LAST week, I shared insights on how to set goals for this academic year. If you are going to lead a meaningful life as a young person, especially a teenager who is in school, you need to plan your life by setting goals concerning your life that includes your academic life.
However, goals are supposed to be grounded in the vision of who you want to be in life in terms of your career such as a lawyer, medical doctor, teacher, nurse, engineer or any career you want to pursue.
Setting goals will enable the mental picture of who you want to become a reality.
In fact, the law of idealism states that whatever you can imagine can be actualised.
It is inevitable that as a pupil you set goals for this academic year.
This is critical if you are going to improve in your academics, at the same time if you have been performing well academically setting goals will help you to maintain the same momentum.
Planning in life is of high importance to the extent that even God has plans for your life, plans not to harm you but prosper and give you a bright future- Jeremiah 29 vs 11. The following are some of the reasons why you should set goals for your academic life.
Setting goals will help you focus on your academic life. Setting goals for your academic life will mean you care for your studies and you want the best for your academic life.
What type of a mental picture do you have concerning your academic life? Do you see yourself as someone who is among the best in your class? Hence when you set goals it will help you stay focused on your academics.
They will enable you to keep a track of your performance. If you have set goals for your academic life, it will help to check if you are making progress or you are still at the same point.
For example if your goal is to improve in Geography from the 60 percent performances to 80 percent and you have timed to actualise this goal in the first term. By the end of the term you will be able to check if at all you have made progress or not.
It is biblical- the Bible talks about Habbakuk being told to write down his vision and God assuring Him that though the vision may delay it was going to come to pass. I believe after he was told to write down the vision, he probably draw up some goals on how he was going to fulfill his vision.
What vision do you have for your academic life? Then set goals on how you are going to achieve that.
They will help you in time management- setting goals will help you discipline yourself in time management. Setting goals should be pursued time management skills and a positive attitude. Goals will help you to know that time is precious in the pursuit to success.
They will help you in developing the type of friends you hang around with this year. If you are serious about your life including your academic life you need to be critical in making friends. Show me your friends and I will tell you what you want to achieve in life.
If your goal is to improve in social studies you will be attracted to those friends who are doing well in that particular subject. Continuing hanging around with friends who are poor in the same subject will be wasting time.
It will help you in understanding what you value most in this year. Setting goals for your academic life is  evidence enough that you care and value your academic life.
What you do not value you do not give it attention and time. If you value your academic life and are determined to complete grade 12 with a bang-set goals towards that.
They will help you in setting priorities for a day, week and month. Setting goals has an impact on your daily behaviour and conduct. The impact is positive which comes along with inculcating values in you.
For example, my personal goal is to make sure every week I make available the article to be published in this newspaper hence everyday I think about what to write and it has become part of my daily character.
Hence, if you want to perform well in your academics, your daily priorities will be of high importance to you.
They will make you accountable for your failure and success.
Your goal is a desirable result of what you achieve. Your goals will be able to help you check if you are making progress or still at the same pace.
Look out for next week as I share insights on areas to prioritise as you set goals for 2016 academic year. For comments write to, email: rodrickmakupe@yahoo.com. Facebook page: Academic and Kingdom insights with Rodrick Makupe. Contact: 0979700937/0964351029