Goal-Setting: How to Set Goals and Achieve Them

Wednesday 29th January 2025

With the new year here, it’s the best time to start setting goals of what you want to accomplish in 2025. Goal setting is both a reflective and inspiring process because it offers you the chance to take a moment to see how far you’ve come in the past year and plan where you want to go in the future.

While this time comes around every year, many people get stuck in the cycle of setting goals that they either forget about or can’t stay disciplined enough to accomplish. This is because many people have trouble distinguishing their goals from their everyday self-improvement efforts.

Many start up new habits without a plan of how to get there. The hidden key is ensuring that the goals are challenging enough to motivate you, yet achievable with effort and perseverance through your habits.

What is goal setting?

Goal setting involves identifying improvements or aspirations you want to achieve and creating a plan of action to make them happen. It’s a purposeful, focused process that gets you to an end result. Setting clear goals creates a sense of direction, helps you see the bigger picture, and gives you greater control over what you want your future to consist of. However, it’s important to set goals that push you and require effort—if they’re too easy, you might not stay motivated or truly grow.

Goals vs objectives

A goal is different from an objective. For example, “I want to become a better swimmer” is an objective because it lacks a plan. A goal would be, “I will practice with swim coaches three times a week to compete in my first race by March 2025.” This goal is actionable and achievable.

January is a great time to start setting goals, giving you a full year to work toward them and track your progress along the way. So whether it’s in your academics, career, sport, or personal life, goal setting can help you get there.

Let’s strategise your 2025 goals in 8 easy steps below.

8 steps to set achievable goals:

Step 1: Plan what do you want

The first step in goal planning is taking the time to think about where you are now and then considering where you want to be. Some may call this visualisation, which is a practice that involves imagining the results you want to achieve. When you can think about what you desire and see what’s in your reach, you’ll be able to plan your goals.

Step 2: Set SMART goals

Setting SMART goals is the best way to accomplish results. SMART stands for: specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-bound. This strategy removes the problem of having too vague of goals and gives you a timeline of when you’re going to accomplish it. Let’s look at how this connects to the earlier example of swimming:

Rather than “I want to be a better swimmer,” a SMART goal would be: “I will practice with swim coaches three times a week to compete in my first race by March 2025”

Specific: Clearly defined – I will practice with swim coaches.
Measurable: Metrics you can track – 3 times a week.
Attainable: Realistic to you – You already have a passion for swimming, so showing up and staying motivated is achievable.
Relevant: It aligns with your physical health and sport goals – You are interested in being ready to compete in your first race.
Time-bound: There is a deadline of when it will happen – March 2025.

This methodology can be applied across a variety of aspects of your life. The more SMART your goals are, the more clear your path will be.

Step 3: Write your goals down

After planning and visualising what you want and setting your SMART goals, you’ll need a way to write them down. Whether it’s in a journal, on the notes in your phone, or in a document on your computer, writing down your goals keeps you accountable and committed. You can also make a goal setting vision board, which is a visual way of viewing your goals through pictures. Whichever way you go, having your goals laid out gives you the chance to review them and track your progress as you go ahead.

Step 4: Make a to-do list

With your goals set, where will you start? That’s where a to-do list comes in. Breaking your bigger goals into smaller, more manageable tasks makes it easier to accomplish. So start simple. What’s the smallest step you can take first? How long will it take? Once you know that, then overtime, getting closer to that bigger goal won’t feel as daunting.

Step 5: Track your progress

As you work to accomplish each little task of your big goal, set a timeline of when each will occur. This will help you to remain focused and driven to finish by a certain time. You can do it by hand or online — whatever you find works best for you. Remember that it needs to be achievable within your scope, schedule, and lifestyle. If it’s too unrealistic, there’s a low chance you’ll actually conquer it.

Step 6: Be aware of potential challenges

It won’t be all sunshine and rainbows. Some days it may be harder to motivate yourself, some days you may feel like you want to cheat or give up. You’ll experience bumps in the road that may slow down your journey or obstacles that may get in the way. Whatever it may be, be ready for them. A great way to do so is by making a list of potential roadblocks that may stop you from reaching your goal. Then if you feel yourself facing one later on, you already see that it’s a challenge you’ll need to overcome and motivate yourself to accomplish.

Step 7: Don’t go at it alone

Having another person, like a friend or family member, can motivate you to keep moving towards your goals. They can help you stay on track by reminding you to set aside time, working alongside you on smaller tasks, or offering words of encouragement. You can also share updates with them, creating a sense of accountability. Knowing someone is cheering you on often inspires you to put in extra effort because you won’t want to let them down.

Step 8: Take time to reflect

As you move throughout the year and take steps forward, it’s important to reflect on what’s happened and remind yourself of how far you’ve come. Regularly checking in, adjusting your approach when needed, and staying committed will keep you moving forward and thriving.

So there you have it, the 8 steps to set achievable goals! With these steps under your belt, you’ll be able to create a life full of meaning where you’re clear on where you’re headed. Now, are you ready to set your own goals?

Types of goals to set

There are a variety of goals out there. Let’s take a peak:

Short-term vs long-term goals

You can set short-term goals that can be anywhere from a week, to a month, to a couple months. Maybe you want to achieve a new habit, it can be a short-term goal you set for yourself daily to achieve. In contrast, you can also set long-term goals that may range from a couple months, to a year, to multiple years into the future. It just depends on your vision and what you’re looking to accomplish.

Categorised goals

Every goal you’ll make will fit in a category. Say you want to get straight A’s in year 12 of school, this goal would align with your academic goals. What if you want to run a 10km race? This goal would align with your fitness goals. You can have goals centered around learning a new skill, your career aspirations, your health, your social life, and more — the opportunities are limitless. Just make sure your goals align with your personal values.

How can goal setting help with academic performance?

While not all goals need to be academic, setting goals in any area of your life can boost your motivation and dedication, which often carries over to your studies. This happens because goal setting encourages discipline, time management, and a proactive mindset — skills that are crucial for academic success. Achievements outside of school can also improve confidence, which ultimately impacts how you come face-to-face with your studies.

Setting up for success in 2025

Achieving goals takes time and effort, so it’s essential to choose ones that truly matter to you—things you’re willing to dedicate hours of work to. But with the tips above and the new year in full spring, you’re more than ready to begin. Take a moment to start setting your goals today!

We want students to feel confident and encouraged in achieving their goals. Whether it’s academic, personal, or sport-related, we desire for all our students to thrive in the new year. Here at St Francis Xavier College, we advocate for student growth and for each individual to shine in their own way. Curious to know more about our academic programs and offerings? Click here to get in touch.