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Clear, desirable and achievable goals

A clear, desirable and achievable goal is important for good learning state. This provides the underlying motivation to start out the adventure, get through the tough times, and keep going until completion. If you don’t believe in the direction your learning is taking you, you may not achieve anywhere near your full learning potential.

There are three key ingredients though that I find compelling and I recommend. Written objectives help clarify and keep your goal in your mind. Set various rewards for yourself along the path to celebrate each step of the way. Lastly, collect a set of images to help you visualize what success looks like.

Objectives

In the Memletic Approach chapter, I discuss in more detail how to create and use a written set of objectives. Review these objectives regularly to help your good learning state. Written goal scripts are also good to review occasionally.

Rewards

As you start each major learning activity, write down some rewards you can give yourself at different points along the way. These may be at various stages through your training, as well as once you have achieved your overall goal. Some may simply be to reward yourself for being on the journey anyway, not just at specific checkpoints. Examples might include going out for dinner to a great restaurant, buying a new piece of equipment, or simply taking a break away from training. The size of the reward does not have to reflect the scale of what you have achieved. Rewards may simply be symbolic of your achievement.

Build the enthusiasm of those around you, such as family members, by involving them in your rewards. Perhaps a weekend away with the family is a good way to help them feel more involved with your achievements, especially if you haven’t paid them much attention recently.

Lastly, visualize (and write down) a certain activity you would like to do once you have completed your training. If you are learning to sail, perhaps it is to hire a yacht and sail to a particular location. If you are learning to fly, think about a particular flight you want to do as your “reward flight.” Perhaps it’s to fly up into the mountains and stay overnight at a remote airstrip. Perhaps fly cross-country to your home town or parent’s home. If you are learning to dance, perhaps it’s spending a night “out on the town” and staying at a luxury hotel.

Images

Start a collection of images, such as photographs, that are symbolic of your objective. If you are learning to sail and you have a particular yacht you would one day like to sail, try to get some photographs of it. If you are learning to fly, what about a location you would like to fly to once you have your pilot’s license? If you are learning how to present or speak in public, have someone take a photo of you looking like you are presenting, even if you are not in front of an audience. You look calm and confident.

Use clear and provocative images that give you a sense of excitement when you see them. You may also want to write a script or short story that involves you and that particular picture, as if you have already achieved your goal. Think of the story each time you see the image.

Place these images in locations so you can see them before or during a lesson. Perhaps place them on the wall of your study or in the front of your folder or notebook. Another idea is to use the desktop or screensaver on your computer.

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No doubt your path will change and obstacles will arise while you pursue your goals, however this is normal for any goal worth achieving. Keep these objectives, rewards and images close by as you start and progress. Refer to them often.