Revisiting September Goals
Every year, September rolls around and students (and teachers, and parents, and families) are bursting with enthusiasm for the new school year. Ambitious goals are set…and often forgotten.
We’re inching towards Winter Break, the days are getting shorter, and the weather is getting colder. It’s easy to forget our September goals. It’s easy to put them aside and declare December the month of “survival mode”. However, almost as important as showing ourselves grace and forgiveness, is holding ourselves accountable.
Here are the four Rs of looking back at previously-set goals.
Revisit. Where did you leave your goal-setting paper again? Is it in your weekly planner or saved in your Documents folder? Even if you think you remember what you wrote, take a look again. You might have completely forgotten a goal that was important to you back in September.
Re-evaluate. It should actually say “evaluate”, but I got caught up in the “re”s. Are you on track to reach your goal? Are you ahead? Behind? A little behind or completely off track? Consider giving yourself a score from 1-5 to describe how “on track” you are for each of your goals.
Revise. Are your goals still relevant? Have you met a goal early or found a new interest? Revise your goals so they are still challenging but attainable for you. It’s okay to let a goal go if it no longer suits you. Similarly, it’s okay to pick up a new goal that suits you better.
Replan. What will you do now to reach your revised goals? Are you staying on the same track or making changes? What little changes can you make that you will be able to maintain? What big u-turns do you need to plan?
Although 2021 is almost over, the school year is not even halfway done. There is so much room to make changes and achieve your goals.
