SETTING GOALS FOR SUCCESS

The importance of goals

Why is it important to set goals for yourself? What are your short-term goals? Long-
term goals?

Activity 3
“ME AND MY GOALS”

List down your goals. Make a 5-year plan on how to achieve your goals using the
matrix below:
GOALS ACTION TIME-TABLE
Ex. Have savings of 7,000 Start saving by keeping 20 Pesos from 5 years
pesos/year my daily allowance of 100 Pesos

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 Albert Bandura’s Self-efficacy

“I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything,

but I can do something.

And because I cannot do everything,

I will not refuse to do the something that I can do.”
―Edward Everett Hale

Read each of the statements in this instrument and select the response that you
believe best indicates how well these statements describe you. Put a check (/) mark in
the blank of your choice.

4 – Exactly True 2 – Hardly True

3 – Moderately True 1 – Not at all True

The General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSE)

EXACTLY MODERATELY HARDLY NOT AT ALL
INDICATORS
TRUE TRUE TRUE TRUE
1. I can always manage to
solve difficult problems if I
try hard enough.
2. If someone opposes me,
I can find the means and
ways to get what I want.
3. It is easy for me to stick to
my aims and accomplish
my goals.
4. I am confident that I
could deal efficiently with
unexpected events.
5. Thanks to my
resourcefulness, I know
how to handle unforeseen
situations.
6. I can solve most problems
if I invest the necessary
effort.

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 EXACTLY MODERATELY HARDLY NOT AT ALL
INDICATORS
TRUE TRUE TRUE TRUE
7. I can remain calm when
facing difficulties because
I can rely on my coping
abilities.
8. When I am confronted with
a problem, I can usually
find several solutions.
9. If I am in trouble, I can
usually think of a solution.
10. I can usually handle
whatever comes my way.

Adapted from Ralf Schwarzer& Matthias Jerusalem, 1995

Schwarzer, R., & Jerusalem, M. (1995). Generalized Self-Efficacy scale. In J. Weinman, S. Wright, &
M. Johnston, Measures in health psychology: A user’s portfolio. Causal and control beliefs (pp. 35-37).
Windsor, UK: NFER-NELSON.

WHAT IS SELF-EFFICACY?

Self-efficacy refers to your belief in your capacity to perform necessary actions

to produce specific performance goals (Bandura, 1977, 1986, 1997). Self-efficacy is the
reflection of your confidence in the ability to exert control over your own motivation,
behavior, and social environment.
A strong sense of self-efficacy adds to your sense of well-being that helps you perform
your tasks well. Those with a high sense of self-efficacy see a difficult task as a challenge
that must be conquered rather than a problem that must be avoided. This outlook fosters
deep interest in performing any activity. It sustains them to continue with their efforts
in times of adversity.

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 Social cognitive psychologist and professor Albert Bandura is best-known for his
social learning theory and the concept of self-efficacy. Social learning theory
stressed the importance of observational learning, imitation, and modeling. According
to Bandura (1977), “Learning would be exceedingly laborious, not to mention hazardous,
if people had to rely solely on the effects of their own actions to inform them what to do.”
The theory of self-efficacy, as presented by Bandura (1977: 193) was “for analyzing
changes achieved in fearful and avoidant behavior.” He asserted that even though you
believe an activity may lead to a certain outcome, you might not be motivated to perform
the action; hence, you doubt your ability to perform.
Bandura presented four principal sources of self-efficacy beliefs:
1. Enactive mastery experiences
• It is the most influential source of efficacy information.
• It provides the most authentic evidence of whether one can muster what it takes
to succeed.
• Success increases sense of self-efficacy; failure undermines it.
• A strong sense of self-efficacy is achieved through experience and perseverance
in overcoming obstacles.

2. Vicarious experiences (comparisons)

Bandura believed that most human behavior is learned by observation
through modeling. Additionally, people tend to approach tasks that they have
seen others perform. Through observation, you can build your self-efficacy by
watching others perform a task.
Factors might facilitate retention processes:
• Participant modeling. Observer watches and performs.
• Timing. The learner is internally motivated and the environment is conducive to
learning
• Learning strategy. The lessons are appropriate for the learner’s level. Learning is
built on what the learner already knows.
• Variation and consistency. Variation in learning techniques to suit personal
learning needs; consistency in assessing performance and in giving feedback
• Mental practice. It enhances vividness and stability of learning.

