example, “I will become a personal trainer,” rather than “I would like to become a personal trainer.” The difference may seem negligible, but words have power, and can hold our passions if we use them right.

Once they’re down on paper, post your goals in visible places (like your fridge, or your bathroom mirror) to serve as daily reminders.

4. Create an action plan

Many of us skip the action plan step in the goal setting routine, but it’s crucial to achieve goals. We become overly focused on the outcome, to the detriment of the steps needed to get there!

Write down every step you need to make, and enjoy crossing them off your list, one by one. This is especially important if your goal entails a long term commitment.

Goal setting is an ongoing commitment, not just a way of achieving results. Be sure to schedule regular reminders to keep yourself focused, and allot daily or weekly time slots to review and update your goals.

While your end goal may stay the same in the long term, how you get there can change drastically. To stay committed to your outcome, check in with yourself regularly to make sure your goals are still relevant, valuable, and necessary to your life. You should still feel excited about them.

Why we sometimes fail to achieve our goals

Arguably, coming up with goals is easy when compared with all the work that goes into outlining its specifics, coming up with an action plan, and following through with them despite the obstacles that are sure to crop up along the way.

You don’t need to look far to see there are many reasons we fail to fulfill our goals and all the dreams that accompany them. Here are some of the reasons why we fail to achieve our goals, and how to avoid falling into the usual traps:

We’re too focused on the effort it takes. Keep your eye on the prize, even through all the hard work.
Our goals are vague or unattainable. Be concrete, define everything with clarity and focus.
There are too many pots on the stove. Avoid setting goals which are scattered, especially ones that conflict with each other.
We plan poorly. Consider all your responsibilities and measure them against your goals: i.e., don’t aim to win a tennis championship the same year you plan to have a baby.
We lose sight of our motivators. Don’t lose sight of why you’re striving for something in the first place: that’s your bread and butter, right there.
We make excuses. Although sometimes life does get in the way, it’s important to listen to the excuses we make and judge whether we ourselves actually do believe them.
We don’t expect any obstacles. Planning for potential obstacles is arguably just as important as planning our goals out—it’s also a good way to avoid being taken off guard and having your whole process derailed.
We fail to set deadlines. Sometimes, the best lifeline is a deadline! In other words, to have the right time management, you need a barometer by setting deadlines. Even if they may seem arbitrary, they can actually act as self-fulfilling prophecies.
We pay attention to naysayers. There will always be haters and naysayers out there in life who discourage you or plant seeds of doubt—ignore them, because they’re often a sign that you’re doing things right.
We’re afraid of failure. Fear of failure, often rooted in perfectionism, can seriously hold us back, yet without risk, we achieve nothing. Overcome this and avoid sabotaging your goals!
We procrastinate with the best of them. Of all the reasons we fail to achieve our goals, procrastination is the most widespread. According to the Harvard Business Review, one of the best ways to beat procrastination is by committing publicly , or telling as many people you can about your goal so you have people to hold you to task.

The good news is, the main reason people fail has to do with how they set their goals. And this, as we’ve seen, is something that can be corrected.

The other good news: if you’re not failing at something, you’re not doing much. Even if you don’t achieve a specific goal, chances are you’ve made a good deal of progress.

The real question is, what will you do with your failures— and your successes? When you fail, you’re always free to go back and reevaluate your process to gain insight about what you might have done differently, and when.

Analyzing our failures help us alter our strategies and tackle our goals from fresh new angles. After all, even if the results you want are highly specific, there may actually be numerous different ways and systems you can use to reach your final destination. Once you determine what it is that caused you to fail, you can choose to learn from it (we should all do the same with our successes, truth be told).

Every single time we set a goal, we have the opportunity to learn something new.

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Forced to feel ashamed for her weight and appearance, Kate Winslet struggled with her body image for years. The media loved to tease her for being “the fat girl,” but there was ONE PERSON who saw the real her. What did Leo see in Kate? And what important message does Kate have for young women everywhere?

Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio's True Friendship

Kate Winslet has not always been sure of herself. "I was always comparing myself to others. You see I've been bullied at school, they call me blubber, they teased me for wanting to act."

While it's nearly impossible to think of the gorgeous and talented Winslet as anything other than a force to be reckoned with, years of being teased and the media's love for taking shots at her weight did their damage.

"I was sort of made to feel ashamed of myself, my appearance."

But when co-star and friend, Leonardo DiCaprio stepped in, he had only a few words of encouragement that helped to shape a new outlook for the Titanic actress. An outlook that she was able to share with other women, including her young daughter , Mia.

"You know, happiness it isn't a search for, you know ,facial physical perfection. You know, it comes from inside."

Poor Boy Couldn’t Afford to Bury His Mom - So He Takes Matters Into His Own Hands

Poor Boy Begs For Money to "Bury My Mama" With Heartbreaking Sign

A week ago, 11-year-old Kayden Ely experienced the devastating loss of his mother, Shannon Mount. Her unexpected passing didn't just leave Kayden and his four siblings without their mom, it also left the family in dire financial straits.

Desperate to raise funds for his mom's funeral, Kayden took to the streets of his small town in Georgia begging for help. For two days the heartbroken little boy stood next to the railroad tracks, holding a sign that read, "Please help me bury my mama!"

Grieving Boy's Desperate Plea for Help

Kayden Ely says goodbye to his mom, Shannon Mount; Kayden Ely and his older brother raise funds for their mom's funeral.

Facebook.com/Jennifer Fife

Shannon Mount, 45, went into cardiac arrest on July 8. Her boyfriend, Billy Upton, tried to save her, performing CPR on her until paramedics arrived and were able to revive her. After spending several days on life support, she passed away.

Without life insurance and unable to afford the astronomical bill of her 8 days in emergency care (never mind burial expenses) Kayden didn't have the luxury of taking time to grieve his mom.

Instead, he made it his mission to give her a proper goodbye.

Armed with his homemade sign, Kayden spent hours standing on the side of the road, praying passing motorists would notice and want to help.

Not only did community members step up and come to his aid with donations, hugs, and prayers, but they also shared the young boy's plight on social media and contacted local news stations to spread the word. They even joined him on the ground, helping him set up a hotdog stand to make more money.

But the small town giving didn't stop there. An anonymous donor contacted the family, offering to pay for the cost of a burial plot, and several local businesses put out jars to collect spare change. The funeral home, Good Shepherd, also gave the family a significant discount.

GoFundMe Campaign Raises More Than 10x the Original Goal

www.gofundme.com

Inspired by Kayden's strength and determination to provide a resting place for his mom, Jennifer Grissom, his cousin and guardian, also launched a GoFundMe .

"Shannon did not have life insurance, she has an 11-year-old that is left without the only thing he ever knew," Jennifer wrote on the page.

"He has been standing on [the] side of the road for 2 days with a sign to help bury his mama."

She initially set a goal of $7,100, just enough to cover the costs of the funeral which can run upwards of $12,000 in some states.

But then the donations started pouring in. And that $7,100 quickly became $70,000. More than 1700 people have come forward to donate, all of them motivated by one singular thought: "No child should ever have to worry about paying for a funeral."

Jennifer says she plans on using the extra funds to "make sure Kayden gets to do things children his age get to do; sports, camps, etc." She's also using it to buy him clothes, school supplies, and necessities, and start a college fund.

In an update on the page, she wrote, "Today we took him to Walmart so he could get a bed set and he got a few things he needed."

Adding, "When we were leaving his aunt asked him, 'Why are you so happy' and he replied...'Me and mama didn’t have much money we were poor, and I didn’t get to go buy stuff like this' and all this baby got was a bed set, toothbrush, pillows and pillow cases. He is so thankful. Thank y'all for making him smile."

But most importantly, a grieving little boy is getting his wish. Shannon, who is described as a "straight shooter...who loved her kids fiercely" in her obituary, will be properly laid to rest at the end of the month.

Paying it Forward

Kayden Ely gives away free hot dogs and drinks.

To thank his community for their incredible support, Kayden decided to pay it forward.

He set up another hotdog stand, only this time instead of charging for the dogs and drinks, he gave them away for free; a fitting gesture of gratitude for an 11-year-old boy.

He also appeared in a brief Facebook video with Jennifer, thanking everyone for their donations and helping to get the word out to the community. But even more meaningful than the monetary support was the outpouring of emotional support.

"We want to thank everybody that stopped," Jennifer said. "You know, there were some people who just wanted to give him a hug or some people that wanted to pray with him and tell him they're sorry for his loss."

"Some people stopped and just wanted to help us cook hot dogs. A man stopped and he helped us hold a sign. That means so much to us, it really does."

Grief can be incredibly isolating and when you lose the most important person in your life, it's even more so.

Kayden is only 11 years old, he shouldn't have to know the devastating pain of loss. But having a supportive community will go a long way in making him feel a little less alone.

Woman “Accidentally” Forgets to End Call Before Speaking About Daughter-In-Law

Mom asks woman to give up her first-class seat for her child - people are applauding her response, desperate man needs to pay rent - decides to give his money to a stranger instead, grandma forced to sell homemade goods to get by - then, a stranger walks up to her, why paul walker left his only daughter with vin diesel, matthew mcconaughey’s life-changing lesson for kate hudson (video), snoop dogg confronts the man that got tupac killed (video), jennifer hudson's horrific family tragedy-how the singer forgave and healed, subscribe to our newsletter, nicola coughlan has brilliant response to fan calling her bridgerton scenes "very brave", the untold story of michael and janet jackson's complex relationship, the disturbing and beautiful story behind danny trejo's salma hayek tattoo, the 11 best bridgerton quotes to make you feel powerful, romantic and wise, grieving daughter goes thrift store shopping - finds an unexpected note in a purse.

Grieving Daughter Finds Note In Fossil Purse While Thrifting

Thrifting can net all sorts of treasures. Shoppers can snatch up everything from vintage clothes to mid-century modern furniture to kitschy knick-knacks, all without breaking the bank.

But for one grieving woman, she found a hidden gem that was truly priceless.

Unexpected Thrift Store Find

Photo of a little girl with her father and a black purse.

TikTok/Abrielle Clausing

On January 13, 2021, Abrielle Clausing's world fell apart. Her father unexpectedly passed away from Covid-19. As anyone who has experienced grief knows, the journey isn't a straight one. It ebbs and flows with some days being significantly harder than others.

It was during a "particularly hard grief week" when Abrielle, 24, decided to embark on some retail therapy. She used to love thrifting with her dad, and no one loved a good deal more than he did.

However, she didn't just want to shop for the sake of shopping, she had a very specific item she wanted in mind.

"My sister and I decided to go thrifting and I told her I wanted to find a vintage Fossil brand purse," she explains in a now-viral TikTok video .

And wouldn't you know, Abrielle did indeed end up finding "the cutest vintage Fossil brand purse" - seriously what are the chances?

