what is goal essay

Essays About Goals: Top 5 Examples Plus 10 Prompts

Goals could be a one-time event or a lifelong growth process. Write effectively with the help of our essays about goals and writing prompts in our guide. 

Having goals helps us have a sense of purpose. We find our determination, discipline, and strategic thinking tested to their limits. The road toward any goal, especially ambitious ones, is full of thorns and spikes. Some walk away and accept that these goals are not destined for them. Some, however, keep pressing forward, determined to achieve these goals. Gaining confidence in writing can help you achieve your goals by putting pen to paper and starting a plan.

5 Essay Examples

1.  are you goal or growth conscious by katherine beneby, 2. how to help an employee figure out their career goals by dorie clark, 3. no goals: why is it so hard to do something for enjoyment’s sake by jenny valentish, 4. get inspired: how four hikers accomplished their 2021 hiking goals by anna roth , 5. does sharing your goals on social media make you more likely to achieve them by kristan russell, 1. my goals in life, 2. travel goals, 3. the goal of forming better study habits, 4. climate goals: are we progressing, 5. importance of fitness goals, 6. fiscal policy goals, 7. failing at your goals, 8. setting lofty vs. light goals, 9. poverty reduction goals, 10. my academic goals.

“The difference between goals and growth is that goals are seasonal, while growth is lifelong. Goals focus on a destination while growth focuses on a journey.”

In this essay, the writer discusses how achieving our goals may be possible if we reframe our minds to think of them as a growth process. This essay enumerates the difficulties of achieving our objectives and offers guidance on what will help put structure in how we formulate our growth plans. You might also be interested in these essays about bad habits .

“It’s not always possible to help the people we supervise identify and work toward their career goals… [S]o when we can assist our employees in getting there, it’s a meaningful way we can make a difference in their lives and their professional success.”

As per our list of topics to write about , this essay looks at how managers must realize their critical roles in the lives of the employees they handle. Their biggest contribution to the development of their employees is helping them achieve their tasks at work while ensuring these victories lead to their broader career goals. You might also be wondering, why write goals down?

“Once, to stave off depression, I set myself the goal-tastic mission of doing something new every day for a year – from flying in a glider to blowing things up – and blogging about it. Right from day one, the sense of focus lifted my mood, and there was frankly no time to overthink.”

In this essay, the writer looks at how atelic activities, or those we do for fun, positively influence our outlook. Our goal-driven world, however, hinders us from seeing the pure joy of doing things without goals. You might be interested in these essays about dream jobs .

“Last year, she set a goal to simply go hiking at all. And she’s thrilled to have made it happen, saying it was one of the best things she could have done for herself and her family during such a challenging year.”

This writer describes points to inspire people to start hiking and to set personal fitness goals. Look no further and turn to the inspiring stories of people who have targeted to hike across states, hike for the first time, hike once a month for health purposes, and hike a hundred miles yearly. For more inspiration, check out these essays about achievement .

“Wellness gurus and fitness bloggers seem to be divided between whether sharing goals on your social media sabotages you or holds you accountable.“

This essay revolves around a nascent study that aims to see if sharing your goals on social media make them more attainable. While initial results show that those who posted made significant progress compared to people who did not post, more questions need to be explored. You might be inspired by these essays about success .

10 Prompts on Essays About Goals

In this essay, delve into your short-term, medium-term, and long-term goals. Before anything else, elaborate on what drew you to set these goals. Then, share your action plans to make them a reality. Discuss the obstacles you’ve faced and how you’ve conquered them. 

What is the one destination you dream of? For this essay, daydream about your travel goals. Direct that excitement and write your travel itinerary, the duration of your stay, where you will be staying, and what daring activities you will dare yourself to plunge into. You can also talk about whom you would like to be with when you fulfill your travel goals or if you prefer going solo.

It is a challenge to hit the books when we live in a world with unlimited distractions. In this topic prompt, share effective study habits to help students focus on their studies. One helpful tip, for example, is designing your environment to be conducive to a habit change. In the case of study habits, this means temporarily eliminating access to social media and other digital distractions. Cite more tips and conclude your essay with a few words of motivation.

Under the Paris Agreement , the landmark international agreement to fight climate change, countries must jointly strive to arrest global warming and cap it to 1.5 degrees Celsius by 2030. The question is: is this goal still on the table? Read recent news articles on how countries are following through on their Paris Treaty pledges. Listen to what environmentalists say about national efforts and tackle what more must be done to attain the climate goals. 

Fitness is a common new year’s resolution but try convincing your readers to start their fitness goals today. First, help your readers explore the right dietary program and workout schedule based on their daily demands. 

Then, underscore the importance of a fitness goal for gaining self-esteem and improving physical and mental health. Entice them with the idea of gaining a new exciting skill from a new workout activity and motivate them to start unlocking the fit version of themselves today. 

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, several countries recorded ballooning debts as governments spent heavily to fight the pandemic and also support struggling sectors. So first, determine whether your country is in a tight fiscal space. 

The fiscal space assessment framework created by the International Monetary Fund may help you identify the metrics and data to gather. Then, shed light on your government’s fiscal policy goals to address debt while spending in sectors that guarantee an economy’s long-term health, such as education and social services. 

How do people receive failures? Write about people’s attitudes and actions when they fail at their goals. Can people develop depression, and how can they recover from the fall? Try to answer these and share your experience of failing at your goals. 

Ask yourself: How did you move forward after that? Then, share your opinions on whether a failure signifies that it would be best for someone to find a new goal altogether or try again with stronger determination and a better-calculated strategy. 

Which is better: aiming for a lofty goal that opens risks of failure, which many fear, or light goals that might do little in stretching out your potential? Answer this by listing the pros and cons of each. Then help readers strike the optimum balance between a loft or light goal. Cite examples of lofty and light goals to help your readers better differentiate the two.

For this essay, take a deep dive into the poverty reduction efforts of your government. First, give an overview of an ongoing flagship poverty reduction program and uncover its outcomes since its implementation. Read through government reports about the breakthrough goals of the program and which ones are gaining momentum. 

Then, look at the other side of the fence by listening to what critics say about the program. Take note of their laments about bottlenecks in the program and what more can be done to attain poverty reduction goals swiftly. 

Start with a descriptive paragraph detailing your academic goals. Writing about it vividly, as though it is the reality, is a creative way to show readers how much you have played out the scenarios of success in your head while helping your readers fully understand your goals. Then snap back to reality and discuss your action plan to realize these goals.

For related topics, you may check our essays about dreams in life . Don’t forget to proofread your essay with the best grammar checkers .

How To Write A Powerful Essay On Achieving Goals (+ Example)

Goal setting is a useful strategy to get the most out of life and set yourself up for success. However, there are many things to remember regarding proper goal setting and achievement. When writing a blm argumentative essay , it’s important to provide context on the history of the Black Lives Matter movement and the issues it seeks to address. This can help the reader understand the significance of the essay’s thesis and arguments. Let’s get to grips with the process of goal setting and come up with a powerful essay on achieving goals.

Structuring Your Essay on Achieving Goals:

How to write an introduction, how to write the main body of your essay.

There should be a minimum of three paragraphs in your essay. Each one is a ‘mini-essay with an introduction, body, and conclusion. Each should include:

How to Write a Conclusion

Example of an essay about achieving your goals.

So, let’s put all this information together and check an example essay on achieving goals: Effective Methods to Increase the Likelihood of Goal Achievement Achieving goals can be extremely rewarding and result in a more satisfying and successful life. Many people set goals yet cannot achieve them. However, there are ways to avoid or reduce the likelihood of missing the mark. By ensuring that goals are SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound), using visualization techniques, and rewarding goal attainment, the chances of success increase. First, ensure your goals are SMART. This means that goals should be specific and measurable in terms of outcomes, e.g., test scores . Goals should be achievable and realistic to the person’s capabilities and resources available. Also, a goal should apply to the person’s work, education, hobbies, or interests and include a deadline. If there is no specificity of outcome, there’s no real way to see how someone has improved—or how they might be falling short. And if goals are not SMART, they are more difficult to achieve. Second, by imagining and visualizing the feelings and outcomes of achievement of the goal , the likelihood of high achievement increases. The imagination can be a powerful tool. Imagining the feelings of accomplishment helps to increase self-efficacy and motivation. A Canadian study found that imagery skills moderate the effect of mental practice on self-efficacy. The effects of visualization techniques are valuable in goal achievement. Third, once the goal has been accomplished, a reward is required. Getting a reward for hard work will increasingly motivate an individual to set and achieve the next goal. The offer of a reward gives employees and students an extra boost of motivation. Rewards help the cycle of goal setting and goal achieving to continue. In summary, by ensuring the goals set are SMART, visualizing and rewarding success, goal achievement becomes more likely. Achieving goals is a cyclic process that’s possible to master if the right method is in place.

The Basics of Setting and Achieving Goals

Goals should be specific and free of generalizations, or they are unlikely to get done. Instead of stating that your goal is to improve your English skills, make it more specific by stating that your goal is to learn and use one new word every weekday to boost your English vocabulary.

A goal should be measurable because you need to keep your finger on the pulse and know where you’re at. For instance, a test or assessment score can provide evidence that you have reached your goal.

A goal needs to be possible to achieved. If it’s beyond your capabilities or requires resources you cannot access, then you will set yourself up for failure.

You must set a completion date for your goal. If you do not set a deadline, you may lack the motivation to reach it. Once you have your SMART goal, record it clearly on paper or a mobile device and then visualize the outcome of achieving that goal. Imagine how happy you will feel when you achieve it. This vivid mental imagery will provide you with the extra motivation to go for it. Finally, when you reach your goal, it’s time to celebrate! Reward yourself with a trip, an item you desire, relaxation time with friends, or whatever else that will make you feel happy.

Ready to write an essay about achieving goals?

Hopefully, the information in the article has given you the basics to help you write a powerful essay on achieving goals. I also hope that this article has helped you think about how you can work toward achieving your own goals. There are many great books about the science of goal achievement. I especially recommend ones written by Brian Tracy , as they have helped me a great deal in my pursuit of happiness . You can also create an engaging presentation about achieving goals and objectives using this  goal presentation template . Next up, you may want to explore an ultimate guide to writing expository essays .

Rafal Reyzer

Hey there, welcome to my blog! I'm a full-time entrepreneur building two companies, a digital marketer, and a content creator with 10+ years of experience. I started RafalReyzer.com to provide you with great tools and strategies you can use to become a proficient digital marketer and achieve freedom through online creativity. My site is a one-stop shop for digital marketers, and content enthusiasts who want to be independent, earn more money, and create beautiful things. Explore my journey here , and don't miss out on my AI Marketing Mastery online course.

Goal Getting

What are goals achieve more by changing your perspectives.

As simple as it sounds, the question, what are goals, is a very important question to answer if making the best out of our daily lives is something of great concern.

Anyone will assume they already know what goals are, they’ve probably been setting goals all their lives. However, when we get too familiar with certain concepts, we tend to forget their real meaning and essence. Hence, it is not surprising that people set many goals but achieve too little.

When you don’t understand what goals are or what they are meant to be, you might scribble anything on paper and call them goals and then get frustrated when you fail to achieve them.

There are different perspectives on goals and what they represent. However, this article looks into the real meaning of goals and provides clarity on some misconceptions about goals. It also suggests better ways to look at goals; in a way to use them as progress markers rather than yardsticks for measuring success or failure.

Table of Contents

What are goals, goal vs dream, goal vs vision, goal vs expectation, goal vs desire, goal vs objective, what most people are wrong about goals, redefining goals, the bottom line.

There are different definitions of goal(s) out there, however, let’s look at this one from the early pioneers in goal-setting theory: [1]

A goal is an idea of the future or desired result that a person or a group of people envision, plan and commit to achieve.

Goals represent the decisions we make and the commitments we take in order to reach attainment, break some bad habits, adopt useful habits or achieve more in different areas of life.

Goals enable us to achieve focus in life by helping us to determine what we want. They keep us motivated and propelled, constantly putting us in state of action.

Goals, when properly conceived and pursued can help us to maximize the one and only life we have to live.

Goals can be applied to different areas of our lives and they can also be based on a time range. For example, life-based goals can be personal development goals, career goals, educational goals, health goals, family and relationship goals, spiritual goals, social goals, etc.