3. Verbal persuasions and allied types of social influences

There are people who can help motivate you and strengthen your beliefs in
your capacity to succeed. These significant people (i.e., parents, teachers, friends,
and so on) can persuade you to believe that you possess the capability to master
your tasks. Their moral support will make you more likely to put in effort even
when problems arise.

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 4. Emotional and physiological states
Your emotions and physical health affect your self-efficacy judgment with
respect to specific tasks. For example, you feel depressed or you have a fever, yet
you need to study for a test; you are not motivated to study because you feel you
will not understand any of the topics anyway.
Factors that could alter sense of self-efficacy:
• Preconception of capability – your personal assessment of your capacity
• Perceived task difficulty – your assessment whether the task is at par with
your preconceived capability
• Effort – how hard you will work at your task
• Amount of external support – the resources and support system that will
help you accomplish your task
• Circumstances under which they perform – your physical, mental, and
emotional states
• Pattern of successes and failures – how many times you have succeeded or
failed in the exact or similar task in the past
• How the experiences are cognized and reconstructed in memory – Your
assessment whether the experience was pleasurable or painful

What is a SELF-CONCEPT?

Self-concept is your idea of who you are (self) based on your personal beliefs and
your perceived notion of how other people see you. This personal beliefs could be your
body image (“I’m sexy”), your notions about yourself (“I am hardworking”), and how you
tend to label yourself in different situations (“I can be nasty if you push me too far”).

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 Generally, self-concept embodies the answer to “Who am I?”
Self-knowledge

Self-knowledge is philosophically viewed as your knowledge of

your own sensations, thoughts, beliefs, and other mental states.
(Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)
Self-awareness

When you are self-aware, you understand that you stand apart
from others and from your environment, and that you are a
Self- concept versus subject that acts, interacts, and experiences your environment.
Self-awareness assists the person to reflect on his or her “self.”
Self-esteem

It is your general attitude toward yourself.

It answers the questions:

Do I like myself?
Do I accept me for who I am?
Am I a person of value?

What is SELF-ESTEEM?

“Everything that happens to you is a reflection of what you believe about

yourself. We cannot outperform our level of self-esteem. We cannot draw to
ourselves more than we think we are worth.”
―IyanlaVanzant

Self-esteem always involves a degree of self-evaluation. It is used to describe a

person’s overall sense of self-worth or personal value. Generally, children who have warm
and secure relationships with their parents/carers are more likely to have positive self-
concepts and high self-esteem. Self-esteem is often seen as a personality trait, which

170 A Holistic Approach In Understanding The Self

means it tends to be enduring. It also affects your trust in others, your relationships,
your work – nearly every part of your life.
Having positive/high self-esteem helps you to try new things, like approaching
people and building your social network while having low self-esteem makes you unsure
of yourself. Your lack of confidence and your self-doubt will affect your motivation to
work toward your goals.
Components of Self-Esteem (Branden, 1969):
1. It is an essential human need that is vital for survival, as well as for normal,
healthy development.
2. It arises automatically from within, based on a person’s beliefs and consciousness.
However, external factors can affect it, too.
3. It occurs along with a person’s thoughts, behaviors, feelings, and actions.

Persons with positive self-esteem:

• Feel good about themselves
• Feel proud of what they can do
• Believe in themselves, even when they don’t succeed at first
• See their own good qualities, such as being kind or capable
• Feel liked, loved, and respected
• Accept themselves even when they make mistakes
• Take care of their overall well-being
• Trust others
• Independent but are cooperative
• Have the ability to accept mistakes, either their own or those of others
• Are able to say “No” appropriately

Persons with low self-esteem:

• Lack confidence
• Wish to be/look like someone else
• Always worry about what others may think
• Are pessimistic
• Have a negative view of life
• Have a perfectionist attitude
• Mistrust others – even those who show signs of affection
• Have a blaming behavior
• Are afraid of taking risks
• Have feelings of being unloved and unlovable
• Show dependence – letting others make decisions
• Are afraid of being ridiculed

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 LOCKE’S GOAL-SETTING THEORY

Is this scene familiar?