And as if that wasn't serendipitous enough, it was about to get a whole lot more remarkable.

Inside the purse was a handwritten note:

"When you read this you will be far from me in miles but not in my heart. I'm here. I love you."

She immediately took it as a sign from her beloved dad.

" I knew it was from him," she told People . "I always check the inside of the bag before I buy it to make sure it’s in good condition. When I stuck my hand in it, I felt the piece of paper and when I took it out and found the note, I read it out loud to my sister."

"When I saw the note, it just confirmed that he was with us," she added. "He’s always with us."

Response To The Viral TikTok

www.tiktok.com

Abrielle's heartwarming video has garnered nearly one million views and over 1,000 comments and it's making believers out of every single one of us.

"I'm so afraid that death is final and we just stop existing. But some things can't be explained. There has to be more out there!!"

"This was def him 🥹💙"

"I’m literally crying so hard. Someone would have had to carry me out of the thrift 😭"

"I'm honestly at a loss for words. Wow. Just wow."

Even Fossil weighed in, writing, "What a beautiful note to find. Your dad's love will always be with you. Sending you and your family a big, warm hug."

Her TikTok also opened the floodgates for others to share the signs they've received from lost loved ones.

"My brother passed away & years later I was at a checkout line in the store & at the cash register was a young school photo of him that someone left.... never made sense but I'll never forget it."

"About 30 seconds after bursting in tears thinking about my grandpa a car merged in front of me and the license plate was his name and his age when he died 😭😭"

"When my mom passed, days after I found an email that not me nor my sister had opened or read before. It was an email my mom sent us 4 years before with the message “open it when I’m gone, love, mom”. It had a beautiful letter as an attachment."

Love Lives On

The note Abrielle Clausing found in a Fossil bag while thrifting is now part of a cherished collage.

People.com/Abrielle Clausing

Abrielle has given the note a place of honor, right smack in the middle of a framed collage of her favorite sayings and things.

It's a beautiful reminder that the love she shared with her dad lives on, even though he is gone.

And whether you believe in fate or not, you have to admit the universe had an uncanny way of showing up just when she needed it to.

After all, what are the odds that a stranger penned a note with the exact words she needed to hear, placed it in the exact bag she was looking for, AND that bag ended up in the exact thrift store she was shopping in? Pretty astronomical.

And yet, here we are.

Life is full of unexpected, magical moments that often happen when we least expect it. And sometimes those moments bring us the comfort and connection we need most, reminding us that love...is never truly lost.

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How to Write an Essay About My Goal: A Comprehensive Guide

In the ever-evolving journey of life, setting clear objectives and ambitions is crucial. Whether these goals are short-term or stretch into the far reaches of our future, they act as guiding lights in our journey. This guide will assist you in articulating and expressing these ambitions effectively, especially when it comes to writing them down.

Understanding the Importance of Goal Setting

Setting life goals is a combination of introspection and foresight. It demands an understanding of one's current standing and a clear vision for the future. By penning down your goals, you not only provide yourself a clear road map but also make a commitment to yourself to achieve them.

How To Write An Essay About My Life Goals

Introduction : Initiate with an engaging hook—be it a quote, question, or anecdote—that aligns with your goal.
State your main goal : Elucidate on what your primary life objective is. Be it professional success, personal achievement, or societal contribution, clarify your aim.
The 'Why' behind the goal : Delve into your motivations. Discuss the driving forces behind this ambition.
Steps to achieve : Provide a roadmap. Enumerate the steps you'd undertake to transform this goal into a reality.
Potential Challenges : Highlight potential obstacles and your strategies to navigate them.
Conclusion : Summarize and re-emphasize your dedication towards your objective.

Career Goal Essay Definition

It's essential to differentiate between life goals and career goals. While the former encompasses broader objectives, a career goal essay underscores your professional aspirations, detailing why they matter and how you plan to attain them.

How Long is a Professional Goal Statement?

A professional goal statement's length can vary but should be concise. Ranging typically from 500 to 1000 words, it should capture your aspirations succinctly. Always adhere to specific guidelines if provided.

What to Avoid While Writing Your Career Goal Essay

• Ambiguity: Always be specific. • Unsubstantiated lofty goals: Your ambitions should be grounded in reality. • Neglecting personal growth: Showcase how your past has shaped your future. • Reiteration: Stay succinct and steer clear of repetition.

My Future Goals Essay: 12 Models

Entrepreneurial Aspirations : Launching a sustainable fashion startup by 2030.
Technological Goals : Developing an AI-driven community healthcare system.
Educational Objectives : Attaining a Ph.D. in Quantum Physics.
Artistic Pursuits : Holding a solo art exhibition in a renowned gallery.
Societal Contributions : Establishing a foundation for underprivileged children's education.
Scientific Aspirations : Contributing to renewable energy research.
Medical Goals : Becoming a pediatric surgeon and researching rare childhood diseases.
Travel Objectives : Visiting every UNESCO World Heritage site.
Sports Ambitions : Completing an Ironman Triathlon.
Literary Goals : Publishing a trilogy of fantasy novels.
Environmental Aims : Pioneering a city-wide recycling initiative.
Leadership Aspirations : Becoming the CEO of a Fortune 500 company.

Articulating one's life and career goals requires introspection, clarity, and foresight. This guide offers a structured blueprint to ensure your essay not only adheres to academic standards but genuinely resonates with your aspirations and dreams. Whether you're grappling with questions like "what should I write in my college essay?" or "how to draft a goal statement?", this guide is here to light the way.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the ideal structure for a future career essay? Start with an engaging introduction about your aspirations. In the body, detail the steps you plan to take, experiences that have guided you, and why you chose this career. End with a conclusion summarizing your determination and future vision.
How do I ensure my career goals essay stands out? Incorporate personal stories or experiences that shaped your goals. Be specific about your aspirations and how you plan to achieve them.
How can I relate my past experiences to my future career in the essay? Highlight skills, lessons, or challenges from your past and demonstrate how they have directed or prepared you for your future career.
What should I avoid when writing an essay about my career goals? Avoid being too vague about your goals. Steer clear of clichés, and ensure your goals are realistic and grounded.
How long should my essay about my goal be? This depends on the requirement. Usually, personal statements are between 500-700 words. Always adhere to the specified word limit.
Can I include short-term and long-term goals in my essay? Absolutely! Detailing both shows planning and vision. Highlight how short-term goals will pave the way for long-term objectives.
How do I conclude my essay about my goals effectively? Reiterate your dedication to these goals, reflect on the journey ahead, and end with a note of optimism and determination.

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How To Write A Powerful Essay On Achieving Goals (+ Example)

Goal setting is a useful strategy to get the most out of life and set yourself up for success. However, there are many things to remember regarding proper goal setting and achievement. When writing a blm argumentative essay , it’s important to provide context on the history of the Black Lives Matter movement and the issues it seeks to address. This can help the reader understand the significance of the essay’s thesis and arguments. Let’s get to grips with the process of goal setting and come up with a powerful essay on achieving goals.

Structuring Your Essay on Achieving Goals:

How to write an introduction, how to write the main body of your essay.

There should be a minimum of three paragraphs in your essay. Each one is a ‘mini-essay with an introduction, body, and conclusion. Each should include:

How to Write a Conclusion

Example of an essay about achieving your goals.

So, let’s put all this information together and check an example essay on achieving goals: Effective Methods to Increase the Likelihood of Goal Achievement Achieving goals can be extremely rewarding and result in a more satisfying and successful life. Many people set goals yet cannot achieve them. However, there are ways to avoid or reduce the likelihood of missing the mark. By ensuring that goals are SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound), using visualization techniques, and rewarding goal attainment, the chances of success increase. First, ensure your goals are SMART. This means that goals should be specific and measurable in terms of outcomes, e.g., test scores . Goals should be achievable and realistic to the person’s capabilities and resources available. Also, a goal should apply to the person’s work, education, hobbies, or interests and include a deadline. If there is no specificity of outcome, there’s no real way to see how someone has improved—or how they might be falling short. And if goals are not SMART, they are more difficult to achieve. Second, by imagining and visualizing the feelings and outcomes of achievement of the goal , the likelihood of high achievement increases. The imagination can be a powerful tool. Imagining the feelings of accomplishment helps to increase self-efficacy and motivation. A Canadian study found that imagery skills moderate the effect of mental practice on self-efficacy. The effects of visualization techniques are valuable in goal achievement. Third, once the goal has been accomplished, a reward is required. Getting a reward for hard work will increasingly motivate an individual to set and achieve the next goal. The offer of a reward gives employees and students an extra boost of motivation. Rewards help the cycle of goal setting and goal achieving to continue. In summary, by ensuring the goals set are SMART, visualizing and rewarding success, goal achievement becomes more likely. Achieving goals is a cyclic process that’s possible to master if the right method is in place.

The Basics of Setting and Achieving Goals

Goals should be specific and free of generalizations, or they are unlikely to get done. Instead of stating that your goal is to improve your English skills, make it more specific by stating that your goal is to learn and use one new word every weekday to boost your English vocabulary.

A goal should be measurable because you need to keep your finger on the pulse and know where you’re at. For instance, a test or assessment score can provide evidence that you have reached your goal.

A goal needs to be possible to achieved. If it’s beyond your capabilities or requires resources you cannot access, then you will set yourself up for failure.

You must set a completion date for your goal. If you do not set a deadline, you may lack the motivation to reach it. Once you have your SMART goal, record it clearly on paper or a mobile device and then visualize the outcome of achieving that goal. Imagine how happy you will feel when you achieve it. This vivid mental imagery will provide you with the extra motivation to go for it. Finally, when you reach your goal, it’s time to celebrate! Reward yourself with a trip, an item you desire, relaxation time with friends, or whatever else that will make you feel happy.

Ready to write an essay about achieving goals?

Hopefully, the information in the article has given you the basics to help you write a powerful essay on achieving goals. I also hope that this article has helped you think about how you can work toward achieving your own goals. There are many great books about the science of goal achievement. I especially recommend ones written by Brian Tracy , as they have helped me a great deal in my pursuit of happiness . You can also create an engaging presentation about achieving goals and objectives using this goal presentation template . Next up, you may want to explore an ultimate guide to writing expository essays .

Rafal Reyzer

Hey there, welcome to my blog! I'm a full-time entrepreneur building two companies, a digital marketer, and a content creator with 10+ years of experience. I started RafalReyzer.com to provide you with great tools and strategies you can use to become a proficient digital marketer and achieve freedom through online creativity. My site is a one-stop shop for digital marketers, and content enthusiasts who want to be independent, earn more money, and create beautiful things. Explore my journey here , and don't miss out on my AI Marketing Mastery online course.

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It helps people in defining the vision and path for the achievement of desired goals
It also encourages people to know the reason behind their work and the ways in which it can result in a bigger picture (Mathieu et al. 2017)
Along with this, it also creates accountability and encourages individuals fort measuring their work and think outside of the box.