Moreso, goals can be set based on time and duration such as life-time goals, long term goals , short term goals and even stepping stone goals which are small unit goals that we undertake in order to achieve the short, long and lifetime goals.

Common Confusions About Goals

In order to put goals in their proper perspectives and make the most of them, certain clarifications are required between goals and its related concepts.

The following are often confused with goals, although they have their own relevance on goals and goal setting:

Dreams are aspirations fuelled by desires. They exist in the realm of imagination and often give us inspiration.

However, goals are action-based. Goals stretch us and help us to achieve results. Our dreams can only be actualized by setting realistic goals and working diligently to achieve them.

Visions are important in life but they are not the same as goals. Your vision represents where you want to go or be in life, a destination you aim to arrive at. However, the paths that will get you to that destination are often undefined until you break them down into goals.

Goals help you to understand and quantify the steps you will have to take in order to actualize your vision. Having a broader life vision will help you to achieve more goals.

Besides, vision will bring focus to your goal setting when your goals are directed at getting you to the final destination of your vision. When this happens, you will not only be satisfied with achieving a particular goal, you will view your progress and success in terms of their contribution to your overall vision.

Goals should not be confused with expectations. Expectations are things that we think we should have or heights we feel we should attain. It is said that expectations can generate frustration when you feel you aren’t performing up to your potential.

Do you notice that when some Olympic teams are being interviewed before a tournament, many of them expect to win a medal? But do all of them win medals?

When you listen to the real winners after the tournament, they will tell you how their goals helped them to structure their attention and focus, and keep them involved to strive for excellence.

Goals demand more focus and clarity whereas expectations are often not realistic.

We all have desires, they represent the things we want. However, in order to get our desires, we might have to set goals.

While desires are usually pleasant, goals may not be.

For example, slimming down feels good, but exercising does not. But it takes a reasonable amount of exercise to burn fat.

Vacationing on a cruise ship feels good, who doesn’t want it? However, working extra hours to save money for the trip is hard.

Goals are the specific actions we set to accomplish in order to satisfy our desires.

Objectives are the tasks we must accomplish in order to achieve our goals. It will be more useful to differentiate between goal and objective by looking at the differences between a broader term G’SOT which stands for Goals , Strategies , Objectives , and Tactics . [2]

• A goal is a broad primary outcome
• A strategy is the approach you take to achieve a goal
• An objective is a measurable step you take to achieve a strategy
• A tactic is a tool you use in pursuing an objective associated with a strategy.

The Intel example below is also useful to illustrate the difference:

Goal : Make our Core PC microprocessors a category leader in sales revenue by year X

Strategy : Persuade buyers that our Core processors are the best one the market by associating with large, well-established PC manufacturers.

Objective : Retain 70 percent or more of the active worldwide PC microprocessor market, according to Passmark’s CPU benchmark report.

Tactic : Through creative that underlies our messaging, leverage hardware partner brand awareness to include key messages about the Intel Inside program.

According to a study, only 8 percent of people get to achieve their goals. [3]  When goals are not properly conceived or when we go about goals with the wrong perspectives, we might not be able to achieve our goals and even get frustrated as a result.

Some people have abandoned their goals or given up on setting goals altogether as a result. Others have gotten to the point of staying frustrated for failing to achieve their goals. These are not unconnected to the misconceptions that many have about goals.

Let’s look at the misconceptions about goals:

Goals Are Used as the Only Measure of Success?

When goals become our only measure of success, we might get obsessed with the results we want to achieve that we don’t consider the process that will lead us there.

Process goals and outcome goals come to mind on this. Most people set outcome goals rather than process goals. Outcome goals are only based on results while process goals are based on undertaking the right activities that will eventually lead to a great outcome.

Let’s say I currently make $1000 a week and then I set a goal of making $2000 but only ended up with $1300 after putting in all the work and strategies. If this is an outcome goal, I would probably be unhappy for not attaining my goal. However, if it’s a process goal, I would be happy that I have improved on my earning and would be motivated to do more.

Goals Are Connected with Happiness?

Another myth about goals is that achieving them brings happiness. Of course, it feels good to shed the weight or spend a vacation on a cruise ship. However, there are no guarantees that you will always be able to achieve all your set goals.

In order not to get frustrated often, choose to always be a happy person rather than letting outcomes determine your happiness.

So, what really are goals if you want to succeed with them?

Goals Aren’t Connected with Deep Ambitions

Many people have the wrong motivation to set goals. They might have been genuinely inspired by what they see other people achieve, however, such goals may not connect with their deepest ambition. This might lead to a lack of the required motivation to pursue and achieve the goals.

Genuine goals must connect to a bigger and broader life vision. Goals are not an end in themselves, they are supposed to be stepping stones to achieving something bigger.

Goals Have to Be Achieved to Prove Commitment

If the target is to achieve ten and you are only able to achieve six, it doesn’t mean that you are not committed. It might have been that there are greater obstacles you didn’t think would come up.

This is why your goals must be flexible, adjustable and reflective of current realities.

If you’re wondering how to set and reach your goals, take a look at this guide: A Complete Guide to Goal Setting for Personal Success

Types of Goals

Before we move onto the technique of setting effective goals, we need to first take a look at all types of goals in this goal setting tips guide.

These categories will not just help you brainstorm new one for yourself, but it will also guide you to list them down in the right way.

One of the two broad categories of goals is based on time. These goals define how far in the future you want to achieve them.

There are certain smaller goals that you can easily achieve in a day or two. In fact, some of these daily goals can be recurring, too. For example, you may want to run for an hour every morning.

Now, these daily goals can also serve as objectives for a long-term goal. You may be running every day because, in the long-term, you want to increase your stamina.

Daily goals are highly effective for people who want to improve their mental wellbeing, time management skills, and stress management.

Next in line are short-term goals. As you would have already guessed, goal setting in this area is aimed at the near future.

The great thing about these is that they are generally easier to achieve. This is because short-term goals are set for the foreseeable future. You are aware of the circumstances and have a general idea of how much the situation can change.

Just like daily goals, short-term goals may also serve as objectives for a long-term goal. Your short-term goal may be to lose 5 pounds in one month. That could be a goal in itself, or maybe it is just one objective to fulfill your goal to adopt a healthy lifestyle in the next two years.

Another example of a short-term goal is to fulfill the checklist for promotion within the next 6 months. Or, you may want to reduce your screen time within the coming week.

Lastly, we have long-term goals that are meant to be completed over a stretched period.

Whatever you want to achieve in a later stage of life is a long-term goal. An insurance plan, for example, is a long-term goal.

Some long-term goals don’t have any time frame at all. They are goals that you want to accomplish at some point in your life. So, something like traveling the whole world is a lifelong goal with no specific time constraint at all.

There’s one thing about long-term goals that isn’t great.

They are the hardest to keep up with since you’re not seeing any huge achievements regularly. This may take a toll on your motivation. To tackle this problem, it is best to divide a long-term goal into various, short-term and daily objectives so that you’re always tracking the progress you’re making.

Moving forward, you can also start goal setting based on the results you want to achieve instead of the time period.

Like most people, you will likely want to succeed and excel in your career. Anything that has to do with this intention, regardless of the time frame, is a career goal. These are usually measurable goals, such as receiving a promotion within two years, finding a job at a certain company within the next six months, etc.

You can learn more about how to set successful career goals here .

The past few years have all been about emphasizing your personal health. So, when it comes to goals, how can we forget the ones that have to do with our personal gains?

From health to finances to relationships, everything that brings you happiness and composure as a person is a personal goal. It’s important that these are realistic and attainable goals for your life.

Whether you want to get rid of your debt, quit smoking, start a side hustle, have children, or travel the world, all of these goals are personal and very important to have on your list.

Hopefully, the ideas shared above will help you to set the right goals and put them in the right perspectives.

You have seen that it is more appropriate to set goals that fit into a larger, broader vision of your life. This will help you to begin to see your goals in terms of the progress you are making towards your broader vision rather than on specific outcomes. You will become happier, knowing that you are taking specific steps in the right direction irrespective of what the immediate results look like.

All these will altogether help you to love setting goals again, and enable you to make the most of them in order to make your life count.

Featured photo credit: Dan DeAlmeida via unsplash.com

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• Essay Editor

How to Write an Essay About My Goal: A Comprehensive Guide

In the ever-evolving journey of life, setting clear objectives and ambitions is crucial. Whether these goals are short-term or stretch into the far reaches of our future, they act as guiding lights in our journey. This guide will assist you in articulating and expressing these ambitions effectively, especially when it comes to writing them down.

Understanding the Importance of Goal Setting

Setting life goals is a combination of introspection and foresight. It demands an understanding of one's current standing and a clear vision for the future. By penning down your goals, you not only provide yourself a clear road map but also make a commitment to yourself to achieve them.

How To Write An Essay About My Life Goals

• Introduction : Initiate with an engaging hook—be it a quote, question, or anecdote—that aligns with your goal.
• State your main goal : Elucidate on what your primary life objective is. Be it professional success, personal achievement, or societal contribution, clarify your aim.
• The 'Why' behind the goal : Delve into your motivations. Discuss the driving forces behind this ambition.
• Steps to achieve : Provide a roadmap. Enumerate the steps you'd undertake to transform this goal into a reality.
• Potential Challenges : Highlight potential obstacles and your strategies to navigate them.
• Conclusion : Summarize and re-emphasize your dedication towards your objective.

Career Goal Essay Definition

It's essential to differentiate between life goals and career goals. While the former encompasses broader objectives, a career goal essay underscores your professional aspirations, detailing why they matter and how you plan to attain them.

How Long is a Professional Goal Statement?

A professional goal statement's length can vary but should be concise. Ranging typically from 500 to 1000 words, it should capture your aspirations succinctly. Always adhere to specific guidelines if provided.

What to Avoid While Writing Your Career Goal Essay

• Ambiguity: Always be specific. • Unsubstantiated lofty goals: Your ambitions should be grounded in reality. • Neglecting personal growth: Showcase how your past has shaped your future. • Reiteration: Stay succinct and steer clear of repetition.

My Future Goals Essay: 12 Models

• Entrepreneurial Aspirations : Launching a sustainable fashion startup by 2030.
• Technological Goals : Developing an AI-driven community healthcare system.
• Educational Objectives : Attaining a Ph.D. in Quantum Physics.
• Artistic Pursuits : Holding a solo art exhibition in a renowned gallery.
• Societal Contributions : Establishing a foundation for underprivileged children's education.
• Scientific Aspirations : Contributing to renewable energy research.
• Medical Goals : Becoming a pediatric surgeon and researching rare childhood diseases.
• Travel Objectives : Visiting every UNESCO World Heritage site.
• Sports Ambitions : Completing an Ironman Triathlon.
• Literary Goals : Publishing a trilogy of fantasy novels.
• Environmental Aims : Pioneering a city-wide recycling initiative.
• Leadership Aspirations : Becoming the CEO of a Fortune 500 company.

Articulating one's life and career goals requires introspection, clarity, and foresight. This guide offers a structured blueprint to ensure your essay not only adheres to academic standards but genuinely resonates with your aspirations and dreams. Whether you're grappling with questions like "what should I write in my college essay?" or "how to draft a goal statement?", this guide is here to light the way.

Frequently Asked Questions

• What is the ideal structure for a future career essay? Start with an engaging introduction about your aspirations. In the body, detail the steps you plan to take, experiences that have guided you, and why you chose this career. End with a conclusion summarizing your determination and future vision.
• How do I ensure my career goals essay stands out? Incorporate personal stories or experiences that shaped your goals. Be specific about your aspirations and how you plan to achieve them.
• How can I relate my past experiences to my future career in the essay? Highlight skills, lessons, or challenges from your past and demonstrate how they have directed or prepared you for your future career.
• What should I avoid when writing an essay about my career goals? Avoid being too vague about your goals. Steer clear of clichés, and ensure your goals are realistic and grounded.
• How long should my essay about my goal be? This depends on the requirement. Usually, personal statements are between 500-700 words. Always adhere to the specified word limit.
• Can I include short-term and long-term goals in my essay? Absolutely! Detailing both shows planning and vision. Highlight how short-term goals will pave the way for long-term objectives.
• How do I conclude my essay about my goals effectively? Reiterate your dedication to these goals, reflect on the journey ahead, and end with a note of optimism and determination.