Cartoon characters courtesy of Pixton

You know the importance of having a goal. But, are your daily actions bringing you
closer to your goal/goals? Are you planning your goals correctly? Wait, “plan my goal”?
What’s that?
As defined by professors Edwin Locke and Gary Latham (2006:332), a goal is “a level
of performance proficiency that one wishes to attain within a specific time period” (as
cited in Shields et al., 2015). Locke and Latham stated, “Goal setting theory was based on
the premise that much human action is purposeful, and it is directed by conscious goals”
(O’Neil & Drillings, 1994, p.14). Goal-setting theory predicts that people will channel
effort toward accomplishing their goals, which will in turn affect performance (Locke &
Latham, 1990).
Locke, who primarily developed the goal-setting theory, proposed three factors that
will make individuals highly motivated:
1. Goals are challenging and specific.
2. They are strongly committed to the goal/goals.
3. They strongly believe in their ability to accomplish their goal.

172 A Holistic Approach In Understanding The Self

 According to Locke, those factors will occur if:
a. People know what is required of them.
b. They know how they are expected to perform.
c. They can identify with the goals.
d. Feedback is precise and frequent.

Five Principles of Goal Setting

Goals must have:
1. Clarity. When a goal is clear and specific there is less misunderstanding about
what behaviors will be rewarded. You know what is expected, and you can use the
specific result as a source of motivation.
2. Challenge. People are often motivated by achievement. It is important to strike
an appropriate balance between a challenging goal and a realistic goal. A goal that
is too easy or too difficult will not motivate the person to work hard on a task.
3. Commitment. A personally relevant goal will motivate a person to work on
accomplishing it. Interestingly, goal commitment and difficulty often work
together. The harder the goal, the more commitment is required. If you have an
easy goal, you do not need a lot of motivation to get it done.
4. Feedback. Feedback provides opportunities to clarify expectations, adjust goal
difficulty, and gain recognition. It is an assessment to help you know where you
are toward achieving your goal, how effective your strategies are how your best
practices are recognized, and how your areas for improvement are determined.
5. Task complexity. Just like setting a challenging goal, task complexity involves
appropriate balance. With complicated tasks, make sure to learn or practice what
is expected of you and give yourself sufficient time to meet your goal.
(Mind Tools Ltd, 1996-2017)

SMART Goals

The conditions given by Locke gave way to a goal-setting technique called SMART
goals developed by management experts and authors, Kenneth Blanchard and Spencer
Johnson.
When originally introduced by Blanchard, SMART goals were denoted as: Specific
and Measurable, Motivating, Attainable, Relevant and Track-able (Blanchard, Zigarmi,
& Zigarmi, 1985, p. 89-90). Over time, the SMART acronym for goals has evolved into
what they are today: Specific, Measurable, Assignable, Realistic, and Time-Related and the
modern definitions are represented in the figure on the next page:

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 Adapted from https://wikispaces.psu.edu/display/PSYCH484/6.+Goal+Setting+Theory

Specific
For you to be motivated to perform, you need to have a specific goal. “Increase my
grade” is too vague. A specific goal would be” “Get a grade of 95 in Psychology.”

Measurable
A measurable goal is important so that you can monitor your progress and receive
feedback. Thus, a specific and measurable goal would be, “Increase my grade in Psychology
from 88 to 95.”

Assignable
You should be able to relate to your own goal. Make your goal a personal commitment.
For example, “I will increase my grade in Psychology from 88 to 95.”

Realistic
You cannot just say, “I will increase my grade in Psychology from 88 to 100.”
Likewise, you should not set very low goals, such as “I will increase my grade from 88 to
89.” Goals that are too difficult or too easy to achieve will not positively motivate your
performance. Set goals that are difficult enough to be realistically attained.

Time-related
A “habit” implies something that happens regularly. Since “habits” are occur
regularly, these are also relatively quick to develop—provided you stick to them! Setting
a time frame for your goal will require you to develop a habit or routine. Once you have
established your routine, working toward your goal will come naturally (as opposed to
forced effort).

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