Characteristics of well-defined goals

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Crafting a Winning Why Major Essay

Crafting a “why major” essay.

The why major essay is one of the most common types of essays found in the college application requirements. Why is it a favorite among colleges? Well, it help the college know which college majors its applicants are planning to pursue. It also allows the admissions committee to see how the applicant plans to use their major in the future. Good why major essay examples will demonstrate the applicant’s passion for their subject. They will also showcase the student’s knowledge of the school’s specific offerings and how they’ll benefit from them.

Many applicants may struggle when trying to approach the why major essay. Some students simply struggle with essay writing no matter the prompt. And those who are undecided on their college major may find it particularly difficult to answer this prompt. However, reading college essay examples will allow students to understand what it takes to write a strong essay. Even reading a why this college essay sample can help students get started in the process.

In this article, we will go over how to craft a strong why major essay, even if you are an undecided student. We will review the different colleges that require why major essay examples. And we’ll talk about how to tailor a why major essay to a specific college. Additionally, we’ll show some why major essay examples and explain why those were college essays that worked. Finally, we’ll share some tips you can use to improve your why major essay, making it as strong as the why major essay examples featured in this article.

But first, let’s better define the subject at hand: the why major essay.

What is a “Why Major” Essay?

A why major essay is an essay that asks students to explain their interest in a particular field of study . Some colleges require all students to answer these prompts. But others might only require them for certain disciplines, such as a why engineering essay or why music essay. The prompts for why major college essay examples are similar, but not identical. Some categories include why did you choose this major essay examples and why this major essay example.

A why major essay is often a supplemental prompt on a school’s college application, similar to a why this college essay sample. These types of college essay examples are often shorter than the Common Application essay. You’ll note that college essays that worked to gain students admission to top schools will always fully answer the prompt, within the specified word limit. This means you might have to be concise with your answers. Later, we will review why major essay examples for reference.

10 Top Schools that Require a “Why Major” Essay

Keep in mind that not all schools require a why major essay. The why did you choose this major essay examples we will go over later represent a few of the top schools that require a why major essay from students. Below we have a list of the 10 schools that include a why major essay as part of their application process:

Top 10 Schools that Require a “Why Major” Essay

1. princeton university.

All applicants must complete a why major essay. But, there is a specific why engineering essay requirement for those applying to that specific discipline. We will see a few college essay examples from Princeton later on in the article.

2. Cornell University

You’ll notice that Cornell why major college essay examples are tailored to the specific college the student is applying to. This means that there are eight different why major essay prompts for students to respond to.

3. Columbia University

The why major essay is one of five essays that Columbia requires. There is also a why this college essay requirement. So, if interested in applying to Columbia, you’ll want to read a why major example and why this college essay sample.

4. Yale University

Essentially, Yale has a two-part why major essay. First, students must identify three academic areas of interest, and then they will have to expand upon one of them.

5. University of Pennsylvania

Similar to Cornell, UPenn has a why major essay specific to each of its schools. For example, if you’re planning on applying to the School of Engineering and Applied Science, you’ll write a why engineering essay.

6. Rice University

Rice requires a why this major essay example among its three supplemental essay questions. Students applying to Rice also have the opportunity to share a photo that is meaningful to them as part of their application

7. Emory University

Emory requires all applicants to submit a why major essay. Luckily, they have a blog with college essay examples for you to see college essays that worked to gain students admission.

8. University of Michigan

UMichigan asks students to reflect on why they are applying to a specific School of College. Additionally, admissions wants to know how that program will help them pursue their passions.

9. University of North Carolina

UNC has quite an open-ended prompt as their why major essay requirement. Students will simply reflect on an academic topic that they wish to pursue at UNC. This could be anything from research interests to a specific course.

10. Georgia Institute of Technology

Last on our list, Georgia Tech asks students to expand on their choice of major. Similar to the other schools we’ve mentioned, they want to know why Georgia Tech is the best place for you to pursue your chosen major.

Choosing your College Major

Before diving into reading why major essay examples, it is important to think about what major you want to pursue. Logically, this will be the main topic of your essay. Keep in mind that college majors vary from school to school. As such, your college majors of interest will affect your college list. When thinking about your college major, it is important to consider your current interests while also thinking about your future goals.

First, think about which high school classes you enjoyed the most. These will often, but not always, be classes you earned strong grades in. In addition to your classes, think about your experiences outside of the classroom. Consider your extracurriculars–do they link to a specific academic area? For example, maybe being on the robotics team was the highlight of your high school experience. As such, you might look into a major in engineering.

Then, think about the career path you might want to pursue and how your major might help you get there. Some careers , such as nursing or engineering, lend themselves to very specific college majors. This puts students on the path toward those professions. Other fields, like law or education, have a wide range of college majors that students may pursue. If you don’t know exactly what career you want to have, that’s ok! Simply think about a major that will set you up with skills that you can use in a wide variety of jobs.

Choosing a college major can feel overwhelming. For additional information on how to make the decision, read this guide or watch this webinar !

Why Major Essay Examples

The next sections will cover different why major essay examples from a variety of colleges. We will include the full text of each of these college essays that worked. We’ll also provide explanations for why these college essay examples were successful. Think of these why major college essay examples as models that you can use when crafting your own why major essay.

Why Major Essay – Columbia University

Our first why this major essay example comes from Columbia University. The writer of this why major essay showcases their passion for journalism. Let’s check out our first why major essay example:

Columbia University “Why Major” Essay Example #1

During my high school career, i devoted much of my time to journalism, a craft which i believed encompassed things i’m passionate about. i practiced my photography and storytelling, and on staff, our main mission was coverage. we sought to cover all students, not just the student body president or quarterback. in doing so, i learned how to reach out, tell, and share the stories of those who otherwise would remain silent. i believe this storytelling and way of using my voice attracted me to the field of urban studies. the connections between the places one inhabits, and how that in turn affects virtually all factors of their lives, is a story. it is woven in the dna of our cities and citizens, and i am passionate about sharing these stories and gaining more insight. interviewing students at my school allowed me to better see my community, as i saw not only who composed my school, but what they were passionate about. i hope to do the same work in the field of international affairs by representing my community: all people. journalism allowed me to acutely feel the emotions of people and tell their story authentically., why this essay worked.

The writer of this essay uses specific examples to show how their passion for journalism inspired other interests. Specifically, we see the writer’s interest in storytelling. Namely, they are passionate about giving a voice to those who might otherwise not have one. We clearly see that the writer has developed a myriad of skills from journalism: interviewing, photography, storytelling, and researching. In true journalistic fashion, the essay contains vivid details and evocative phrases like “woven into the DNA of our cities and citizens.” This language draws readers in and showcases the student’s writing abilities and style.

The essay concludes by looking ahead to the writer’s future at Princeton. They describe how pursuing a major in international affairs will help them accomplish the goal of continuing to seek out and report on important stories. The student seamlessly integrates their love of journalism with their interest in international relations. In doing so, they create a compelling picture of the type of Princeton student they will be. Readers of this essay are left with no doubt of the author’s passion for journalism and commitment to their choice of major.

Our second why this major essay example also comes from Columbia but is a why engineering essay. Let’s take a look:

Columbia University “Why Major” Essay Example #2

Columbia engineering’s comprehensive financial engineering program is the primary reason why i applied. its impressive curriculum covers just about every topic, ranging from data engineering to asset price theory. i am most interested in the data analytics and machine learning (ieor e4212) course, where i can put into use my knowledge of python, and see its application to data engineering and its practicability in the financial world. asset pricing methods and numerical analytics are both topics that i look forward to learning about. , i am particularly interested in the research opportunities within this major, such as the research in optimization theory. the optimization theory research opportunity goes into detail about important topics such as matching markets and financial & business analytics, which are areas i want to work in the future..

This essay’s strength lies in its thorough research and clear articulation of the author’s specific interests. In the first paragraph, the writer names specific subjects at Columbia that they want to take. The student also mentions how those classes will help them build on their existing knowledge. These kinds of details require research into the school. These details show the admissions committee that the writer has seriously considered their future at Columbia.

In the second paragraph, the writer continues to build their case for admission, commenting on specific research topics that they want to engage in. This shows Columbia that they would be a good fit for their financial engineering program, bringing both skills and passion to their studies. By going into their specific qualifications, the author sets themself apart from other applicants. They make it clear why Columbia specifically appeals to them. A good why major essay demonstrates interest in the subject matter and the college itself.

Why Major Essay – Princeton University

Our next why this major essay example comes from Princeton University. It also comes from an engineering applicant.

Princeton University “Why Major” Essay Example #1

One of my valuable engineering experiences is the rutgers university winlab internship. in the first person view self-driving car project, we had to assemble hardware to produce a car model that would be compatible with the given software. using that software, we had to code and revise programs to control the car effectively from our computers. even though i had knowledge from taking college courses such as csci s-38 at the harvard summer school, i found the practical application of computing knowledge in this project to be much more sophisticated than i anticipated, and model revisions that would work in theory did not produce the anticipated result. since then, i have continued to be fascinated by the practical engineering aspects of stem..

The author of this essay shows their passion for engineering by describing both a significant internship and summer course. These specific examples show readers that this applicant comes with existing experience and is looking forward to gaining more at Princeton. This essay works because it highlights the author’s prior credentials and their desire to further their knowledge.

A good why major essay does not talk exclusively about the major itself, but how you plan to use the knowledge gained in that major. This essay strikes a wonderful balance between describing the author’s past accomplishments and future plans. The author also does well to indicate that they are prepared to rise to the challenges of college, showing that they are not put off by setbacks. This resilience is important, especially in a demanding field like engineering where failure is an expected and natural part of learning.

Our final why this major essay example also comes from Princeton University. This is a different kind of why engineering essay that focuses on financial engineering.

Princeton University “Why Major” Essay Example #2

Princeton university has some of the highest-quality programs in the nation. as someone aiming to be a financial engineer, i am most interested in the financial econometrics and financial engineering laboratories. the research done in the financial econometrics laboratory, like building financial models, testing financial economics theory, and simulating financial systems, involves practical applications to financial engineering topics and does not limit the students to theoretical work. as i have learned from past experience, real-life stem applications are much more sophisticated to work out than the theories would indicate, and the experience gained from these labs will be much more important for my future career than simple lectures..

Like the essays we have examined before, this essay shows strong evidence of research and highlights the writer’s qualifications for entering the financial engineering program. The author clearly articulates their career goals in the second sentence. Then they outline how the Princeton program and facilities will help them accomplish those goals. Beyond that, the author shows familiarity with multiple specific details about Princeton’s program. This shows demonstrated interest in the school, an important trait for any application.

The author also does well to outline the specific qualities of the Princeton financial engineering program that appeal to them, highlighting research opportunities. These details show that the student understands the goals of the college and the program they have chosen to pursue.