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How to Write an Awesome Essay About Your Career Goals

• Before you begin, ask yourself a few key questions like:
• What are my short-term and long-term career goals?
• Where do I see myself in ten years?
• What events in my life have led me to have these goals?
• What major will help me reach my goals?
• What skills do I need to reach my goals?
• What impact do I want to have on society?

Career Goals Essay Template

Need more inspiration.

After you brainstorm the responses to these questions, look for common themes, or pick out the most interesting stories. You can build your main essay “thesis” or idea around this.

Once you’ve got the main idea, create an outline to put your ideas into essay format. This will give you a general idea of structure.

You can use the career essays template below to give you some ideas. But remember that some rules are meant to be broken, so don’t be afraid to be innovative and think outside the box!

Also, when you’re done, head over to Going Merry to apply for the Career Goals scholarship essay bundle (one essay, one application, multiple scholarships!). You might as well make that essay count. Sign up for Going Merry to apply for scholarships more efficiently.

Here’s a paragraph-by-paragraph breakdown:

Paragraph 1 : Establish the main theme of what you’re going to talk about. It should also grab the reader’s attention. For example, instead of starting your essay with something generic (e.g. Ever since I was a little girl, I wanted to be a zoologist), get creative with it! Try something like My greatest memory as a young girl was going to the zoo for the first time or While most kids play house or school, I always wanted to play zookeeper.

Paragraph 2 : Elaborate on what inspired your career goals. Perhaps it was a relative, a TV show, or simply an experience that you had. Remember that old writing adage, “Show, don’t tell.” In other words, try to demonstrate your interest with story or description. 

Paragraph 3 : Discuss your short-term career goals and your intended major. How will your intended major help you reach these goals? What skills do you need to learn to reach them? At the end of the paragraph, try discussing how your short-term goals can help you achieve your long-term goals.

Paragraph 4 : Focus on your long-term goals and the impact that you hope to have on society. If you’re not sure what your long-term goals are, don’t sweat it; they’ll probably change anyways. You can instead focus on the difference you’d like to make overall. And don’t worry too much about the size of the impact…remember that just doing what you’re truly passionate about has a massive impact on those around you.

The last paragraph is your conclusion. You can use this paragraph to summarize what you discussed in the previous few paragraphs. If you want to be even more creative, try ending your essay with a question for your readers or a new insight. Good luck!

And now that you’re ready with that essay, put it to good use! You can recycle that same essay, when applying for the Career Goals Scholarship Bundle. We’ve joined together multiple scholarships (all requesting essays on career goals), into just ONE simple application! See more info here , or just sign up to get going.

Check out examples from other students just like you. Here are links to some great career goal essay examples:

• Example 1  
• Example 2  
• Example 3  

Or maybe you’re looking for help with an academic goals essay — we’ve got you covered there too.

Also, check out this helpful list of the 10 most common scholarship essay topics !

Sign up for Going Merry today, and upload your career goal essay right to your profile. It’s that easy!

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Essay on Goals in Life

Students are often asked to write an essay on Goals in Life in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Goals in Life

Introduction.

Goals in life are like a compass, guiding us towards our desired destination. They provide a sense of direction and purpose, helping us focus and organize our efforts efficiently.

Importance of Goals

Goals are important as they motivate us to strive for success. They make us resilient, enabling us to overcome obstacles and challenges that may come our way.

Types of Goals

Goals can be short-term or long-term. Short-term goals are achievable quickly, while long-term goals require time and persistent effort.

In conclusion, setting goals is essential for personal growth and success. Always remember, a goal without a plan is just a wish.

250 Words Essay on Goals in Life

The importance of setting goals.

Setting goals is integral to our growth and progress. They serve as a blueprint for our future, guiding our actions and decisions. Goals foster resilience, as they urge us to persevere despite setbacks. They also encourage self-development, pushing us to acquire new skills and knowledge.

Goals can be broadly classified into short-term and long-term goals. Short-term goals act as immediate milestones, while long-term goals shape our vision for the future. Balancing both is crucial, as short-term goals often pave the way to long-term accomplishments.

Goal Setting and Achievement

Effective goal setting requires specificity, measurability, attainability, relevance, and timeliness (SMART). This approach ensures our goals are realistic and achievable. Moreover, consistent evaluation and adjustment of our goals is essential, as it allows us to stay aligned with our evolving aspirations and circumstances.

In conclusion, goals are fundamental to our life’s journey. They provide direction, foster resilience, and encourage personal growth. Balancing short-term and long-term goals, along with effective goal-setting strategies, can lead us to success. Ultimately, it is through setting and achieving our goals that we write our own life story.

500 Words Essay on Goals in Life

Goals are the compass that guides us through life, providing direction and purpose. They are the stepping stones towards achieving our ultimate dreams and aspirations. Goals, whether personal, professional, or academic, are significant as they shape our lives, fuel our ambition, and give us a sense of accomplishment.

Setting goals is a fundamental component to long-term success. The basic reason for this is the ability of goals to create a bridge between our present and our desired future. They serve as motivators, pushing us to step out of our comfort zones, face challenges, and strive for improvement. Goals act as a roadmap, providing clarity and focus, enabling us to make informed decisions and avoid distractions.

Goals also foster resilience, as they often require sustained effort and dedication. They teach us the value of perseverance, as the journey towards achieving them is usually filled with obstacles and setbacks. However, these challenges serve to strengthen us, enhancing our problem-solving skills and fostering personal growth.

Goals can be broadly categorized into short-term and long-term goals. Short-term goals are immediate objectives that can be achieved within a relatively short timeframe. These could range from completing a project, passing an exam, or learning a new skill.

Long-term goals, on the other hand, are more extensive and require a significant amount of time and effort. Examples include obtaining a degree, launching a successful career, or buying a house. Short-term goals often serve as stepping stones towards the achievement of long-term goals.

Goal Setting Strategies

Effective goal setting requires thought and planning. One popular method is the SMART framework, which stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. This approach encourages us to set goals that are clear and precise, have a defined timeline, are realistically attainable, and align with our broader life objectives.

Another crucial aspect of goal setting is maintaining flexibility. Life is unpredictable, and circumstances can change unexpectedly. Therefore, it’s essential to be adaptable and open to modifying our goals as needed.

If you’re looking for more, here are essays on other interesting topics:

Apart from these, you can look at all the essays by clicking here .

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Career Goals Essay For Scholarships (With Examples)

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Scholarship programs often want you to write a career goals essay to see that you have a clear plan for how you’ll apply your education to a specific career path. This helps show a scholarship committee why you’re seeking funds for the next step on the path toward your success.

Answering “what are your career goals” effectively can help increase your odds of impressing landing a scholarship opportunity. If you’re a prospective student applying for scholarships, this article will provide tips on how to write a career goals essay, along with essays on career goals examples to help you get an idea of what scholarship committees are looking for.

Key Takeaways:

When you’re writing a career goals essay, make sure to write about the goals that are relevant to the scholarship.

Be honest and use your own voice to stand out in your scholarship essay.

Go into detail about how the scholarship will help you achieve your goals.

What is a career goals essay?

Why scholarship essays ask about career goals, example career goals essay prompts, career goals essay examples, tips for writing a scholarship essay about career goals, what to write in a career goals essay if your goals have changed, career goals essay for a scholarship faq.

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A career goals essay is a personal written explanation that discusses your background, why you’re interested in participating in the program, and what career you’d like this degree to lead into. A scholarship essay functions to explain why you want to achieve your professional goals and how you intend to get there.

In almost every application process, a portion asks the candidate to answer an essay question. When applying to an educational program, like an MBA, the essay prompt usually relates to your career goals .

Scholarship essays ask about career goals to assess your enthusiasm for the program, learn more about how the scholarship will help you, and ensure that you’ve considered how the program will help you achieve your goals for the future:

Assess your enthusiasm. Passion is important for scholarship administrators, and if you’re able to articulate your enthusiasm for a specific career path , it will show that you’re determined to meet the requirements to reach that goal. The most specific and well-thought-out your essay is, the easier it will be for a reader to understand your devotion and commitment to the program and the field it will allow you to enter.

Learn how the scholarship will help you. Having a firm grasp of your career goals is great, but it’s equally important that you express exactly how the specific program relates to those goals. This shows that you’ve researched the merits of the program and understand exactly how it fits into your professional goals.

Show you’ve considered your future. This goes along with the first two points — show that you know how to set goals and consider the path toward achieving those goals, and you’ll have an easier time convincing the reader that you’ll know how to set goals while participating in the program. They’ll see that you know how to prioritize education because you have a clear vision for navigating your career path.

While some scholarships might come right out and simply ask, “What are your career goals?” most will rework the question into something different that still accomplishes the same goal.

Below are some examples of career goals essay prompts that a scholarship program could pose to its applicants:

Discuss your career goals. Many scholarships prefer the most direct approach when giving an essay prompt to their applicants. This type of question gives the candidate a lot of wiggle room to discuss their passions, motivations, and career goals.

Where do you see yourself in 10 years ? This question is often used as a prompt for a career goals essay because it gives the applicant a timeline to describe their aspirations. It forces them to be realistic about where their career will be and how they will accomplish this within the next ten years.

How will this scholarship contribute to your professional success? A scholarship committee wants to be sure that the money they’re giving will contribute to a student’s overall professional success. This question asks about the applicant’s game plan in the long-term and evaluates how this program is going to assist in their future.

What is your dream job ? Since a dream job is often categorized as a person’s career goals, this is a common question phrasing in scholarship essays. Asking about a candidate’s dream job answers whether this program aligns with the student’s long-term career goals.

What matters most to you and why? Sometimes, a scholarship essay prompt won’t ask about your career or future at all. Instead, they’ll ask a question like this that assesses your motivations , values, and character.

Use these examples of career goals essays for scholarships to help write your own. Pay special attention to how they’re organized, rather than the content, to inspire your own career goals essay:

Career goals essay example 1 – Discuss your career goals

When I was six years old, I was riding bikes with my older sister around our neighborhood. She had just taught me how to ride, and I was excited to have to freedom to explore with her. When she was rounding a particularly difficult bend to see around, a car happened to be coming along at the same time. It struck her. That bike ride changed our lives forever. Over the next year, I went with my sister every Tuesday and Thursday to her physical therapist ’s appointments to help her regain walking strength. Watching her physical therapist patiently assist my sister back to becoming herself awoken something in me. A passion for helping others in the same way eventually turned into a career goal of becoming a physical therapist myself. I decided to get my bachelor’s degree in exercise science. After graduating in 2019, I knew that the next step for me was to attend a graduate program in physical therapy. I was accepted to Lassell University Master of Science in Rehabilitation Services. This presented me with my latest goal along my career path, and I’m eagerly waiting to start. This scholarship would help me afford the wonderful opportunity to be a part of the Lassell University class of 2023, allowing me to continue working towards my ultimate career goal of becoming a physical therapist and helping others to become themselves again.

Career goals essay example 2 – Where do you see yourself in ten years?

In ten years, I will have been successfully running my own construction business for about five years. I’m currently a second-year student at the University of Texas, pursuing a master’s degree in business administration. I decided to get my MBA because I knew it would be a positive asset toward my long-term career goal of owning a construction business. In my high school years, I worked as a construction apprentice for a local business. I loved many aspects of the business, such as building something from nothing. I knew that I wanted to incorporate this work into my long-term career, but I didn’t want to work as an apprentice . This led me to pursue business. In ten years and with the help of this scholarship, I will have graduated with my MBA almost a decade prior . After graduation, I plan to take a business administration internship with a carpentry business to help myself get a footing in the field. After about two years of this, I will have started my own construction business.

Career goals essay example 3 – What matters most to you and why?

The people I surround myself with matter most to me. Whether it be my relatives, friends, or professional acquaintances, I always care the most about the happiness of the people around me. Making the people around me happy matters the most to me because I truly because we find our happiness through others. I believe that this drive to make a positive impression on the people around me is what drove me towards a career as a nurse . I always thought of hospitals as places where people need someone to support them and make their day a little happier. I wanted to be one of those who spend their careers positively impacting people in need. This scholarship will enable me to finally afford nursing school and go after my dream job full force.

