Discover the wonders of the human body, from anatomy and development to sexual identity.
When you read the word “goal setting”, what came to your mind? Football game ⚽, right? For any team in a match to be called a winner, they must aspire to have the highest number of goals.
What then is a goal?
A goal is simply something you want to achieve. It is a target towards which you direct your efforts.
Back to a football game again. How many people make up a team? 11 agile persons.
What do they all do – they put all their efforts together to meet their target which is scoring goals.
Goals can be short-term goals i.e. what you set to achieve within a few days, weeks or even within a few months; or long-term goals i.e. what you set to achieve over a long period of time even up to a lifetime. Long term goals can however be splitted into several short-term goals that can be easily achieved.
To achieve your goals, they must be clear and be able to keep you on track. A popular model for this kind of goal is called SMART. This means you need to set SMART goals.
S – Specific
M – Measurable
A – Achievable
R – Realistic
T – Time-bound
Now, let’s discuss this a bit more.
Specific 📋: Your goal should be clearly defined and not too general or broad so that you are not overwhelmed or discouraged. Think of specific actions you can take to achieve what you aspire to.
For example, Bayo wants to improve on his academic performance by the end of the school year. A smart goal for Bayo would be, I will study everyday for three hours to increase my academic grade to 90% or higher by the end of the school year.
Measurable 📈: This involves creating clear benchmarks or milestones that will help you measure your progress towards achieving the goal. It can be quantitative measurement i.e. the use of numbers or qualitative measurement i.e. by observation.
For Bayo, his milestones would be
Achievable 🎯: Your goals must have definite steps you will take to attain the desired target. What steps are you going to take to attain your goals?
For Bayo, it will be
Realistic 👌: Your goal should be one that you can successfully reach with hardwork and support. It should stretch your skills and knowledge but it should not break them. Your goals should be able to withstand opposition and pressure that may come along the way. Imagine if Bayo says he wants to study 15 hours in a day, is that realistic?
Time-bound 📅: Your goal should have a start and end date for attaining your benchmarks and your final goal. Don’t make the deadline too short or too far into the future. Breaking down your goal into smaller steps or targets makes it easier to take one step at a time.
There are obstacles you may face in achieving your goal, it may include:
Decision making is an essential skill that you use in your everyday life – what to eat, wear, places to go, what to do etc. are decisions you make all through the day.
While some decisions do not have very serious consequences, some other decisions have consequences that are serious and can affect your health and whole life.
Decision making is the process of making a choice or reaching a conclusion, especially on important personal, political or even business matters. It is a process of selecting among alternatives or making up your mind about an issue.
Your decisions can shape the pattern of your development over a period of time hence the need to make thoughtful decisions. This will not necessarily make life become a bed of roses but it will help you to make choices that you feel comfortable and happy with.
There are internal factors such as your values and external factors that can influence your decision making. However, the best decision is one that is consistent with your values. When you know your values, external factors have less power over your decision making. Some of the external factors are:
Decision-making is a skill that can be learned and practised. You can follow this step-by-step decision making process to make the right decisions.
It is possible to experience challenges in the process of making or implementing decisions, but these challenges can often be overcome by being aware of your values and your feelings.
Just like making any other decision, decisions about your sexual behaviour have potential positive or negative consequences that can affect your health, future and lifeplan. Making decisions related to sex can be quite complicated as it has social and health implications not just for you but also for others such as your family and the society at large.
Most times, there are different emotions that may want to influence your decision making about sexual behaviours such as poverty, gender inequality, alcohol and drugs, violence etc. The need to have a boyfriend or girlfriends, the need to have sex or not are decisions about your sexual health that you will need to make at some point. It might even be the decision to abstain until marriage. You must always learn to weigh your values and feelings as it concerns the choices you want to make. Always remember that you have the right to take the decision that is best for you. The steps in making decisions can be applied for your sexual and reproductive concerns.
If you are ever at cross roads, always look for a trusted adult around you that can guide you through making decisions around your sexuality.
Tentative: refers to something that is not certain or fixed
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