How to write a Why Major Essay

As the why did you choose this major essay examples have shown, there are a few techniques that can strengthen your why major essay. Whether it’s a why engineering essay or or general why major essay, these techniques will help! Here are a few takeaways from these college essays that worked:

Make the essay about you

In all the why major college essay examples, the writers focused on themselves, their interests, and what they plan to accomplish in their chosen field. Even though the prompt seems to be more about college majors, what admissions officers really want to know is what draws you to that field and what you would do with it. Your why major essay should allow the college to get to know you, highlighting your personality rather than saying what you think the college wants to hear.

Demonstrate some research into the college

The why major essay examples include specific details about the programs they are referencing, including the names of classes and research topics under investigation. These details show the college that you are familiar with their offerings and have seriously considered why you want to study this major at their school. When you are writing your own why major college essay sample, think about why that college’s program is a good fit for you.

Showcase what you would contribute to the college community

Colleges are not looking for cookie cutter applicants with identical resumes and perfect grades. Instead, they want to build a dynamic and diverse class filled with students who will take full advantage of the resources available to them. In your why major essay, you should describe your future interests and show how the college will help you pursue them. Remember, college essays show admissions not only why you want to attend the school, but also why they should want you on campus!

What to avoid in your “Why Major” Essay

Just as the college essay examples shared common strengths, there are also some common weaknesses of why major essay examples. Here are some examples of things to avoid in your why major essay:

Don’t repeat your extracurricular activities list .

Your why major essay should be a focused response written in paragraph form rather than a list of accomplishments or resume. Some why major essay examples try to fit too many themes in one response. Basically, they end up rehashing their extracurricular activities list. Focus instead on subjects related to your intended major to create a cohesive response.

Don’t try to be someone you are not .

No college majors are inherently better than others. So, when writing your why major essay, write about your passions and interests rather than a major you think is more impressive. Remember that you will be pursuing your major over the course of four years. While it is possible to change your major later on, your why major essay should reflect your actual academic interests. Using your authentic voice to explain why you love your chosen major is the way to go! If you are undecided, see the next section for tips on how to write a why major essay as an undecided student.

Don’t wait until the last minute to start .

Good why major essay examples take time to create. So, be sure to leave yourself enough time to write multiple drafts and refine your work as needed. Take the time to thoroughly research the school and programs of interest. Additionally, allot time to edit your essay for spelling and grammar. You won’t be able to write a single why major essay and then send it to every college that requires one. You’ll need to tailor the essay for every school. This takes time–but, it’s what will make your essays stand out in the end!

Advice for Undeclared Majors

In the why did you choose this major examples we have seen so far, the writers have known their intended majors. However, even students who are undecided may have to write a why major essay. This does not mean you are committing to study a major you’re simply interested in. Students may change their major or add a second major once they get into the college. However, it is still important to write a focused and compelling essay that will help convince the college to admit you.

Focus on what excites you.

First of all, think about a few different subjects that excite you. For example, you might be interested in math and computers, but aren’t sure if you want study a math, engineering, or computer science major. Or you may have a passion for learning languages but are unsure of which one to pursue as your major. Think about connecting your interests together to give the college a sense of what you want to do with your education, even if you have not landed on a specific major yet.

Emphasize your skills.

In addition, highlight your skills rather than a specific academic area. If, for example, you can showcase that you are an avid researcher, you can then apply those skills to any of the interests you bring to the table. Or perhaps you are a strong writer and might want to pursue a field where you can demonstrate that ability. You can talk about that in your why this major essay example.

Remember that all the college essay examples we have seen so far include both references to the writer’s intended major and references to past experiences that have shaped that interest. For undecided majors, the why major essay is a chance to reflect on your skills and how to grow them in different ways.

More Why Major Essay Examples

You can never read too many why major essay examples when starting your college application journey. So, let’s take a look at our last why this major essay example written by a student with a clear major in mind.

Additional “Why Major” Essay Example

In the intricate tapestry of academic pursuits, the choice to major in politics holds a unique allure— a blend of curiosity, passion, and a desire to enact change. at its core, the study of politics offers a lens through which to examine the complexities of governance, power dynamics, and societal structures. but what drives someone to embark on this intellectual journey , for many, including myself, the decision to major in politics stems from a deeply personal connection to the world around them. growing up amidst the turmoil of war-torn colombia, i witnessed firsthand the profound impact of political decisions on individuals and communities. these experiences ignited within me a fervent desire to understand the mechanisms of power and to advocate for those marginalized by failed political systems. , yet, beyond personal experience, the allure of politics lies in its ability to foster critical thinking, analytical skills, and a nuanced understanding of the human condition. through the study of political theory, comparative politics, and international relations, students are challenged to grapple with complex issues and develop innovative solutions to pressing global challenges. , moreover, a major in politics offers a gateway to a diverse array of career opportunities, ranging from public service and policy analysis to law, journalism, and advocacy. whether pursuing a career in government, nonprofit organizations, or the private sector, the skills gained through a political science education are invaluable in navigating the complexities of the modern world. , ultimately, the decision to major in politics is not merely about acquiring knowledge but about empowering oneself to effect positive change. it is about embracing the complexities of the political landscape and harnessing them as catalysts for innovation and progress. as i embark on this academic journey, i am inspired by the belief that through education, dedication, and a commitment to justice, we can build a brighter and more equitable future for all., why this essay worked.

This is the longest of the why this essay examples that we’ve seen. The student does an excellent job of taking advantage of the more generous word limit. First, we are captivated by the hook which is well written and certainly makes a politics major sound interesting.

After simply introducing it as their major of choice in the first paragraph, the student goes on to explain how their background and experiences have inspired them to pursue this major. We learn a lot about the writer–namely that they’re from Colombia and grew up in a violent political climate. That first-hand experience certainly influenced the student’s choice of major.

Interestingly enough, in this essay, the student doesn’t commit to specifying a career path. Rather, they allude to all the possible pathways they could take upon graduating with a major in politics. They don’t specify their future profession, as they probably aren’t sure of that yet. However, they do state the most important part of being a politics major to them: inciting positive change. In doing this, the reader knows that the student will likely be an active community participant on campus. Justice and equality is important to them. All of these pieces of the essay create an impressive picture for the reader.

Optimizing your Why Major Essay – Tips and Tricks

These why did you choose this major essay examples may seem daunting to replicate. But, everyone has the ability to write a strong why major essay. The aim is not to copy the college essay examples we have gone over. Instead, they should serve as a guide from which to craft your own essay. Here are three final tips for optimizing your why major essay:

Read it out loud.

It may sound silly to sit down and read your own writing aloud. But, it is extremely helpful in the editing process. You may catch typos or incorrect grammar as you read, allowing you to polish the work so the reader isn’t distracted by mechanical errors. It is also easier to hear any awkward sentences or rough transitions when listening to your work. You can even get a parent or friend to be a reader or second listener.

Get feedback from trusted sources .

Once you have written your first draft, feel free to show it to parents, teachers, or trusted friends. They cannot and should not write your essay for you. However, they may be able to offer insights into your writing and ask thoughtful questions to guide you through the process. They may even be able to help you come up with a topic or decide what college majors you want to write about if you are undecided. Talking about your essay with others is a great way to overcome writer’s block and strengthen your overall response.

Seek out help from trained professionals .

The advisors at CollegeAdvisor.com have years of experience working with students on supplemental essays. Whether you’re writing a why major essay, why this college essay sample, or any other supplemental essay, our expert advisors can help you with every step of the process. From brainstorming topics to making final edits, they’re here to support you. They can even help you form a college list or decide what you might want to major in! College essays, and the college application process in general, can be overwhelming. Create an account to learn more about working with our team of advisors.

This article was written by senior advisor, Alex Baggott-Rowe . Looking for more admissions support? Click here to schedule a free meeting with one of our Admissions Specialists. During your meeting, our team will discuss your profile and help you find targeted ways to increase your admissions odds at top schools. We’ll also answer any questions and discuss how CollegeAdvisor.com can support you in the college application process.

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12 Effective “Why This College?” Essay Examples

What’s covered.

Essay 1: UPenn Nursing
Essay 2: UPenn
Essay 3: UW Madison
Essay 4: Northwestern
Essay 5: NYU
Essay 6: NYU
Essay 7: Boston University
Essay 8: Boston University
Essay 9: Tufts
Essay 10: Tufts
Essay 11: Georgia Tech
Essay 12: Georgia Tech

Where to Get Your Essays Edited

The “ Why This College?” essay is one of the most common supplemental prompts. These school-specific essays help colleges understand if you’re a good fit for them, and if they’re a good fit for you.

In this post, we’ll share 12 “Why This College?” essay examples from real students and explain what they did well, and what could be improved. Read these examples to understand how to write a strong supplemental essay that improves your chances of acceptance.

Please note: Looking at examples of real essays students have submitted to colleges can be very beneficial to get inspiration for your essays. You should never copy or plagiarize from these examples when writing your own essays. Colleges can tell when an essay isn’t genuine and will not view students favorably if they plagiarized.

Essay Example #1: UPenn Nursing

Prompt: How will you explore your intellectual and academic interests at the University of Pennsylvania? Please answer this question given the specific undergraduate school to which you are applying (650 words).

Sister Simone Roach, a theorist of nursing ethics, said, “caring is the human mode of being.” I have long been inspired by Sister Roach’s Five C’s of Caring: commitment, conscience, competence, compassion, and confidence. Penn both embraces and fosters these values through a rigorous, interdisciplinary curriculum and unmatched access to service and volunteer opportunities.

COMMITMENT. Reading through the activities that Penn Quakers devote their time to (in addition to academics!) felt like drinking from a firehose in the best possible way. As a prospective nursing student with interests outside of my major, I value this level of flexibility. I plan to leverage Penn’s liberal arts curriculum to gain an in-depth understanding of the challenges LGBT people face, especially regarding healthcare access. Through courses like “Interactional Processes with LGBT Individuals” and volunteering at the Mazzoni Center for outreach, I hope to learn how to better support the Penn LGBT community as well as my family and friends, including my cousin, who came out as trans last year.

CONSCIENCE. As one of the first people in my family to attend a four-year university, I wanted a school that promoted a sense of moral responsibility among its students. At Penn, professors challenge their students to question and recreate their own set of morals by sparking thought- provoking, open-minded discussions. I can imagine myself advocating for universal healthcare in courses such as “Health Care Reform & Future of American Health System” and debating its merits with my peers. Studying in an environment where students confidently voice their opinions – conservative or liberal – will push me to question and strengthen my value system.