Career goals essay example 4 – What are your short- and long-term career goals, and how will earning this degree contribute to achieving those goals? Please provide a minimum of 200 words.

My short-term career goals involve working directly with underprivileged young people to increase the literacy rate in my community. As a student of an underfunded and understaffed school, I’ve seen firsthand how much of an impact early literacy education makes on long-term achievement. It broke my heart to see my peers embarrassed at their struggle with reading at an advanced age, and this shame added another dimension to their lack of opportunity. Being a literacy educator for young people would allow me to serve this community directly to show them not only the necessity of strong written communication skills, but the joy of reading for pleasure. This program focuses specifically on early literacy, and would provide me a direct route to a career in serving the community I hope to serve. As for long-term career goals, I hope to one day create a program where socioeconomically parents can bring their children for literacy education, not only to increase their ability to navigate the world of language, but also to instill confidence and joy in the written word. What drew me to this program was that it also has administrative, legal, and business dimensions that would set me on the path toward achieving this goal.

Here are some tips to keep in mind for writing a career goals scholarship essay:

Write about goals relevant to the scholarship. Although you may have many different kinds of goals for your personal and professional future, a scholarship essay only discusses objectives that are relevant to the program you’re applying for.

Be honest. Applying for a scholarship is stressful because the applicant’s education is usually reliant on receiving these funds in one way or another. Even though it’s tempting to exaggerate your skills or pretend you’re more passionate about something than you are to make yourself a more competitive applicant, it’s a bad move.

Use your own, unique voice. The essay portion of a scholarship application is your chance to stand out by using your voice. Nobody else, regardless of their academic or professional achievements, is you. Make this clear in your career goals scholarship essay by keeping your unique written voice engrained in the words you produce.

Be specific. A big reason that scholarship committees ask applicants to write a career goals essay is to determine how prepared they are in planning their long-term professional goals. They aren’t interested in providing a scholarship to students who aren’t going to follow through with their career plans.

Explain long and short-term goals . Even if the essay prompt asks you to describe where you see yourself in ten years, you still need to tell them the steps leading towards this picture of success.

Include the short-term goals that add up to your larger career objectives in your essay response. Explain how accomplishing the smaller goals gives you an advantage when tackling long-term ones.

Explain how the program and scholarship will help you. Before writing your career goals essay, consider how this program and scholarship will help you in your career. The answer to this question is essential.

Follow the essay formatting guidelines. This may sound obvious, but it’s surprisingly easy to forget this step when your essay is finally flowing and when you’re scrambling to get it submitted on time.

Check, double-check , and triple-check the essay guidelines for content, word count, and formatting requirements. If you miss any of these steps, your essay may be immediately disqualified no matter how good it or the rest of your application is.

Many times career goals essays are written by students who have already completed at least some college or are applying to a post-graduate program and need more money to continue.

There’s a good chance that your career goals have changed since you started or graduated college. For example, say you wanted to be an engineer , so you got your undergraduate degree in engineering but realized you didn’t like it after working in the industry for a few years.

You decided that nursing would be more up your alley, and now you’re applying for a scholarship for a nursing program. While this isn’t unusual, it can make it more difficult to write a career goals essay since your past work doesn’t necessarily match your future goals.

In this case, you’ll simply need to explain why you changed your career path and why this next one is the best choice for you. Share your decision-making process to show that you haven’t taken the switch lightly, and talk about what you’ve already done to try to pursue this path.

How do you write a career goal for a scholarship essay?

You write a career goal for a scholarship essay by sharing your passion, explaining both your long- and short-term goals, and relating your goals to the scholarship.

Explain why you want to pursue the career you’re pursuing, where you hope to be in the future and how you plan to get there, and how the scholarship will help you do this.

How do you describe your career goals in an essay?

You describe your career goals in an essay by explaining what you want to do in your career, why you decided on this career path, and what you’ve done so far to make that a reality.

You can usually work these factors into any prompt you receive, so think through them before you start writing so that you can use them as an outline of sorts.

What are career goals examples?

Examples of career goals include:

Working as a grant writer for a nonprofit organization.

Becoming a department manager and eventually an executive in your field.

Owning your own plumbing company.

Caring for underserved communities as a nurse practitioner .

What are some goals for success?

Some goals for success include growing in your role, building your network, and finding joy in the job. Most careers don’t just happen overnight and require you to set the right milestones that work best for you. Not everyone will have the same goals for success.

How do you start a career goals essay for a scholarship?

You can start a career goals essay for a scholarship by directly answering the prompt. Most scholarship prompts include a word count of between 200 and 500 words, so it’s essential that you immediately respond to the prompt. Attention-grabbing sentences and narratives can be helpful for setting the scene, but an efficient and direct answer will show a clarity of mind that helps enhance the quality of your answer.

BLS – Career planning for high schoolers

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Sky Ariella is a professional freelance writer, originally from New York. She has been featured on websites and online magazines covering topics in career, travel, and lifestyle. She received her BA in psychology from Hunter College.

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The Importance, Benefits, and Value of Goal Setting

We all know that setting goals is important, but we often don’t realize how important they are as we continue to move through life.

Goal setting does not have to be boring. There are many benefits and advantages to having a set of goals to work towards.

Setting goals helps trigger new behaviors, helps guides your focus and helps you sustain that momentum in life.

Goals also help align your focus and promote a sense of self-mastery. In the end, you can’t manage what you don’t measure and you can’t improve upon something that you don’t properly manage. Setting goals can help you do all of that and more.

In this article, we will review the importance and value of goal setting as well as the many benefits.

We will also look at how goal setting can lead to greater success and performance. Setting goals not only motivates us, but can also improve our mental health and our level of personal and professional success.

Before you continue, we thought you might like to download our three Goal Achievement Exercises for free . These detailed, science-based exercises will help you or your clients create actionable goals and master techniques to create lasting behavior change.

This Article Contains:

The importance and value of goal setting, why set goals in life, what are the benefits of goal setting, 5 proven ways goal setting is effective, how can goal setting improve performance, how goal setting motivates individuals, why is goal setting important for students, a look at the importance of goal setting in mental health, the importance of goal setting in business and organizations, 10 quotes on the value and importance of setting goals, a take-home message.

Up until 2001, goals were divided into three types or groups (Elliot & McGregor, 2001):

• Mastery goals
• Performance-approach goals
• Performance-avoidance goals

A mastery goal is a goal someone sets to accomplish or master something such as “ I will score higher in this event next time .”

A performance-approach goal is a goal where someone tries to do better than his or her peers. This type of goal could be a goal to look better by losing 5 pounds or getting a better performance review.

A performance-avoidance goal is a goal where someone tries to avoid doing worse than their peers such as a goal to avoid negative feedback.

Research done by Elliot and McGregor in 2001 changed these assumptions. Until this study was published, it was assumed that mastery goals were the best and performance-approach goals were at times good, and other times bad. Performance-avoidance goals were deemed the worst, and, in fact, bad.

The implied assumption, as a result of this, was that there were no bad mastery goals or mastery-avoidance goals.

Elliot and McGregor’s study challenged those assumptions by proving that master-avoidance goals do exist and proving that each type of goal can, in fact, be useful depending on the circumstances.

Elliot and McGregor’s research utilized a 2 x 2 achievement goal framework comprised of:

• Mastery-approach
• Mastery-avoidance
• Performance-approach
• Performance-avoidance

These variables were tested in 3 studies. In experiments one and two, explanatory factor analysis was used to break down 12 goal-setting questions into 4 factors, as seen in the diagram below.

Confirmatory factor analysis was used at a later date to show that mastery-avoidance and mastery-approach fit the data better than mastery alone.

The questions for these studies were created from a series of pilot studies and prior questionnaires. Once all of the questions were combined, a factor-analysis was utilized to confirm that each set of questions expressed different goal-setting components.

Results of these studies showed that those with a high motive to achieve were much more likely to use approach goals. Those with a high motive to avoid failure, on the other hand, were much more likely to use avoidance goals.

The third experiment examined the same four achievement goal variables and revealed that those more likely to use performance-approach goals were more likely to have higher exam scores, while those who used performance-avoidance goals were more likely to have lower exam scores.

According to the research, motivation in achievement settings is complex, and achievement goals are but one of several types of operative variables to be considered.

Achievement goal regulation, or the actual pursuit of the goal, implicates both the achievement goal itself as well as some other typically higher order factors such as motivationally relevant variables, according to the research done by Elliot and McGregor.

As we can clearly see, the research on goal setting is quite robust.

Mark Murphy the founder and CEO of LeadershipIQ.com and author of the book “ Hard Goals : The Secret to Getting from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be ,” has gone through years of research in science and how the brain works and how we are wired as a human being as it pertains to goal setting.

Murphy’s book “ Hard Goals: The Secret to Getting from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be” combines the latest research in psychology and brain science on goal-setting as well as the law of attraction to help fine-tune the process.

A HARD goal is an achieved goal, according to Murphy (2010). Murphy tells us to put our present cost into the future and our future benefit into the present.

What this really means is don’t put off until tomorrow what you could do today. We tend to value things in the present moment much more than we value things in the future.

Setting goals is a process that changes over time. The goals you set in your twenties will most likely be very different from the goals you set in your forties.

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These detailed, science-based exercises will help you or your clients create actionable goals and master techniques for lasting behavior change.

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Edward Locke and Gary Latham (1990) are leaders in goal-setting theory. According to their research, goals not only affect behavior as well as job performance, but they also help mobilize energy which leads to a higher effort overall. Higher effort leads to an increase in persistent effort.

Goals help motivate us to develop strategies that will enable us to perform at the required goal level.

Accomplishing the goal can either lead to satisfaction and further motivation or frustration and lower motivation if the goal is not accomplished.

Goal setting can be a very powerful technique, under the right conditions according to the research (Locke & Latham, 1991).

According to Lunenburg (2011), the motivational impact of goals may, in fact, be affected by moderators such as self-efficacy and ability as well.

In the 1968 article “ Toward a Theory of Task Motivation ” Locke showed us that clear goals and appropriate feedback served as a good motivator for employees (Locke, 1968).

Locke’s research also revealed that working toward a goal is a major source of motivation, which, in turn, improves performance.

Locke reviewed over a decade of research of laboratory and field studies on the effects of goal setting and performance. Locke found that over 90% of the time, goals that were specific and challenging, but not overly challenging, led to higher performance when compared to easy goals or goals that were too generic such as a goal to do your best.

Dr. Gary Latham also studied the effects of goal setting in the workplace. Latham’s results supported Locke’s findings and showed there is indeed a link that is inseparable between goal setting and workplace performance.

Locke and Latham published work together in 1990 with their work “ A Theory of Goal Setting & Task Performance ” stressing the importance of setting goals that were both specific and difficult.

Locke and Latham also stated that there are five goal-setting principles that can help improve your chances of success.

• Task Complexity

Clarity is important when it comes to goals. Setting goals that are clear and specific eliminate the confusion that occurs when a goal is set in a more generic manner.

Challenging goals stretch your mind and cause you to think bigger. This helps you accomplish more. Each success you achieve helps you build a winning mindset.

Commitment is also important. If you don’t commit to your goal with everything you have it is less likely you will achieve it.

Feedback helps you know what you are doing right and how you are doing. This allows you to adjust your expectations and your plan of action going forward.

Task Complexity is the final factor. It’s important to set goals that are aligned with the goal’s complexity.

Why the secret to success is setting the right goals – John Doerr

Goal setting and task performance were studied by Locke and Latham (1991). Goal setting theory is based upon the simplest of introspective observations, specifically, that conscious human behavior is purposeful.

This behavior is regulated by one’s goals. The directedness of those goals characterizes the actions of all living organisms including things like plants.

Goal-setting theory, according to the research, states that the simplest and most direct motivational explanation on why some people perform better than others is because they have different performance goals.

Two attributes have been studied in relation to performance:

In regard to content, the two aspects that have been focused on include specificity and difficulty. Goal content can range from vague to very specific as well as difficult or not as difficult.

Difficulty depends upon the relationship someone has to the task. The same task or goal can be easy for one person, and more challenging for the next, so it’s all relative.

On average though the higher the absolute level is of a goal, the more difficult it is to achieve. According to research, there have been more than 400 studies that have examined the relationship of goal attributes to task performance.

According to Locke and Latham (1991), it has been consistently found that performance is a linear function of a goal’s difficulty.

Given an adequate level of ability and commitment, the harder a goal, the higher the performance.

What the researchers discovered was that people normally adjust their level of effort to the difficulty of the goal. As a result, they try harder for difficult goals when compared to easier goals.

The principle of goal-directed action is not restricted to conscious action, according to the research.

Goal-directed action is defined by three attributes, according to Lock & Latham.

• Self-generation
• Value-significance
• Goal-causation

Self-generation refers to the source of energy integral to the organism. Value-significance refers to the idea that the actions not only make it possible but necessary to the organism’s survival. Goal-causation means the resulting action is caused by a goal.

While we can see that all living organisms experience some kind of goal-related action, humans are the only organisms that possess a higher form of consciousness, at least according to what we know at this point in time.

When humans take purposeful action, they set goals in order to achieve them.

Locke and Latham have also shown us that there is an important relationship between goals and performance.

Locke and Latham’s research supports the idea that the most effective performance seems to be the result of goals being both specific and challenging. When goals are used to evaluate performance and linked to feedback on results, they create a sense of commitment and acceptance.

The researchers also found that the motivational impact of goals may be affected by ability and self-efficacy, or one’s belief that they can achieve something.

It was also found that deadlines helped improve the effectiveness of a goal and a learning goal orientation leads to higher performance when compared to a performance goal orientation.

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Research done by Moeller, Theiler, and Wu (2012) examined the relationship between goal setting and student achievement at the classroom level.

This research examined a 5-year quasi-experimental study, which looked at goal setting and student achievement in the high school Spanish language classroom.

A tool known as LinguaFolio was used, and introduced into 23 high schools with a total of 1,273 students.

The study portfolio focused on student goal setting , self-assessment and a collection of evidence of language achievement.

Researchers used a hierarchical linear model, and then analyzed the relationship between goal setting and student achievement. This research was done at both the individual student and teacher levels.

A correlational analysis of the goal-setting process as well as language proficiency scores revealed a statistically significant relationship between the process of setting goals and language achievement (p < .01).

The research also looked at the importance of autonomy or one’s ability to take responsibility for their learning. Autonomy is a long-term aim of education, according to the study as well as a key factor in learning a language successfully.

There has been a paradigm shift in language education from teacher to student-centered learning, which makes the idea of autonomy even more important.

Goal setting in language learning is commonly regarded as one of the strategies that encourage a student’s sense of autonomy (Moeller, Theiler & Wu, 2012)

The results of the study revealed that there was a consistent increase over time in the main goal, plan of action and reflection scores of high school Spanish learners.

This trend held true for all levels except for the progression from third to fourth year Spanish for action plan writing and goal setting. The greatest improvement in goal setting occurred between the second and third levels of Spanish.

In one study , that looked at goal setting and wellbeing, people participated in three short one-hour sessions where they set goals.

The researchers compared those who set goals to a control group, that didn’t complete the goal-setting exercise . The results showed a causal relationship between goal setting and subjective wellbeing.

Weinberger, Mateo, and Sirey (2009) also looked at perceived barriers to mental health care and goal setting amongst depressed, community-dwelling older adults.

Forty-seven participants completed the study, which examined various barriers to mental health and goal setting. These barriers include:

• Psychological barriers such as social attitudes, beliefs about depression and stigmas.
• Logistical barriers such as transportation and availability of services.
• Illness-related barriers that are either modifiable or not such as depression severity, comorbid anxiety, cognitive status, etc.

For individuals who perceive a large number of barriers to be overcome, a mental health referral can seem burdensome as opposed to helpful.

Defining a personal goal for treatment may be something that is helpful and even something that can increase the relevance of seeking help and improving access to care according to the study.

Goal setting has been shown to help improve the outcome in treatment, amongst studies done in adults with depression. (Weinberger, Mateo, & Sirey, 2009)

The process of goal setting has even become a major focus in several of the current psychotherapies used to treat depression. Some of the therapies that have used goal setting include:

• Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT)
• Cognitive and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CT, CBT)
• Problem-Solving Therapy (PST)

Participants who set goals, according to the study, were more likely to accept a mental health referral. Goal setting seems to be a necessary and good first step when it comes to helping a depressed older adult take control of their wellbeing.

Most of us have been taught from a young age that setting goals can help us accomplish more and get better organized.

Goals help motivate us and help us organize our thoughts. Throughout evolutionary psychology, however, a conscious activity like goal setting has often been downplayed.

Psychoanalysis put the focus on the unconscious part of the mind, while cognitive behaviorists argue that external factors are of greater importance.

In 1968, Edward A. Locke formally developed something he called goal-setting theory, as an alternative to all of this.

Goal-setting theory helps us understand that setting goals are a conscious process and a very effective and efficient means when it comes to increasing productivity and motivation, especially in the workplace.

According to Gary P. Latham, the former President of the Canadian Psychological Association, the underlying premise of goal-setting theory is that our conscious goals affect what we achieve. Our goals are the object or the aim of our action.

This viewpoint is not aligned with the traditional cognitive behaviorism, which looks at human behavior as something that is conducted by external stimuli.

This view tells us that just like a mechanic works on a car, other people often work on our brains, without us even realizing it, and this, in turn, determines how we behave.

Goal setting theory goes beyond this assumption, telling us that our internal cognitive functions are equally important, if not more, when determining our behavior.

In order for our conscious cognition to be effective, we must direct and orient our behavior toward the world. That is the real purpose of a goal.

According to Locke and Latham, there is an important relationship between goals and performance.

Research supports the prediction that the most effective performance often results when goals are both specific and challenging in nature.

A learning goal orientation often leads to higher performance when compared to a performance goal orientation, according to the research.

Deadlines also improve the effectiveness of a goal. Goals have a pervasive influence on both employee behaviors and performance in organizations and management practice according to Locke and Latham (2002).

According to the research, nearly every modern organization has some type of psychological goal setting program in its operation.

Programs like management by objectives, (MBO), high-performance work practices (HPWP) and management information systems (MIS) all use benchmarking to stretch targets and plan strategically, all of which involve goal setting to some extent.

Fred C. Lunenburg, a professor at Sam Houston State University, summarized these points in the International Journal of Management, Business, and Administration journal article “Goal-Setting Theory of Motivation” (Lunenburg, 2011).

Specific: Specificity tells us that in order for a goal to be successful, it must also be specific. Goals such as I will do better next time are much too vague and general to motivate us.

Something more specific would be to state: I will spend at least 2 hours a day this week in order to finish the report by the deadline . This goal motivates us into action and holds us accountable.

Difficult but still attainable : Goals must, of course, be attainable, but they shouldn’t be too easy. Goals that are too simple may even cause us to give up. Goals should be challenging enough to motivate us without causing us undue stress.

Process of Acceptance : If we are continually given goals by other people, and we don’t truly accept them, we will most likely continue to fail. Accepting a goal and owning a goal is the key to success.

One way to do this on an organizational level is to bring team members together to discuss and set goals.

Feedback and evaluation : When a goal is accomplished, it makes us feel good. It gives us a sense of satisfaction. If we don’t get any feedback, this sense of pleasure will quickly go away and the accomplishment may even be meaningless.

In the workplace, continuous feedback helps give us a sense that our work and contributions matter. This goes beyond measuring a single goal.

When goals are used for performance evaluation, they are often much more effective.

Learning beyond our performance : While goals can be used as a means by which to give us feedback and evaluate our performance, the real beauty of goal setting is the fact that it helps us learn something new.

When we learn something new, we develop new skills and this helps us move up in the workplace.

Learning-oriented goals can also be very helpful when it comes to helping us discover life-meaning which can help increase productivity.

Performance-oriented goals, on the other hand, force an employee to prove what he or she can or cannot do, which is often counterproductive.

These types of goals are also less likely to produce a sense of meaning and pleasure. If we lack that sense of satisfaction, when it comes to setting and achieving a goal, we are less likely to learn and grow and explore.

Group goals : Setting group goals is also vitally important for companies. Just as individuals have goals, so too must groups and teams, and even committees. Group goals help bring people together and allow them to develop and work on the same goals.

This helps create a sense of community, as well as a deeper sense of meaning, and a greater feeling of belonging and satisfaction.

17 Tools To Increase Motivation and Goal Achievement

These 17 Motivation & Goal Achievement Exercises [PDF] contain all you need to help others set meaningful goals, increase self-drive, and experience greater accomplishment and life satisfaction.

Created by Experts. 100% Science-based.

A goal properly set is halfway reached.

Everybody has their own Mount Everest they were put on this earth to climb.

You cannot change your destination overnight, but you can change your direction overnight.

It’s better to be at the bottom of the ladder you want to climb than at the top of the one you don’t.

Stephen Kellogg

If you don’t design your own life plan, chances are you’ll fall into someone else’s plan. And guess what they have planned for you? Not much.

All who have accomplished great things have had a great aim, have fixed their gaze on a goal which was high, one which sometimes seemed impossible.

Orison Swett Marden

The greater danger for most of us isn’t that our aim is too high and miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it.

Michelangelo

Give me a stock clerk with a goal and I’ll give you a man who will make history. Give me a man with no goals and I’ll give you a stock clerk.

J.C. Penney

Intention without action is an insult to those who expect the best from you.

Andy Andrews

This one step – choosing a goal and sticking to it – changes everything.

Setting goals can help us move forward in life. Goals give us a roadmap to follow. Goals are a great way to hold ourselves accountable, even if we fail. Setting goals and working to achieving them helps us define what we truly want in life.

Setting goals also helps us prioritize things. If we choose to simply wander through life, without a goal or a plan, that’s certainly our choice. However, setting goals can help us live the life we truly want to live.

Having said that, we don’t have to live every single moment of our lives planned out because we all need those days when we have nothing to accomplish.

However, those who have clearly defined goals might just enjoy their downtime even more than those who don’t set goals.

For more insightful reading, check out our selection of goal-setting books .

We hope you enjoyed reading this article. Don’t forget to download our three Goal Achievement Exercises for free .

• Elliot, A. J., & McGregor, H. A. (2001). A 2 x 2 achievement goal framework. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 80 (3), 501-519.
• Locke, E. A. (1968). Toward a theory of task motivation and incentives.  Organizational Behavior and Human Performance ,  3 (2), 157-189.
• Locke, E. A., & Latham, G. P. (1991). A theory of goal setting & task performance. The Academy of Management Review, 16 (2), 212-247.
• Locke, E. A., & Latham, G. P. (2002). Building a practically useful theory of goal setting and task motivation. American Psychologist, 57 (9), 705-717.
• Lunenburg, F. C. (2011). Goal-setting theory of motivation. International Journal of Management, Business, and Administration, 15 (1), 1-6.
• Moeller, A. J., Theiler, J. M., & Wu, C. (2012). Goal setting and student achievement: A longitudinal study. The Modern Language Journal, 96 (2), 153-169.
• Murphy, M. (2010). HARD goals: The secret to getting from where you are to where you want to be. New York, NY: McGraw Hill.
• Weinberger, M. I., Mateo, C., & Sirey, J. A. (2009). Perceived barriers to mental health care and goal setting among depressed, community-dwelling older adults. Patient Preference and Adherence, 3 , 145-149.

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Home — Essay Samples — Life — Myself — Personal Goals

Essay Examples on Personal Goals

What makes a good personal goals essay topic.

When it comes to the art of crafting a personal goals essay, the topic you choose is the key that unlocks the door to success. It sets the tone for your entire piece and can either captivate or repel your reader. To ensure you choose a compelling essay topic, consider the following recommendations:

- Reflect on your passions and interests: Delve into the depths of what truly excites and piques your curiosity. Your essay topic should be a genuine reflection of what you care about.

- Consider your personal experiences: Take a moment to reflect on the milestones, challenges, and achievements that have shaped your life. These experiences offer unique insights that can make for an enthralling essay topic.

- Ponder your future aspirations: What are your goals and ambitions? Explore topics that align with your future plans or areas you yearn to delve into further.