COMPETENCE. Two aspects that drew my attention to Penn’s BSN program were its high-quality research opportunities and hands-on nursing projects. Through its Office of Nursing Research, Penn connects students to faculty members who share similar research interests. As I volunteered at a nursing home in high school, I hope to work with Dr. Carthon to improve the quality of care for senior citizens. Seniors, especially minorities, face serious barriers to healthcare that I want to resolve. Additionally, Penn’s unique use of simulations to bridge the gap between classroom learning and real-world application impressed me. Using computerized manikins that mimic human responses, classes in Penn’s nursing program allow students to apply their emergency medical skills in a mass casualty simulation and monitor their actions afterward through a video system. Participating in this activity will help me identify my strengths and areas for improvement regarding crisis management and medical care in a controlled yet realistic setting. Research opportunities and simulations will develop my skills even before I interact with patients.

COMPASSION. I value giving back through community service, and I have a particular interest in Penn’s Community Champions and Nursing Students For Sexual & Reproductive Health (NSRH). As a four-year volunteer health educator, I hope to continue this work as a Community Champions member. I am excited to collaborate with medical students to teach fourth and fifth graders in the city about cardiology or lead a chair dance class for the elders at the LIFE Center. Furthermore, as a feminist who firmly believes in women’s abortion rights, I’d like to join NSRH in order to advocate for women’s health on campus. At Penn, I can work with like-minded people to make a meaningful difference.

CONFIDENCE. All of the Quakers that I have met possess one defining trait: confidence. Each student summarized their experiences at Penn as challenging but fulfilling. Although I expect my coursework to push me, from my conversations with current Quakers I know it will help me to be far more effective in my career.

The Five C’s of Caring are important heuristics for nursing, but they also provide insight into how I want to approach my time in college. I am eager to engage with these principles both as a nurse and as a Penn Quaker, and I can’t wait to start.

What the Essay Did Well

This essay has many positive aspects, but the most impressive one is the structure. Utilizing the Five C’s of Caring to discuss Penn’s offerings was a genius way of tying in this student’s passion for nursing while also making their essay exciting and easy to read. Beginning each paragraph with the respective adjective helped focus the paragraph and allowed the student to demonstrate how they exemplify each quality without explicitly stating it. The student wasn’t afraid to think outside the box and add creativity to their essay structure, which really paid off.

Another positive is how specific and specialized the Penn resources and opportunities the student mentions are. This essay did not fall into the trap of name-dropping professors or programs. In every paragraph, there was a connection to something the student wants to do at Penn to further themselves in the respective characteristic they were describing.

Not only did this student mention a resource at Penn—whether it was a professor, a class, or a club—in every paragraph, but they elaborated on what that resource was and how it would help them achieve their goal of becoming a nurse. The what and how is what sets this essay apart from other supplements that just name-drop resources for the sake of it. The amount of detail this essay went into about some of these resources makes it clear to the admissions officers reading the essay that this student has seriously looked into Penn and has a strong desire to come to campus and use these resources.

What Could Be Improved

One thing this essay could do to make it stronger is improve the first paragraph. The student does a good job of setting up Sister Roach and the Five C’s, but they don’t mention anything about their desire to study or pursue nursing. The first paragraph mentions both Sister Roach and Penn, but left out the student. This could be fixed by simply adding something along the lines of “I can’t wait to embody these values as a nursing student at Penn” to the paragraph.

Essay Example #2: UPenn

Prompt: Considering the specific undergraduate school you have selected, how will you explore your academic and intellectual interests at the University of Pennsylvania? For students applying to the coordinated dual-degree and specialized programs, please answer these questions in regard to your single-degree school choice; your interest in the coordinated dual-degree or specialized program may be addressed through the program-specific essay. (300-450 words)

I always loved watching the worms when it rained. I used to put my little raincoat on, sit on the doorsteps, and watch them move toward the puddles. My younger brother, forever intent on destroying the world around him, would try to stomp on the worms, and I would run after him screaming. In my imagination, the brain looked like a pile of squiggly worms. However, my neuroscience curiosity has since grown beyond a worm’s habits.

For example, my mother thought that I was insane when I wanted to watch American Murder: The Family Next Door . To her immense relief, I was interested in the psychology of the criminal rather than the crime itself. Although neuroscience is my primary interest, I also hope to learn more about the intersection between law and medicine at the UPenn College of Arts and Sciences. I’ve been able to explore this topic through various projects at school such as presentations on juvenile crime and the death penalty.

At the University of Pennsylvania, I look forward to taking classes like Forensic Neuroscience (BIBB 050) as well as Neuroscience and Society (PSYC 247) both of which directly combine my two interests. Hopefully, the Take Your Professor to Dinner program resumes as I would make sure to talk to Dr. Daniel Langleben about his research on forensic functional brain imaging over a meal of Philly cheesesteaks.

I also hope to participate in the Race, Science, and Society Program where I can discover how race biases and neuroscience go hand-in-hand and contribute to the fight against racism. The Beyond Arrests: Re-Thinking Systematic-Oppression Group immediately caught my attention while looking at Penn’s opportunities to engage in relevant dialogue. My fascination with the criminal system began with reading Fyodor Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment , and Penn will both fuel that curiosity as well as introduce new questions about the world of justice reform.

As an eight-year Latin scholar and a five-time reader of the Percy Jackson franchise, I would like to take classes in the Penn Classical Studies department where I can learn more about the impact of ancient cultures on society today. Classes such as Greek and Roman Medicine (CLST 271) would intersect my interests in medicine and classical civilizations.

Although I do harbor a deep love for Philly cheesesteaks and enjoyment of running in strange places like the Woodlands Cemetery, the range of programs to support my diverse interests and unmatched opportunities to put learning into action make me confident that the University of Pennsylvania is the best university for me to succeed.

The real strength in the essay lies in the sheer number of details this student is able to include in a short space, without sacrificing style and flow. The first two paragraphs really have nothing to do with Penn, but the inclusion of them makes this response feel like an essay, rather than a list of offerings at Penn. Striking the balance is important, and the anecdote at the beginning ultimately humanizes the writer.

From the three unique courses to the specific professor and his research to the race and criminal justice programs, this student has clearly done their homework on Penn! The key to this essay’s success isn’t just mentioning the offerings at Penn that excite the student, but the context that explains how each opportunity fits into the student’s academic interests.

Adding book titles like Crime and Punishment and Percy Jackson to support their passion for the criminal justice system and classics are extra details that help us learn more about how this student pursues their passions outside of the classroom. Finding little ways to humanize yourself throughout the essay can take it from good to great.

One area of improvement for this essay is the structure. It follows a very traditional “ Why This College? ” framework—start with an anecdote, then discuss classes, and then extracurriculars and programs—that gets old quickly for admissions officers.

A great way to add some spice to the format would be to use a sample schedule for the day. This essay mentions three different classes, two different groups, and a Take Your Professor to Dinner opportunity. Together, that’s the recipe for a full day at UPenn!

There are a few ways to play around with an essay that follows a typical day-in-the-life. Maybe each paragraph starts with a time and explains what they do during that hour. Maybe they narrate walking through campus on their way from one class to the next and what they just learned. However they choose to go about it, adding in a playful spin to the traditional essay structure is one of the best ways to instantly set an essay apart from the crowd.

Essay Example #3: UW Madison

Prompt: Tell us why you decided to apply to the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In addition, please include why you are interested in studying the major(s) you have selected. If you selected undecided, please describe your areas of possible academic interest. (650 words)

Essay – # Day 117

7:30 am… As I open my eyes, I look at the pinboard in front of my bed. Written in red block letters are two of the many goals of my life: “Make life better and more independent for the Visually impaired; Inspire kids to explore the field of STEM, making them the future problem solvers.“

Keeping these goals afresh in mind, I freshen up and prepare for the first class of the day, ECE 533 Image Processing. As the professor explains the Applications of Image Processing in Computer Vision, a light bulb sparks in my mind. I can modify the head contraption of PERIPHIS to identify objects in peripheral vision and alert the wearer via an earpiece using Text to Speech (TTS).

After the class, I see Professor Mohit Gupta at the WISION Lab, where he shares his insights from the Block World Cameras system, which helps to geometrize 3D Man-made environments. We brainstorm ways we can implement this system on PERIPHIS.

Deep in the discussion and intrigued by my curiosity, he asked me where my interest in this niche field sparked during high school, and then I recount the incident from 9th grade:

“In Hindi – Agar aaj mere paas paise hote to ye din na dekhna padta” (If I had money, I would not have had to see this day.)

These were the words of Aadiya, a glaucoma patient, who couldn’t help but cry in despair as she injured herself in an accident just because she couldn’t sense the incoming traffic. During my visit to “Baroda Association for Blind (BAB)” for a survey, I saw and experienced firsthand how hard and inaccessible it is for an underprivileged visually impaired to locomote without anyone’s assistance.

What happened next was my first adventure into the world of Computer Science and Engineering. I dedicated the next four years to find an affordable solution to a pressing problem. It was called PERIPHIS, a smart wearable that helps alert the visually impaired wearer of impending danger while locomoting.

When I finally presented this device to Aadiya, the smile on her face made me realize how big an impact technology can make in one’s life.

11:00 am… As I head to the Engineering Hall to complete my assignments of COMP SCI 570

Introduction to Human-Computer Interaction, I crossways with my roommate from the Chadbourne Residential College, who is also interested in researching applications of Computer Vision in real life. We fix a time to chat later.

1:20pm… After a quick bite, I head to Human-Computer Interaction Laboratory. I expand my knowledge on different applications of Computer Science to make human life better than I found. I get fascinated when I see a few students building a child-friendly humanoid robot to teach kids the principles of Coding and AI. I hop in and share insights from my experience of being the President at AiGoLearning and kindling interest in STEM for young children. I explain how crucial the UI is when it comes to technology for the young.

5:00pm… To blow off some steam and socialize, I meet up with my fellow countrymen and artists at the Indian Graduate Students’ Association. We discuss and plan the upcoming Diwali Night Music at Shannon Hall. I feel proud to share my national identity while bringing out my musical self by contributing as a Tabla player at the student organization.

As I close my day, I reflect and think of the most unique resource at UW. It is not the labs, research facilities, classes, but the people, including the professors and students, all aligned to a single goal: “Solving problems to make society a better place.”

10:00pm… I find my way back to my dorm room and write with red block letters on my pinboard: “Meet with at least 1 Badger every day and gain new insight from them.”

This essay is a stellar example. The day in the life formatting is a common way to spice up your “Why This College?” essay, but the way this writer executes it is nearly flawless.

Opening with the vision board makes the student’s college goals clear from the very start, and this was cleverly done since vision boards are naturally one of the first things you see when you wake up.

The student then takes us to specific courses and labs and shares their thoughts on how they could improve their invention, PERIPHIS. The author seamlessly includes background information on PERIPHIS by including this hypothetical conversation with a professor who speaks their native language.

As we go through the day, we can see that this student will not only be involved academically, but also socially. We learn how important their culture is to them and how they plan to share it with the campus community.