- Research trending topics: Stay up-to-date with current events and trends. Select a topic that reflects a relevant issue, enabling you to showcase your knowledge and awareness.

- Seek inspiration from others: Immerse yourself in personal essays, biographies, or success stories to ignite your creativity. These stories can help you identify unique angles or perspectives for your own essay.

A good personal goals essay topic should be thought-provoking, original, and reflective of your personality. It should allow you to showcase your unique experiences and insights while engaging your readers.

Unconventional Personal Goals Essay Topics

When it comes to personal goals essay topics, it's crucial to stand out from the crowd and present a perspective that is truly your own. Here is a list of 20 creative and unconventional essay topics to inspire you:

- Embracing Failure: How setbacks have paved the path to personal growth.

- Exploring Cultural Identity: Navigating the intricate web of multiple identities.

- Overcoming Self-Doubt: How I became my own cheerleader.

- The Power of Mentorship: The transformative influence of an extraordinary guide.

- Redefining Success: Forging a unique path in a world of conformity.

- The Art of Resilience: How I triumphed over life's toughest trials.

- Embracing Vulnerability: Unleashing the strength found in showing weakness.

- Unconventional Career Paths: Pursuing my passion, defying societal expectations.

- The Journey of Self-Discovery: Unveiling my passions and purpose in life.

- Breaking Barriers: Overcoming obstacles, shattering stereotypes.

- The Importance of Emotional Intelligence: Nurturing the heart and mind.

- The Role of Education in Personal Growth: Illuminating the path to enlightenment.

- Finding Balance: Juggling work, personal life, and self-care.

- The Influence of Travel: Broadening horizons, expanding perspectives.

- Advocating for Change: Fighting for a cause that ignites my soul.

- The Power of Forgiveness: How letting go transformed my life.

- Embracing Imperfections: Learning to love myself, flaws and all.

- The Impact of Personal Development Books: The literary catalysts of change.

- The Role of Creativity in Personal Growth: Unleashing my untapped potential.

- Reinventing Myself: Breaking free from limitations, embracing a new future.

Provoking Thought: Personal Goals Essay Questions

To further explore your chosen topics, here are ten thought-provoking essay questions:

1. How has failure contributed to shaping your personal growth?

2. In what ways has your cultural identity influenced your goals and aspirations?

3. How did you overcome self-doubt and develop the confidence to pursue your goals?

4. What specific qualities or experiences made your mentorship relationship impactful?

5. How have you redefined success to align with your personal values and aspirations?

6. Share a significant challenge you faced and explain how you demonstrated resilience.

7. How has embracing vulnerability helped you in personal growth and building relationships?

8. In what ways have you deviated from traditional career paths and pursued your passion?

9. How did your journey of self-discovery lead you to uncover your true passions and purpose?

10. Explain how breaking barriers and defying stereotypes shaped your personal growth.

Personal Goals Essay Prompts

To fuel your creativity and assist you in crafting your personal goals essay, here are five intriguing essay prompts:

1. Imagine yourself ten years older, reflecting on the path you took to achieve your goals. Describe that journey and the invaluable lessons you learned along the way.

2. If you possessed unlimited resources and time, what ambitious goal would you pursue, and how would it impact your life and the world around you?

3. Write a heartfelt letter to your future self, detailing the personal goals you wish to accomplish and the strategic plans you have devised to achieve them.

4. Share a significant moment of personal growth that occurred during a challenging time in your life. How did it shape your goals and aspirations?

5. Imagine you have the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to engage in a conversation with someone who has achieved great success in your field of interest. What profound questions would you ask them, and how would their answers influence your personal goals?

Writing Personal Goals Essay FAQs

Q: How long should a personal goals essay be?

A: There is no set length for a personal goals essay. However, it's essential to strike a balance between being concise and providing enough detail to effectively convey your ideas. Aim for a length that allows you to express yourself thoroughly without becoming repetitive or overly verbose.

Q: Can I use personal anecdotes in my personal goals essay?

A: Yes, personal anecdotes can be a powerful tool to illustrate your experiences and growth. They add a personal touch to your essay and help the reader connect with your story on a deeper level.

Q: Should I focus on one specific goal or multiple goals in my essay?

A: It depends on the prompt and your personal preferences. You can choose to focus on a single goal, allowing you to delve deeper into its significance and your journey towards achieving it. Alternatively, you can explore multiple goals and demonstrate how they are interconnected or have influenced each other.

Q: Is it necessary to include a conclusion in my personal goals essay?

A: While a conclusion is not mandatory, it can be beneficial to summarize your main points and leave the reader with a lasting impression. A well-crafted conclusion can reinforce the significance of your goals and leave the reader inspired.

Q: Can I use humor in my personal goals essay?

A: Yes, incorporating humor can add a touch of personality to your essay and make it more engaging. However, ensure that the humor is appropriate and aligns with the overall tone and message of your essay.

Remember, your personal goals essay is an opportunity to showcase your unique experiences, aspirations, and personal growth. Be authentic, passionate, and creative in your writing to captivate your readers and leave a lasting impact.

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Determination determines your destination, the pros and cons of pursuing personal goals in our lives, my goal to become wealthy and famous, my motivation to become a software engineer, things i want to do before i die, analysis of the three types of goals in my life, statement of purpose: my passion of fashion, future purpose of my graduate degrees, the reasons behind my goal to study economics at a higher level, my goal of studying and working in domestic marketing, the reasons why i want to study criminology at university, my goal to pursue a master of professional studies in integrated marketing communications, the way my curiosity defines myself and my desires, one day i'll be someone's first choice, why i am here, investing to meet my financial goals, my goal to impact the world by pursuing a career in law, my motivation to attend the chevening scholarship, why i choose to pursue industrial/organizational (i/o) psychology, relevant topics.

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Examples of Scholarship Essays for the “Career Goals” Question

Emily Wong is a writer at Scholarships360. She’s worked as a social media manager and a content writer at several different startups, where she covered various topics including business, tech, job recruitment, and education. Emily grew up and went to school in the Chicago suburbs, where she studied economics and journalism at Northwestern University.

Learn about our editorial policies

Maria Geiger is Director of Content at Scholarships360. She is a former online educational technology instructor and adjunct writing instructor. In addition to education reform, Maria’s interests include viewpoint diversity, blended/flipped learning, digital communication, and integrating media/web tools into the curriculum to better facilitate student engagement. Maria earned both a B.A. and an M.A. in English Literature from Monmouth University, an M. Ed. in Education from Monmouth University, and a Virtual Online Teaching Certificate (VOLT) from the University of Pennsylvania.

Writing an essay is often the trickiest part of the scholarship application, not to mention the most time-consuming. However, the essay section also allows room for creativity and individuality. If you can communicate effectively, you can use the essay portion to stand out from the crowd. Let’s go over some tips for writing, as well as a couple of scholarship essay examples about career goals.

How to write a scholarship essay 

At this point, you’ve probably gained plenty of experience writing papers for school. However, it may still take a couple of tries to nail the scholarship essay. Since scholarship teams often have to get through a lot of applications, it’s important to stand out while staying concise. Here are some simple guidelines for writing scholarship essays.

See also: How to write a winning scholarship essay (with examples!)

Take five minutes to brainstorm

Before you even start your essay, take some time to gather your thoughts. Think about what you’ll want the paper to focus on. Why did you choose to pursue your career path in the first place? Where do you want to be in five years? How would this scholarship help you further your studies and work toward your goals?

Once you’ve jotted down a few ideas, choose one or two to center your essay on. Identifying the focus of your paper, it’ll make it easier to keep your thoughts organized. In turn, it’ll make it easier for the reader to follow.

Related : How to start a scholarship essay (with examples!)

Stay within the word limit

Unlike the four-page essays that you may have written in English class, scholarship essays are often only a paragraph or two. In order to respect the selection committee’s time, be wary of going too far about the specified word count. A general rule of thumb is to stay within 20 words above or below the limit. That may entail a few rounds of edits to get the wording just right.

Stay positive!

Feel free to use part of your essay to talk about your life’s challenges. After all, the selection committee often wants to give the award to a candidate who needs it. However, make sure your anecdote doesn’t devolve into a sob story. If you’re going to bring up hardships you’ve endured, try to balance it by talking about how you’ve overcome them. By demonstrating resilience, you can show readers how you would use the scholarship to succeed in your current situation.

Leave time to proofread

Especially for a short scholarship essay, proofreading can take as little as 5-10 minutes. Still, it can be tempting to just hit “submit” after your first draft. However, being too impulsive can leave your essay riddled with typos and grammatical errors.

Try to avoid unnecessary mistakes by finishing your draft at least 24 hours before the scholarship deadline. That way, you can proofread it with fresh eyes before you submit it.

If you’re struggling to close out your essay, read how to end a scholarship essay in five steps .

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How to write a 100-word “career goals” essay.

When writing a 100-word essay, you’ll have to choose your content carefully. Since space is limited, you’ll want to identify the most important details to include beforehand.

First and foremost, make sure to clearly communicate your current pursuits. Talk about your academic and extracurricular activities related to your career goals. Additionally, it’s important to be specific about what you plan to do in the future. Then, if you have extra room, you can talk about how the scholarship will help you reach your goals.

My name is Alison MacBride, and I’m a sophomore at the University of Illinois. I’m currently pursuing a major in Journalism with a minor in Natural Resource Conservation. After completing my program, I plan to combine my areas of interest to become an environmental journalist.

During high school, I volunteered at an eco-conscious farm, where I learned about how our actions affect the earth. Since then, I’ve been set on raising awareness for the environment. This scholarship would go a long way in helping me finish my degree with the skills I need to investigate and report about critical issues.

Word count: 100

How to write a 250-word “career goals” essay

For the 250-word essay, you can go into more detail. Give the readers some context by talking about how you first got interested in your chosen career. Storytelling can be especially effective in engaging your audience. Try to capture their attention by choosing one or two concrete examples and relaying them vividly.

Additionally, you can spend more time talking about the scholarship and how it’ll make a difference in your studies. Go into more detail about how and why you need the award, but remember to keep it positive! For more help, check out how to write a 250 word essay . 

I first decided that I wanted to pursue a career in environmentalism in early high school. The summer after my freshman year, I joined a volunteer program at an eco-conscious farm in my community. In addition to helping out with the operations, I learned about current environmental issues related to farming and other consumer industries.

After learning about the agricultural industry’s impact on the planet, I was inspired to make a difference. The next year, I started a monthly earth magazine at my high school in which we broke down environmental issues and offered tips on how to be more eco-friendly. When I started college, I founded an on-campus publication with the same mission.

In recent years, I’ve been troubled to see how some media outlets downplay the gravity of issues like climate change and deforestation. I’ve admired reporters who publish trustworthy and comprehensible information about environmental issues, and I aim to follow in their footsteps.

When I entered college, I was initially concerned that I wouldn’t have enough money to finish my degree. Fortunately, I’ve been able to cover most of my tuition using merit scholarships and paychecks from my part-time job on campus. Receiving this scholarship would allow me more time to focus on acing my classes and pursuing environmental advocacy work on campus.

Word count: 261

Final thoughts

Planning is essential in making your “career goals” essay clear and concise. Hopefully, these scholarship essay examples about career goals can be your guide to writing a scholarship-winning essay. Good luck!

Additional resources

Maybe you need to write a longer scholarship essay? We can help with our writing a 500 word essay guide ! Be prepared and learn how to write essays about yourself and how to craft an impressive personal statement . Learn the differences between a personal statement and a statement of purpose as the terms might come up on college websites. If you haven’t decided on a college already, check out our guide on how to choose a college . No matter where you are in your educational journey, make sure that you apply for all the scholarships you qualify for!

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Essay Service Examples Life Life Goals

Essay on My Goals in Life

Table of contents

The significance of setting goals, how goals provide direction and motivation, goals in academic pursuits, examples of academic goals, how academic goals contribute to personal growth and future career prospects, goals in professional life, strategies for setting and achieving goals, overcoming challenges and staying motivated.

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• Improved self-confidence and self-esteem:
• Enhanced focus and determination:
• Increased resilience and perseverance:
• Short-term goals: Short-term professional goals often involve improving specific skills or competencies relevant to one's current job. These goals may include attending professional development workshops, acquiring certifications, or enhancing communication or leadership abilities.
• Long-term goals: Long-term professional goals encompass broader aspirations that may span several years. Examples include attaining a leadership position, starting a business, or transitioning into a different career. Long-term goals require strategic planning, continuous learning, and consistent effort to achieve.
• Acquiring knowledge and critical thinking skills:
• Building a strong foundation for future success:

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Which program are you applying to?

Accepted Admissions Blog

Everything you need to know to get Accepted

February 29, 2024

• Writing Your Career Goals Essay

Check out all the blog posts in this series:

• Identifying the Ingredients of a Winning Essay
• Finding a Theme for Your Statement of Purpose
• Revise and Polish Your Application Essays

Your career goals essay demands a laser-like focus. A personal statement, by contrast, allows for some flexibility in its content, though you can – and often should – discuss your career goals. But a career goals essay has a particular and packed agenda. In fact, the prompt for a career goals essay could actually include multiple questions, and in such cases, you want to make sure you address each of them.

For example, in 2022, Kellogg asked applicants to its one-year program to respond to the following prompt: “Please discuss your post-MBA career goal, the current experience you will leverage to support the transition, and the Kellogg 1Y opportunities that will help you reach this goal.” 

This prompt has three parts: (1) What do you want to do post-MBA ? (2) Why is the 1Y program appropriate for you? And (3) what experience has so far prepared you to succeed in your target role? 

So, always pay close attention to your target school’s prompt to ensure that you answer all the questions within its “single” question. 

Three elements of a successful career goals essay

In addition to having a distinct theme , your career goals essay should achieve the following:

• Highlight specific career achievements. Choose from your most notable or defining experiences. These could be related to your work, community involvement, or extracurricular activities. The experiences you select should showcase your leadership skills , creative thinking, collaborative abilities, and personal reflections about what you learned or gained.
• Explain why your experiences and influences make your career goal a logical and wise choice.
• Demonstrate why you are suited to a particular field as a result of your education, experience, abilities, and enthusiasm. Ideally, the material you choose to include will also allow you to prove your knowledge about industry trends and suggest how your abilities and strengths can help you contribute to that field.

It’s a very tall order to achieve all this.

Putting these elements together to create your goals essay

Let’s take a look at a sample MBA Goals Essay and see how these three key elements are incorporated.  

You should be able to easily recognize why the writer’s opening is attention-getting for all the right reasons. The writer introduces herself as the supremely busy executive she visualizes becoming in the future. She trades large amounts of stock, rushes off to a Zoom conference, hurries downstairs, flags down a taxi, then hops on a plane. As she describes this whirlwind of activity, we can practically feel her heart pumping.

After establishing her voice and personality in this opening, she offers context for her MBA goal. Notice that in writing about her work as an accountant for a major firm, she provides relevant details, including how many years she has been in the field, her bilingualism, and her specialty area as an auditor. This information is her springboard to explain why she is pursuing an MBA: she’s bursting out of her limited role as an accountant. Her eyes and ambition are set on a larger playing field as an international investment manager.

Write an essay, not a list or CV

Outstanding career goals essays are not lists of an applicant’s roles and achievements. Instead, they have a narrative flow and arc that convey the candidate’s palpable excitement about their career choice. This writer’s enthusiastic, dreamy first paragraph achieves this, and she returns to that image at the end, where she paints her idealized (if frantically busy) future. She also proves her seriousness by noting that she registered for the CFA exam.

Connect your career goals to your reasons for choosing a particular program

Many essay questions, especially those for MBA programs , will ask why you have chosen the school you’re applying to. Be prepared to respond knowledgeably and enthusiastically. And the only way to become knowledgeable – and enthusiastic – is by visiting campus in-person or virtually, attending student recruitment meetings, participating in forums, reading student blogs, watching videos of students speaking about their experiences, communicating directly with students and/or recent alumni, and otherwise doing your homework. As part of your research, make sure you have familiarized yourself with the courses and specializations that are relevant to your goals.

Summary Tips

• Focus on answering each and every question asked in a career goals essay prompt. Often, there is more than one.
• Highlight specific achievements vividly and in a way that shows that your career choice is logical for you.
• Do the research so you can write about why the school is a good fit for you and do so with genuine enthusiasm.

In the next post in this series , we’ll explain how to take all this advice and apply it to create an exemplary first draft.

Work one-on-one with an expert who will walk you through the process of creating a slam-dunk application. Check out our full catalog of application services . Our admissions consultants have read thousands of essays and know the exact ingredients of an outstanding essay.

By Judy Gruen, former Accepted admissions consultant. Judy holds a master’s in journalism from Northwestern University. She is also the co-author of Accepted’s first full-length book, MBA Admission for Smarties: The No-Nonsense Guide to Acceptance at Top Business Schools . Want an admissions expert help you get accepted? Click here to get in touch!

Related resources:

• The Winning Ingredients of a Dynamic MBA Goals Essay , a free guide
• Grad School Personal Statement Examples
• Focus on Fit , podcast Episode 162

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My goal in life essay 18 Models

My goal in life essay is one of the important and indispensable essays, and it is asked periodically from students so that they can get to know themselves more. In order to improve their level of expression and description of what they see as the life goals they wish to achieve.

This type of article is required from all educational levels, so we will provide you with several short samples, and long models about my goal in life essay, so that you can understand the topic well.

My goal in life essay

All students have dreams and desires that they strive to achieve. The largest percentage of them may be similar to one of the parents, as parents in many times are the role models for their children. Therefore, we may find that children aspire to achieve some of the goals and achievements that their parents have achieved.

In some other cases, we find some students aspire to achieve their own achievements. And there are students who may have a famous personality to imitate and want to achieve some of the great achievements he has done.

Therefore, we will provide you with a series of different models that include multiple and different cases that are suitable for all students.

My goal in life is to have good health, and practice all the wonderful hobbies that I love before I graduate, work, and start a family and a social life.

I like to practice the hobby of skydiving, diving and traveling to new and wonderful places, and I also like to work in some fun places during summer vacations, such as the beach so that I can work and enjoy and be in places that have a lot of noise and life, getting to know new friends and gaining a lot of experience.

These are the goals I’m planning at this point, they may differ in the future as I could add some serious work, but that’s just what I’m thinking about right now.

There is no doubt that planning is the way to success, we should not let our lives go in a random way. But we must define our goals and know what are the best ways to achieve these goals. Setting goals makes us achieve them in the easiest way and in the shortest time.

My dreams and goals in life essay

My dreams in life are to be a famous football player. I am very fascinated by the Egyptian player, Mohamed Salah, and the Argentine player, Lionel Messi. They have great talent, and they are always keen to develop their skills.

A football player must have high physical skills and physical fitness, because skill and talent are necessary in addition to serious training, and this is what makes a player distinct from another player.

Also, the player’s insistence on improving his level is important to his success and obtaining international awards.

Both Mohamed Salah and Lionel Messi have achieved great success with their clubs, and have won many awards such as the Golden Boot award and the Best Player award and others.

I love to be a famous football player because this game will make me rich and will make me gain people’s love too. There are millions of young people around the world watching the matches of Mohamed Salah or Messi and cheering them on with enthusiasm.

My goals in life as a student essay

My goals at this stage are related to studies. I want to always be in the first place and get the final grades in all subjects because this will give me the opportunity to get a scholarship abroad. This is my goal that I am working hard to achieve.

The opportunity to complete my education abroad is a really good opportunity that every student desires. Therefore, I study my lessons seriously and learn a lot about everything related to my field of study, including research, books and scientific journals.

Also, studying abroad will allow me a better education, as well as obtaining an internationally recognized certificate that I can work with in a prestigious job. Therefore, I do not waste my time on useless things, but focus on my studies in order to achieve my goal.

Certainly, my family has a great advantage, they always encourage me and provide me with everything I need. Also, my teachers have a great credit for my excellence, they help me a lot in my studies.

My goal in life short essay

I have a talent in drawing, since I was a child at the age of seven and I draw cartoon characters skillfully. All my family encourage me and say “You are talented at drawing”.

My teachers praise my paintings and decorate the classroom with them, and my colleagues are surprised when they see my drawings.

I draw in my spare time because drawing is my favorite hobby, but the rest of the time is devoted to studying because I want to excel in my studies as well.

My goal in life is to be a cartoonist or creator of new cartoon characters. Therefore, I am interested in my studies in order to join a prestigious university. My goal is to join the College of Fine Arts, because talent needs academic study in order to grow and develop.

I also go to many exhibitions and museums that include works of art such as paintings or photography because they are very useful for me as I gain new experiences.

Examples of goals in life of a student essay

There is no doubt that having a role model in our lives facilitates many things related to our future. My role model is my father, he is a petroleum engineer and works in one of the international companies. This job is very prestigious and provides him with a great salary. Therefore, in the future, I want to be a petroleum engineer like my father.

This function has many advantages as well as some disadvantages. One of its most important features is the high salary that the engineer receives, and this salary can provide him and his family a life in which there is a large amount of luxury. The most important disadvantage of this job is working in remote places and being away from home for a long time.

But I like to work in this job so that I can buy a beautiful house and a modern car and be able to travel on holidays to different tourist places. My goal at this stage is to study at the College of Engineering, Petroleum Department.

My goals in life paragraph

My goal in life is to be a person of high social standing and to be loved by others. Therefore, I would like to be a doctor in the future, because the doctor’s profession is a great humanitarian profession, through which he helps people and ensures himself a prestigious position and good financial income.

Although there are great risks in the doctor’s profession, as he deals with patients directly and closely, which may expose him to infection and serious diseases, this profession is highly humane because the doctor sacrifices himself in order to save others.

I love to work in this profession, so I work hard in my studies until I study in the Faculty of Medicine. Studying at the Faculty of Medicine is interesting and useful, and studying medicine requires continuous learning and being acquainted with everything new in the medical field, so that the doctor can provide the best medical service to his patients.

My personal goal in life essay

My personal goal in life is to be a fashion designer, this profession requires innovation, and this is what distinguishes me, as I design some clothes for myself or for my relatives.

In fact, all the outfits I designed were so impressive that they said they wouldn’t buy any clothes and I would be their designer.

Fashion design is a fine art and requires a sophisticated taste and information about fashion and the latest designs designed by international fashion houses, with self-reliance and not imitating others.

The fashion designer must also be familiar with the types of fabrics and be able to employ the fabric in an attractive way.

Fashion design needs to be familiar with fashion in terms of the prevailing colors at the time, whether the fabrics are suitable for the temperatures and many other details. Therefore, I am training in a fashion house and I hope to be a famous fashion designer in the future.

My ultimate goal in life essay

Undoubtedly, each of us has a goal that he is trying hard to achieve, and my goal is to be a police officer, because I believe that the job of a police officer is important for the stability and progress of society.

One of the duties of a police officer is to bring security to his community, allowing people to live in peace. Without security, people will not be able to go to work, and there will be no production.

Likewise, the peasants will not be able to cultivate their fields, and thus there will be no crops, vegetables, or fruits, and merchants will not be secure in their trade, and consequently, shops, stores, and others will be closed.

Thus, we see the importance of the police officer’s work, as he maintains the security and safety of the community, and thus everyone can work seriously to increase production and advance the country. Therefore, my goal in life is to be a distinguished police officer.

My goal in life essay for class 6

My goal in life is to be a teacher, thanks to my teacher because she is my role model. She is an excellent teacher who can explain our lessons to us in a simplified manner, in addition to that she treats us well, she listens to our problems and helps us solve them.

My teacher not only teaches me my school lessons, but also teaches me good manners, because all her behavior is good. She always advises us to be superior and to be characterized by good qualities.

I love and respect my teacher, she is just like my mother who is afraid of me and advises me and helps me understand my lessons.

The profession of a teacher is great, as she not only teaches, but also educates and instills in her students noble values. She also helps us in forming our personality and self-reliance. The teacher prepares the future generation.

Essay about goals and dreams in life

I dream of being a successful businessman in the future. Businessmen participate in the country’s development and progress, and provide many job opportunities for young people. My father is my role model in this field.

My father is a successful man, he did not depend on anyone, but he started his working life young until he became a famous businessman. It was a difficult path, but thanks to his determination, he was able to overcome all the problems he encountered.