This essay does everything a “Why This College?” essay should: it shares the student’s goals and motivations behind them, how the university can support those goals, and how the student will engage with the campus beyond academics.

There’s not much this essay could improve, besides a few formatting and wording issues. The first line of this essay—“ Essay – # Day 117”—is a great attention-grabber, but the placement of the # symbol is confusing and perhaps should’ve been in front of the number.

There are also a couple spots where wording is a bit awkward, such as these lines:

I crossways with my roommate from the Chadbourne Residential College, who is also interested in researching applications of Computer Vision in real life. We fix a time to chat later.

It should instead say something like “I run into my roommate” and “We schedule a time”. This is likely due to English not being the student’s native language, but could’ve easily been caught by proofreading from a native speaker.

Essay Example #4: Northwestern

Prompt: While other parts of your application give us a sense of who you are, we are also excited to hear more about how you see yourself engaging with the larger Northwestern community.

In 300 words or less, help us understand how you might engage specific resources, opportunities, and/or communities here. We are curious about what these specifics are, as well as how they may enrich your time at Northwestern and beyond.

For as long as I can remember, I have seen my parents, both farmers, struggling to produce food because of the challenges presented by the environment. Joining Northwestern’s community, and majoring in Environmental Engineering, will allow me to understand what are the reasons behind climate change and learn how to stop them and/or prevent them from happening.

Having witnessed how plant diseases affect crops, I would like to collaborate in the PLANT-Dx project and in its widespread application. I strongly believe that it will be able to help farmers to improve the quality and quantity of their production, and reduce famine around the world. At some point in my education, I want to take advantage of the study-abroad programs Northwestern has to offer and learn about farming practices in a different part of the world. In addition, I want to conduct research on sustainable alternative farming methods that adapt to the new environmental conditions and that can be practiced in countries with fewer resources.

Apart from having access to outstanding professors, rigorous academics, and cutting-edge research resources, I will be able to be part of a close-knit community genuinely curious about others’ activities, truly passionate about what they do, and not afraid to step out of their comfort zone to make of this world a better place. Being part of Engineers for a Sustainable World at Northwestern will allow me to get to know people that share one of my passions in addition to learning and teaching how to apply sustainable practices in daily life.

I am already looking forward to marching through the Weber Arch.

This essay is extremely cohesive, as it focuses on the student’s agricultural background and desire to study environmental engineering. The student mentions a couple resources specific to Northwestern, such as the PLANT-Dx project and Engineers for a Sustainable World.

Because of the background information the student provided, their motivations for participating in these opportunities is also clear. We can see that Northwestern would be a school that would help them achieve their goals.

There are two main aspects of the essay that could be improved: the writing and its specificity.

To begin with, the intro paragraph is a bit clunky and vague. The student should have specified the challenges the environment has presented to their parents’ farming with detailed imagery about droughts or torrential rain. The final sentence about climate change is also much too broad, and the student should’ve stated a goal in a smaller niche of environmentalism.

For example, here’s what a rewritten strong intro paragraph might look like:

The drought this year was bad, and the once-flourishing tomato crops on my family’s farm were afflicted with Southern Blight. As my family and our community struggled to put food on the table for the third year in a year, I resolved to major in Environmental Engineering at Northwestern to learn how to preserve our agriculture in the face of climate change.

Another writing error is the typo in the final paragraph, where they write “to make of this world a better place”. It’s important to proofread your essay and have others help you proofread as well!

Finally, while the essay mentions a couple specific Northwestern resources, the other resources they mention are too vague. The student could’ve improved by mentioning a specific study abroad program and a current research project on sustainable alternative farming methods. Most colleges let you study abroad and conduct research, so you need to explain why Northwestern is the best place for your goals.

Essay Example #5: NYU

Prompt: We would like to know more about your interest in NYU. What motivated you to apply to NYU? Why have you applied or expressed interest in a particular campus, school, college, program, and or area of study? If you have applied to more than one, please also tell us why you are interested in these additional areas of study or campuses. We want to understand – Why NYU? (400 words)

“A futuristic way of looking at academics,” the student panelist said during a New York University virtual information session. I reflected on a conversation I had with my grandma; she couldn’t understand how her vegetarian granddaughter could build a career in the food industry. However much I tried convincing her that vegetarianism was the future, as it offers substantial benefits to the environment and can offer health benefits to a growing population with the same environmental resources, she insisted that tofu would never provide the same satiation as meat. She was raised in a community where meat consumption was embedded in the culture, and its production is a large part of the country’s economy. In contrast, I had the privilege of living a few steps from San Francisco, with many restaurants and grocery stores dedicated to plant-based meat alternatives. Trying innovative recipes and products eventually allowed me to develop my own recipes. Upon my move to Nicaragua, where my grandmother is from, I found my food options to be limited, expensive and hard to find. So I developed my own small-scale solutions that did not break the bank and satiated grandma.

An institution that implements forward-thinking is what I need to reach my goals of changing the future of plant-based diets and people’s views on vegetarianism. NYU’s Nutrition and Food Studies program offers multiple disciplines of food studies that I will apply to my aspirations as a vegetarian. I plan to study under Adjunct Faculty Kayleen St. John, whose success in the plant-based industry and her teaching of the ‘Foundations of Plant-Based Nutrition’ in The Vegetarian Times excites me. The variety of classes like Introduction to Food History, Food Photography, and Food Systems: Food & Agriculture will give me an overview of what is available in the food industry to be prepared for all fields. Not to be cliche, but NYU’s proximity to the city is essential for the rapidly changing vegetarian industry. The multiculturalism available in NYC and NYU will allow me to understand the food system and diets of various cultures, religions, and areas. I can explore the extremes of the food industry, from fancy restaurants to public school cafeterias. These juxtapositions, much like the one I experienced after my move to Nicaragua, will allow me to broaden my reach and demonstrate that the vegetarian diet is not something reserved for select groups but a diet attainable to all.

A core strength of this essay is the fact it takes its time to provide the reader with ample background on why this student is interested in nutrition and food studies and how they have grappled with difficult questions and surrounding this topic in the past. It’s okay to not mention anything about NYU for a whole paragraph if you are using that space to bring depth to your interests and tell the reader the crucial backstory behind pursuing your intended degree.

Another positive aspect is the inclusion of New York City for a purposeful reason. NYU admissions officers read thousands of essays that just talk about living in NYC for the sake of NYC—this is not what they want to hear. In contrast, this essay focuses on the vast and lively food scene in New York that the student considers to be an invaluable asset to her NYU education. This is a time where including New York actually plays to the appeal of NYU, rather than making it seem like the student is simply applying for the city.

Finally, this student clearly demonstrates that they are someone who wants to change the world for the better, but through their personal niche. NYU is looking for people who express this desire to be a changemaker, but oftentimes sweeping statements like “I want to change the world” come across as vague and disingenuous. The essay does mention changing diets and looking to the future, but it is focused within the student’s specific area of interest, making the claim to change the world more determined and authentic.

This essay could be made stronger if there was a bit more personal reflection included. The first paragraph provides a lot of details on the student’s vegetarianism and how it conflicts with her grandmother and her heritage. What it doesn’t include very much of is how the student thinks and feels about her diet being at odds with that of her family.

Does this student feel they are betraying their heritage by being vegetarian? What emotions do they feel when people criticize vegetarianism? Why did they go vegetarian in the first place? Probing questions like these that get to the emotional core behind the story in the first paragraph would really help to build out this student’s backstory. We want to understand what their emotional responses and reasoning processes look like, so finding ways to include those into an already expositive paragraph would further bolster this essay.

Essay Example #6: NYU

My mother never takes off her Cartier necklace that my father gave her 10 years ago on their anniversary. As a child, I didn’t fully understand this attachment. However, on my 15th birthday, my aunt gifted me a ring, which was uniquely designed and made up of three rings linked together. Wearing it every day and making sure I would never lose it, I didn’t treat it like my easily replaceable childhood necklaces; it was my piece of luxury. This sparked my deep curiosity for the luxury world. The niche strives to provide the finest and most memorable experiences, as equally as my Japanese attention to detail and my French appreciation towards aesthetic beauty. In a constantly shifting environment, I learned that luxury chases timeless excellence.

NYU Stern’s BS in business and a co-concentration in management and marketing will fully immerse me in the business side of luxury fashion that I aim to pursue a future career in. The luxury marketing track, offered only by NYU, will enable me to assemble the most suited classes to reflect my interests. Specifically, NYU Stern’s exciting electives such as The Dynamics of the Fashion Industry seminar and Brand Strategy & Planning will encourage me to develop the skills that I was introduced to and grew keen on when running a virtual sustainable fashion auction.

As someone who has moved around from Paris to Tokyo, to Chicago and now Athens, I thrive in meeting and collaborating with others from diverse backgrounds. The school’s strong global outlook, demonstrated through Stern’s International Business Exchange Program, further sets NYU apart for me, as it is crucial to building essential soft skills. This opportunity allows me to experience new cultural approaches to luxury business which I can bring back with me to New York, and therefore push me to become a well-rounded business student. Similarly, I am excited to take part in the array of student clubs offered, such as the Luxury and Retail Association (LARA), which I learned about after connecting with and talking to current students. Seeing past talks from employers of companies like Conde Nast, I am eager to learn outside of the classroom from future speakers.

Finding myself in new situations constantly, I always seek new challenges and explorations – to me, it is clear that NYU Stern will push me to create the finest and most unique learning experiences of timeless excellence.

This essay has an amazing introduction paragraph. It doesn’t mention anything about NYU or what this student is planning on studying, which is what makes it so intriguing. The reader doesn’t know where this student is headed after making such a seemingly unrelated statement about jewelry, but we want to find out.

Not only does this essay immediately capture the reader’s attention, it maintains a succinct and direct tone that helps the reader effortlessly flow from one paragraph to the next. The student chose to include three opportunities at NYU that excite them and fully elaborate on them. This serves as an excellent example of more is less.

We aren’t bombarded with a laundry list of classes, professors, and clubs the student wants to take. Instead, the student took a focused approach and described why they were excited by each offering they highlighted. Going deeper into a smaller number of opportunities at the college still shows this student did their research, but it allows for their backstory and goals to be discussed in far greater detail.

While this student does a good job of elaborating, they also mention a few key aspects of their personality as throw-away lines, when it would have been great to elaborate further on them. For example, they mention running a virtual sustainable fashion auction (cool!), but don’t provide us with any details on what that actually entails, how they got involved with it, what they enjoyed about it, etc. They also mention moving around a lot in the context of developing a diverse perspective, but they don’t include any emotional insight into what that was like.

Although there are only 400 words available, and you don’t want to spend too much time discussing the past, it would be nice to see just a sentence or two that delves into the details of this student’s background. The fashion auction and moving around clearly had an impact on the student, so we want to know what that was. If they are choosing to include these details, they must be important in the student’s decision to pursue business at NYU, so they shouldn’t be afraid to divulge the emotional significance to the reader.

Essay Example #7: Boston University

Prompt: In no more than 250 words, please tell us why BU is a good fit for you and what specifically has led you to apply for admission.

Boston University’s College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) attracts me because of its support of interdisciplinary study among its wide array of majors. In fact, the CAS now offers a course that combines biology, chemistry, and neuroscience. As I hope to conduct medical research into brain disorders, I plan to pursue all three areas of study. These cross-disciplinary connections at BU will prepare me to do so.

CAS’s undergraduate research program would allow me to work with a mentor, such as Dr. Alice Cronin-Golomb or Dr. Robert M.G. Reinhart related to their research on neurological disorders. With them, I can advance the work I have already completed related to Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID). In a summer class at our local university, my partner and I extracted data from fMRI and PET studies and inputted them into a coding program. We then created an indicator map, which we imported into another software program, AFNI, to display significant activity in the brain regions affected by DID. Seeing the representation of our data thrilled me because I knew it could eventually help people who live with DID. I want to experience that feeling again. Successfully analyzing these fMRI and PET studies and learning to code drives me to pursue more research opportunities, and this desire motivates me to study at a university that offers research opportunities to undergraduates. BU’s interdisciplinary approach to psychology and support for independent undergraduate research will optimally prepare me for a career as a neurological researcher.

This student clearly outlines BU-specific resources (the interdisciplinary course and undergrad research program), plus how these resources align with their professional goals (to become a neurological researcher). They do name professors, but since their work clearly relates to the student’s interests, it doesn’t look disingenuous, and shows that the student has done research on their fit with BU. The student also provides background on why they want to pursue research, and shows that they already have experience, which makes their interest in the undergrad research program more concrete.

The only thing missing from this essay is the student’s fit with BU in terms of extracurriculars and social life. “Why This College?” essays should also cover extracurriculars, as colleges are also interested in how you’ll contribute to their community.

In general, these essays should be academic-leaning (especially if they’re under 250 words), but you should still address some social aspects of the college that appeal to you (we recommend about 70% academics, 30% social, with more or less focus on social aspects depending on the word count).

Since the student probably already detailed their previous research in their Common App activities section, they could’ve just summarized their research background in one sentence (instead of 78 words, which is 31% of the total word count!), and used that valuable space to talk about a specific social aspect of BU that interests them.

Essay Example #8: Boston University

Prompt: In no more than 250 words, please tell us why BU is a good fit for you and what specifically has led you to apply for admission.

I am fascinated by research, though completely uninterested in the disciplines traditionally associated with it, such as STEM fields. I need to find a school that will balance my desire to conduct research with my interest in political science.

While many schools boast in-depth student research programs for those looking to cure diseases or develop solutions to global warming, few tout their support for humanities research. Additionally, many universities that do allocate funding to social science research typically reserve these monies for graduate students or upperclassmen. BU, with the help of its Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program, will allow me to conduct research on the topics that most intrigue me, such as gender disparity in politics, or the relationship between dominant parties in power and the country’s economy and involvement in foreign affairs. Furthermore, I can begin these studies as early as my first year. Not only can I take classes with professors like Sandra McEvoy or Dino Christenson to develop my interests in a classroom setting, but I could also work with one of them to develop new knowledge in the topics that we both enjoy learning about. With this knowledge base and experience conducting studies with top professors in a respected research institution, I will be well-prepared for my future law career. I want to learn in an environment that encourages independent study no matter one’s field of interest or experience, and BU’s support of intellectual curiosity for all of its students makes it a perfect fit for me.

This student knows exactly what they want, and they’re not afraid to state it bluntly. Their intro paragraph is totally honest about their interests (or lack of interest), and we immediately understand one of their main college goals: to conduct political science research.

The student mentions a specific resource, the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program, as well as an alignment with BU’s value of encouraging independent study in all fields. Showing alignment with a specific value of the university is a great way to take your essay to the next level.

This essay shows us that the student would be a great fit for BU and would take advantage of its research opportunities.

The writer mentions some of their research interests, but doesn’t explain the motivation behind them. We don’t actually learn very much about the student themself, which is a common flaw of “Why This College?” essays. The essay would’ve been stronger if they’d explained why they’re interested in “gender disparity in politics, or the relationship between dominant parties in power and the country’s economy and involvement in foreign affairs.” For example, maybe they feel strongly about abortion rights and are upset about the way men have been legislating women’s rights.

The student also names two professors whose classes they’d like to take and with whom they’d like to do research, but we aren’t told which classes they’re interested in, or which topics they could cover together. You want to avoid “name-dropping” professors without context in your essay. If the student shared the names of specific classes or research topics and why they’re interested in them, that would’ve strengthened their essay.

Essay Example #9: Tufts

Prompt: Why Tufts? (100 words)

When Deanne, Tufts’ admissions counselor, visited my school, she immediately caught my attention by emphasizing Tufts’ diverse yet unified campus. Tufts’ inclusive definition of diversity goes beyond merely recruiting students from a variety of backgrounds. Tufts seeks to integrate these categories of diversity and pushes its students to learn from one another. One such intersectional program that attracts me is CAFE (Conversation, Action, Faith, and Education). By joining CAFE, a community that promotes interfaith education, I will learn from my peers, become more understanding of other religious backgrounds, and apply this broader understanding to my academic work at Tufts.

It’s hard to write a “Why This College?” essay in 100 words. This essay does a good job sticking to one unique element of Tufts—its intersectionality. Since Tufts also cares about demonstrated interest, it’s great that the student also mentioned speaking with an admissions counselor.

We unfortunately don’t learn very much about the student from this essay. Why do they care about diversity and interfaith programs? How does this relate to their academic and career goals? While the word count is super short, they could’ve cut these lines and jumped right into the specific resource they’re interested in: Tufts’ inclusive definition of diversity goes beyond merely recruiting students from a variety of backgrounds. Tufts seeks to integrate these categories of diversity and pushes its students to learn from one another.

Here’s an example of a stronger version of this essay:

When a Tufts admissions counselor visited my school, she immediately caught my attention by emphasizing Tufts’ diverse yet unified campus. As a Muslim hoping to go into International Relations, I want to attend a school that not only recruits diverse students, but pushes them to learn from one another. I hope to join intersectional programs such as CAFE (Conversation, Action, Faith, and Education). By joining this community that promotes interfaith education, I will gain the necessary perspective and compassion to become a human rights lawyer in countries with religious conflict, such as my homeland Azerbaijan.

Essay Example #10: Tufts

Prompt: Why Tufts? (100 words)

Someday I hope to conduct medical research in developing countries; Tufts attracts me because of its wide array of majors it offers and support for undergraduate research. To understand the human brain, I hope to study biology, neuroscience, and psychology. In addition to outstanding faculty in each of these areas, Tufts also organizes initiatives including the International Research Program. Through this program, I would work with other students and faculty members on an international project related to brain diseases. This opportunity will give me a taste of my future career and help me narrow the scope of my later studies.

This essay does a better job of sharing the student’s goals with us compared to the previous Tufts essay. We learn that the applicant is interested in medical research in developing countries on brain diseases, and that Tufts has a program to support international research.

The essay still mentions some resources that could apply to many schools, which is not an effective use of the tiny word count. For example, they say: “Tufts attracts me because of its wide array of majors it offers and support for undergraduate research” and they mention the “outstanding faculty” in the fields they plan to study.

They also don’t tell us their motivation behind studying brain diseases abroad, and it feels like there’s a significant story there. Giving some background would’ve further strengthened their essay.

Finally, they mention that they still need to narrow the scope of their studies; while it’s fine to be undecided on your career and majors, you don’t need to spend your precious word count saying that in your essay. They could’ve instead shared a couple potential avenues they’re considering.

Here’s what the student could’ve written instead:

Outcomes for schizophrenia patients are better in developing countries than in developed ones. I hope to research the reasons behind this and improve the treatment options in the US for the cousin I grew up with. In college, I want to study biology, neuroscience, and psychology. Tufts attracts me because of its unique interdisciplinary BS in Cognitive and Brain Science and its International Research Program. Through this program, I could do the research I’ve dreamt of doing with a faculty member and other students, preparing me for my future career as either a researcher or clinician.

Essay Example #11: Georgia Tech

Prompt: Why do you want to study your chosen major specifically at Georgia Tech? (300 words)

Climate change is a human rights issue.

There the headline was, screaming on my phone screen. I think about those suffering from a lack of clean water. I think about those suffering from a lack of clean air.

I often think back to that headline – it’s what drives my passion for environmental engineering. As an environmental engineer, I can mitigate air pollution and design water treatment systems that address the water injustices that people face. However, it’s not just about creating a technology that cleans water; it’s about changing people’s lives. New technologies can make a lasting difference in humanitarian issues worldwide; Georgia Tech’s research on creating a toilet that turns human waste into clean water for those in need of improved sanitation aligns perfectly with my interests.

At Georgia Tech, through the student-led organization, Engineers for a Sustainable World and the InVenture Prize, I can translate the knowledge gained from my classes into a concrete vision. I can design and implement hands-on sustainability projects around Atlanta and invent a water sanitation system for the on-site acquisition of clean water.

Georgia Tech can also provide me with ample research opportunities, such as the broad area of Healthy Communities in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering. I can further pursue my interest in developing solutions to deliver clean water while welcoming new areas of inquiry. An area I would like to explore would be the controlling of dangerous matter in the air to reduce health hazards; reducing the impact of climate change is of utmost importance to me.

Studying environmental engineering at Georgia Tech would well prepare me to develop solutions to climate-related issues. With the countless opportunities that Georgia Tech has to offer, I know there is nowhere else where I can receive a better environmental engineering education.

What the Essay Did Well l

This essay begins with an attention-grabbing statement that leaves the reader wondering how this will relate to the student’s interest in Georgia Tech. They then transition seamlessly into how climate change and human rights motivate their desire to become an environmental engineer.

The student mentions several resources specific to Georgia Tech that would help them achieve their goals, such as the research on the toilet turning waste into water, Engineers for a Sustainable World, InVenture Prize, and Healthy Communities research. It’s clear that they did their research and have reflected on their fit with the campus community.

They end the essay explicitly stating that Georgia Tech is the best place for them to grow, and the reader is certainly convinced of this by the end.

This essay is quite strong, so there’s not much that the student could’ve improved. That said, there is one sentence that is a bit awkwardly worded: New technologies can make a lasting difference in humanitarian issues worldwide; Georgia Tech’s research on creating a toilet that turns human waste into clean water for those in need of improved sanitation aligns perfectly with my interests.

Instead, the student could’ve written:

New technologies can make a lasting difference in humanitarian issues worldwide; Georgia Tech aligns with this value of mine and is even developing a toilet that turns human waste into clean water for those who need improved sanitation.

Essay Example #12: Georgia Tech

From my first Java project, a somewhat primitive graphing calculator, I realized that CS unlocks a different way of thinking. My brain races at speeds it seldom touches with other subjects. Every part of CS, from conceptualizing a plan to executing a solution, is another piece of a puzzle I’m eager to solve and affords the most opportunities for creative problem-solving and application.

“Progress and Service,” Georgia Tech’s motto, tells me there’s no better place to explore my curiosity and deepen my CS skills while simultaneously helping make the world a better place, my ultimate goal for a college education.

In the classroom, I look forward to GT’s threads program, where I can tailor the curriculum to suit my career choice after exposing myself to all technical aspects of CS.

I’ll apply my specialized learning with Tech’s fascinating research opportunities. Professor Pandarinth’s brain-machine interfacing software means a lot to me. My uncle passed away from a freak accident after extensive paralysis because potential treatments were unaffordable. Exploring this revolutionary brain decoding software wouldn’t just involve me in cutting-edge artificial intelligence technology research, I’d be personally driven to ensure its success and accessibility.

I’m at my best building towards tangible results. I learned this on my robotics team using design skills to create a technically complex robot that tackles anything from shooting balls to hanging on a balance beam. I’m excited to expand my skills on the RoboJackets team, applying my career interests to build ferocious BattleBots and autonomous race robots that compete on the Indy Speedway, two events that sound ridiculously fun.

Of course, I can’t skip hackathons. These competitions molded my interest in coding so I want to give back to Georgia Tech’s Hack-Community by planning HackGT and the Catalyst Mentorship program as a member of the Hexlabs team.

The student’s passion for CS shines through this essay. They explain what they love about the subject (the problem-solving aspect) and they share that they hope to make a difference through CS, demonstrating alignment with Tech’s motto of “progress and service”.

It’s clear that this student has done their research, mentioning specific academic programs, research, and clubs. We can see that they’d be greatly engaged with the campus community.

Finally, this essay is also down-to-earth. The student doesn’t try to use impressive vocabulary or formal language. In fact, they even describe some extracurriculars as “ridiculously fun.” While you shouldn’t get too informal in your essays, this student’s casual tone in this context makes them feel more approachable and more excited about the prospect of going to Georgia Tech.

This essay has a couple sentences that are confusing to read:

Every part of CS, from conceptualizing a plan to executing a solution, is another piece of a puzzle I’m eager to solve and affords the most opportunities for creative problem-solving and application.

This sentence could’ve been broken up and rewritten as:

Every part of CS, from conceptualizing a plan to executing a solution, is another piece of a puzzle I’m eager to solve. For me, the field affords the most opportunities for creative problem-solving and application.

This sentence also uses incorrect grammar—the comma should be replaced with a semicolon:

Exploring this revolutionary brain decoding software wouldn’t just involve me in cutting-edge artificial intelligence technology research, I’d be personally driven to ensure its success and accessibility.

These details would make the essay more readable.

The organization of the essay could also be reworked. The student mentions Tech’s motto of “progress and service,” but doesn’t follow up until later with an example of how they’d use CS for the greater good. Using CS for social good isn’t ultimately the theme of their essay, so this section would’ve been better placed at the end of the paragraph about AI technology research, or at the very end of the essay. The essay actually ends abruptly, so placing the section at the end might’ve tied it up nicely, if the student could’ve placed more emphasis on how they plan to use CS to improve society.

Do you want feedback on your “Why This College” essays? After rereading your essays countless times, it can be difficult to evaluate your writing objectively. That’s why we created our free Peer Essay Review tool , where you can get a free review of your essay from another student. You can also improve your own writing skills by reviewing other students’ essays.

If you want a college admissions expert to review your essay, advisors on CollegeVine have helped students refine their writing and submit successful applications to top schools. Find the right advisor for you to improve your chances of getting into your dream school!

The Significance of Smart Goals

Categories: Goals Personal Goals

About this sample

Words: 629 |

Published: Jan 31, 2024

Words: 629 | Page: 1 | 4 min read

Definition and explanation of smart goals, setting specific goals, measuring progress and achievements, ensuring goals are achievable, relevance of goals, setting time-bound goals, references:.

“Importance of Goal Setting: Why Set Goals?” Mind Tools, www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newHTE_87.htm.
Locke, Edwin A., and Gary P. Latham. A Theory of Goal Setting & Task Performance. Prentice-Hall, 1990.
Grant, Heid“SMART Goals: Definition and Examples.” The Balance Careers, 2021, www.thebalancecareers.com/smart-goals-4760192.

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Individuals are required to work for something that holds importance as well is rewarding in nature (Hobson et al. 2018). Goal setting is quite beneficial in a wide range of ways for individuals as well as the team. Thus, having a clear objective in the form of goals will keep individuals on track and motivate them to achieve.
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Being able to measure one's progress is vitally important when it comes to achieving goals. In addition, it is essential for goals to be achievable or attainable. A goal should be within the limit of achieving. In other words, it should stretch one's abilities but still remain possible. When one set an achievable goal, you may be able to ...
Writing About Your Career Goals in a Scholarship Essay (With ...
In 100 words, tell us about your career goals. 100-word essays, while short, can take careful planning and thought. With so little space to communicate your ideas, it's important to ensure you maximize the strength of every sentence. Scholarship teams might give you this prompt to assess your future goals quickly or to supplement some of the ...
Importance of Setting and Achieving Goals
SMART goals and objectives are those that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. Setting SMART goals and objectives ensures that they are clear, focused, and achievable. SMART goals and objectives help in breaking down large goals into smaller, manageable tasks, which makes it easier to stay motivated and track progress.
How To Write a Great Career Goals Essay
1. Understand the concept of career goals. Before you write your career goals essay, you must first identify your career ambitions. Career goals are a form of personal development. Focus on the professional or educational goals you would like to achieve aside from a high salary. The qualities of your goals are a more accurate measure of success ...
Why is Setting a Goal Important (Free Essay Example)
Why Is It Important To Set A Goal. The importance of goal-setting can be understood from this example: Imagine a person who wants to be happy, healthy, and has enough money. These are commendable aspirations and many people in this world share these wants. Still, a large proportion of people are unhappy, ill, and poor.
Why Major Essay
Before diving into reading why major essay examples, it is important to think about what major you want to pursue. Logically, this will be the main topic of your essay. ... These details show that the student understands the goals of the college and the program they have chosen to pursue. How to write a Why Major Essay.
Essay About My Goals And Ways To Achieve Them
Setting up a goal also gives your life direction, and boost your motivation and self-confidence. My first goal is significant, health. Health plays a major key role in our lives and bodies. My first health goal is getting more sleep then I am right now Sleep is important for brain functioning, emotional wellbeing, physical health, daytime ...
12 Effective "Why This College?" Essay Examples
One thing this essay could do to make it stronger is improve the first paragraph. The student does a good job of setting up Sister Roach and the Five C's, but they don't mention anything about their desire to study or pursue nursing. The first paragraph mentions both Sister Roach and Penn, but left out the student.
5 Common College Interview Questions: 2024 Edition
Influential figures, past and present, have stressed the importance of preparation in many aspects of life. To get ready for your college interview, prepare to answer these common questions. Note how each answer offers specific and personal details and defines character. 1. Why do you want to attend (name of the college or university)?
The Significance of SMART Goals: [Essay Example], 629 words
This specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound goal provides clear direction and a timeframe for accomplishment, making it more effective. The benefits of using SMART goals are manifold. They provide clarity and focus, enhance motivation, facilitate efficient decision-making, improve planning and time management, and increase ...

The Importance, Benefits, and Value of Goal Setting

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Download 3 Free Goals Exercises (PDF)

Download 3 Free Goals Pack (PDF)

Why the secret to success is setting the right goals – John Doerr

World’s Largest Positive Psychology Resource

17 Tools To Increase Motivation and Goal Achievement

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The Importance of Setting Goals: 5 Best Essay Examples to Inspire You

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The Impact of Economic Inequality: 4 Best Essay Examples to Inspire Your Writing

5 Best Common Application Essay Examples to Inspire Your Writing

Enhancing Academic Writing with AI: The Role of Advanced Tools in Essay Composition

How Do I Write An Essay About Achieving My Goals?

Step 1: Set Clear Goals

Step 2: Plan Your Essay Structure

Step 3: Conduct Research

Step 4: Draft and Revise

Step 5: Add Personal Reflection

Step 6: Edit and Proofread

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Goal Getting

Table of Contents

Why Is Goal Setting Important?

How to Set Goals Effectively

Set Timelines for Each Milestone

Identify Necessary Resources and Support

Regularly Review and Adjust Your Plan

Boosting Motivation

Ensuring That You’re Moving the Needle

Improving Adaptability

How to Set Goals

How to Use a Planner Effectively

How to Be a Better Planner: Avoid the Planning Fallacy

5 Best Apps to Help You Delegate Tasks Easily

Delegating Leadership Style: What Is It & When To Use It?

The Fear of Delegating Work To Others

Why Is Delegation Important in Leadership?

7 Best Tools for Prioritizing Work

How to Deal with Competing Priorities Effectively

What Is the RICE Prioritization Model And How Does It Work?

4 Exercises to Improve Your Focus

What Is Chronic Procrastination and How To Deal with It

How to Snap Out of Procrastination With ADHD

Are Depression And Procrastination Connected?

Procrastination And Laziness: Their Differences & Connections

Bedtime Procrastination: Why You Do It And How To Break It

15 Books on Procrastination To Help You Start Taking Action

Productive Procrastination: Is It Good or Bad?

The Impact of Procrastination on Productivity

How to Cope With Anxiety-Induced Procrastination

How to Break the Perfectionism-Procrastination Loop

15 Work-Life Balance Books to Help You Take Control of Life

Work Life Balance for Women: What It Means & How to Find It

6 Essential Mindsets For Continuous Career Growth

How to Discover Your Next Career Move Amid the Great Resignation

The Key to Creating a Vibrant (And Magical Life) by Lee Cockerell

9 Tips on How To Disconnect From Work And Stay Present

Work-Life Integration vs Work-Life Balance: Is One Better Than the Other?

How To Practice Self-Advocacy in the Workplace (Go-to Guide)

How to Boost Your Focus And Attention Span

What Are Distractions in a Nutshell?

What Is Procrastination And How To End It

Prioritization — Using Your Time & Energy Effectively

Delegation — Leveraging Your Time & Resources

Your Guide to Effective Planning & Scheduling

The Ultimate Guide to Achieving Goals

How to Find Lasting Motivation

Complete Guide to Getting Back Your Energy

How to Have a Good Life Balance

About the Time Flow System

Key Philosophy I: Fluid Progress, Like Water

Key Philosophy II: Pragmatic Priorities

Key Philosophy III: Sustainable Momentum