Therefore, I consider myself more fortunate than my father, as he has a lot of experiences that I can learn from him, and my father paved the way for me, but I want to achieve better than what is expected of me.

Therefore, I’ll  study business administration because this will gain me a lot of information and experience. I am also training in one of the companies owned by my father, as this will give me practical experience.

My goals in life as a student – Intended for US students

My goals in life as a student living in the United States are to pursue a career in technology and use my skills to help my family and community.

I believe that technology is the future, and I want to be a part of it. I am passionate about using technology to solve problems and make the world a better place.

I grew up in a family that was not always able to afford the latest technology. However, my parents always encouraged me to learn about technology and how to use it. I am grateful for their support, as it has helped me to develop a strong foundation in technology.

I am now a student at a top university in the United States. I am majoring in computer science, and I am planning to pursue a career in software engineering. I want to use my skills to create innovative products and services that will make a positive impact on the world.

I also want to use my skills to help my family and community. I see how technology can be used to improve people’s lives, and I want to be a part of that. For example, I could use my skills to develop educational apps for children in developing countries, or I could create websites that provide information and resources to people in need.

I am excited about the future, and I am confident that I can achieve my goals. I am committed to using my skills to make a difference in the world.

My goal in life – Intended for US students

My goals in life as a student living in the United States are to become a creative and innovative teacher who loves children.

I have always been passionate about education. I love learning new things, and I believe that everyone has the potential to learn and grow. I am also passionate about children. I love their energy and enthusiasm, and I believe that they are the future.

I grew up in a family that valued education. My parents always encouraged me to learn and to ask questions. They also taught me the importance of helping others. I am grateful for their support, as it has helped me to develop a strong foundation in education and in service to others.

I am currently a student at a top university in the United States. I am majoring in education, and I am planning to pursue a career as a teacher. I want to use my skills to help children learn and grow. I also want to create a classroom that is fun and engaging, where children feel comfortable to take risks and to explore their own potential.

My goal is – Intended for US students

My goals in life as a middle school student living in the United States are to become a creative and innovative teacher who loves children and changes the lives of many children.

I believe that I can make a real difference in the lives of children. I am committed to using my skills to help children learn and grow, and to create a better future for them.

My goal in life is to be successful – Intended for US students

My goals in life as a student living in the United States are to achieve success, become a famous figure that others will read about one day, and be a role model and pride for my family.

I have always been ambitious and driven to succeed. I believe that I have the potential to achieve great things, and I am committed to working hard to achieve my goals.

I am also passionate about making a difference in the world. I believe that everyone has the potential to make a positive impact, and I want to use my skills and talents to make the world a better place.

I know that achieving success will not be easy. It will require hard work, dedication, and perseverance. However, I am confident that I can achieve my goals if I set my mind to it.

Here are some specific examples of how I plan to achieve my goals:

I will focus on my studies and work hard to get good grades.

I will participate in extracurricular activities and clubs to develop my skills and talents.

I will network with other people who can help me achieve my goals.

I believe that if I work hard and never give up on my dreams, I can achieve anything I set my mind to. I am excited to see what the future holds for me, and I am confident that I will make my family proud.

My goals in life as a student – Model for South African students

As a student in secondary school living in South Africa, my goal in life is to achieve success in playing football and try to become a professional player in one of the English clubs. I also want to be a source of pride for my family.

I have been playing football since I was a child. I love the sport and I am passionate about it. I believe that I have the talent and the determination to achieve my goals.

I am currently training hard and I am working on improving my skills. I am also learning about the English Premier League and the clubs that I would like to play for.

I know that it will be difficult to achieve my goals, but I am determined to work hard and never give up. I believe that if I put in the effort, I can achieve anything I set my mind to.

I am also committed to being a good role model for my family and friends. I want to show them that anything is possible if you set your mind to it.

I am confident that I can achieve my goals and I am excited to see what the future holds.

My goals in life – Model for South African students

As a student in secondary school living in South Africa, my goal in life is to become a distinguished tour guide and establish my own company, attracting many tourists to see the beautiful side of Africa.

I have always been fascinated by history and culture, and I love sharing my knowledge with others. I believe that South Africa is a beautiful and diverse country with a rich history and culture, and I want to share it with the world.

I am currently studying hard and I am working on improving my knowledge of South African history and culture. I am also learning about the tourism industry and how to run a successful tour company.

My goal in life is to be successful – Model for South African students

I am a middle school student living in South Africa. I come from a large family with many siblings. I want to be a role model for them and achieve success in my country that makes all of my people proud.

I am currently thinking about developing technology that is tailored to South Africa. I believe that I can add something special to the future of my country.

My short-term goals:

To excel in my studies and get into a good university.

To learn more about technology and how it can be used to solve problems.

To get involved in community service and make a difference in the lives of others.

My long-term goals:

To start my own business that uses technology to help people in South Africa.

To become a leader in my community and inspire others to achieve their dreams.

I know that I have a lot of work to do to achieve my goals, but I am determined to make them a reality. I am excited to see what the future holds for me and my country.

What I Want to Achieve in Life Essay – Model for South African Students

I am a university student living in South Africa. I come from a large family with many siblings. I want to be a role model for them and achieve success in my sport that makes all of my people proud.

I am currently training hard to be a top long-distance runner. I believe that I have the potential to be a world champion.

To win the national long-distance running championship.

To be selected for the South African national team.

To compete in the World Championships.

To win an Olympic medal.

To be inducted into the South African Sports Hall of Fame.

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Writing Tips for a Career Goals Essay (2023)

Jennifer Finetti Mar 1, 2023

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For your college scholarship essay, you may be asked about your career goals. The scholarship committee wants to see how investing in your education will help your career. Do you have a definitive plan? Will a college education fit into that plan? These are the answers they want to see.

In this guide, we will provide some scholarship essay examples about career goals to jumpstart your essay writing.

Writing tips for career goals scholarship essays

Here are some quick tips for writing career goal scholarship essays:

• Write about career goals that tie into the scholarship. This doesn’t mean you have to lie about your career goals to make them fit. Find a way to relate them to the scholarship committee or other elements of the scholarship.
• Be precise about your career goals. Avoid vague statements that suggest you do not have a plan. Judges like to see determination because it shows they’re making a worthy educational investment.
• Discuss how your education will help you achieve your career goals. The scholarship will assist with your education. Show a connection between the two so they can see why you deserve this scholarship.
• If you mention multiple goals, indicate which one you feel most strongly about. Longer essays may allow you to mention a backup plan, but the committee needs to see where your focus lies.
• Avoid cliché statements. Describe how your specific talents, experiences, and degree pursuits will help you succeed.
• Point out solutions, not problems. You may mention struggles you’ve had in the past, but pinpoint how you will learn from them. Moreover, show how those struggles led to your career goals.
• Organize your thoughts in a fluid manner. This will most likely be in chronological order, starting with your degree and progressing through your career growth.
• Write, revise, rest, revise. This goes for any essay writing. Write the first draft from start to finish. Then read through it and edit any grammar or flow errors. Take a break, preferably overnight, and then re-read your content with fresh eyes.

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Example 1: Scholarship essay about career goals (100 words)

In a 100-word scholarship essay, you need to quickly make your point. There is not enough room for a lengthy intro or backstory. Use concise, comprehensive statements to deliver the most information in the fewest words.

I’m a sophomore at Texas Tech University, pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Companion Animal Science. After graduation, I hope to attend Texas A&M to become a veterinarian serving rescue organizations and animal shelters. I was born and raised in the south, where it is common for people to abandon animals in rural areas. Those animals then go into a rescue – emaciated, frightened, and confused. I want to work with rescues to provide affordable veterinary medicine to the animals they save. This scholarship would help me continue my education and potentially save thousands of abandoned animals in the future.

Word count: 99

Example 2: Scholarship essay about career goals (250 words)

With a 250-word scholarship essay, you have a little more room to discuss the details of your career goals. You can explain situations from your past that inspired your career pursuits. You could use one paragraph to talk about your short-term goals and another to talk about your long-term goals. Just make sure the big picture ties into the scholarship.

My name is Patrick Holden and I am a freshman at the University of Michigan, majoring in English and minoring in linguistics. I plan to become an English teacher, but this wasn’t always what I had in mind.  When thinking about my future, I always saw myself in some sort of corporate office, perhaps as an executive assistant or a loan officer at a bank. My father works in the finance office for a car dealership and my mother works at a call center. I assumed I would follow a similar, albeit boring, path in life. In my junior year of high school, everything changed. My English teacher inspired me in ways I could have never imagined. She got me to love writing, literature, etymology, and everything about the English language. She made me want to be a better student in all of my classes, and she helped me see the value of education. I decided then that I wanted to inspire other students just as she did for me. My parents are unfortunately not able to contribute much toward my college expenses. I have earned a tuition scholarship based on my ACT score, but I still need additional funding for books and supplies. English majors have particularly high book costs because we have to purchase multiple books for each class. With the help of this scholarship, I could afford to continue my degree and become an English teacher.

Word count: 240

Example 3: Scholarship essay about career goals (500 words)

With 500 words or more to play around with, you have plenty of space to talk about your career goals. Maintain the same theme throughout the scholarship essay. Each paragraph should connect to the next, and they should all work together to describe your career plan. Avoid making disconnected statements for the sake of word count. In the end, the scholarship committee should have a clear view of your educational plans and professional aspirations.

Internet marketing has gone from an optional method of advertisement to a vital step in business outreach. Even small businesses in remote towns look to the internet to attract customers and spread the word about their services. I am currently pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Business Marketing with an emphasis on Digital Marketing. With this training, I will be able to enter a profession that will only grow year by year. When I was younger, I found print advertisements to be fascinating. I loved reading the newspaper with my father just to see the full-page ads in between stories. When I got older though, those ads became less appealing because they were not adaptive. They seemed dated, static and ill-fit for changes in society. That’s when I discovered internet marketing. It was still in its infancy when I was in middle school, but by the time I graduated high school, it had become a staple in business development. I loved the way internet marketers had to constantly adjust to fit Google’s algorithms, new mobile devices, and new audiences. I knew this was the career for me. Originally, I planned to focus solely on business marketing because there were not many digital marketing degrees available. Over the last two years though, several schools throughout the country have developed internet marketing courses that explain fundamental methods of search engine optimization, website analytics, and more. These are the foundations I will build my career around. The best part about internet marketing is that there is always something new to learn. I can use my creative mind and exploratory nature to try new advertising methods that help businesses succeed. Every time they do well, I do well. This is the kind of job fulfillment most people can only dream of, but my educational plan and job prospects will allow me to achieve it. I have picked up some freelance jobs online to supplement my studies and help pay for my education. It is difficult to maintain a steady stream of income in freelance because I spend so much time on my school work. This scholarship could offset some of the costs and reduce my workload as a whole. While I will still work throughout the semester and full-time in the summers, having extra financial aid would greatly reduce my stress in college. I look forward to a future where I can use my marketing skills to help business owners achieve their career goals. I plan to spend the first few years after graduation working for a successful, long-standing digital marketing company. After I have enough on-the-job training to feel confident in my abilities, I will open my own internet marketing company in Chicago, where my family lives. I have a clear picture of where I will be in the next 10 years, and I know this degree is going to help me get there.

Word count: 481

• Scholarship Essay

Jennifer Finetti

As a parent who recently helped her own kids embark on their college journeys, Jennifer approaches the transition from high school to college from a unique perspective. She truly enjoys engaging with students – helping them to build the confidence, knowledge, and insight needed to pursue their educational and career goals, while also empowering them with the strategies and skills needed to access scholarships and financial aid that can help limit college costs. She understands the importance of ensuring access to the edtech tools and resources that can make this process easier and more equitable - this drive to support underserved populations is what drew her to ScholarshipOwl. Jennifer has coached students from around the world, as well as in-person with local students in her own community. Her areas of focus include career exploration, major selection, college search and selection, college application assistance, financial aid and scholarship consultation, essay review and feedback, and more. She works with students who are at the top of their class, as well as those who are struggling. She firmly believes that all students, regardless of their circumstances, can succeed if they stay focused and work hard in school. Jennifer earned her MA in Counseling Psychology from National University, and her BA in Psychology from University of California, Santa Cruz.

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Exploring the Importance of Aspirations and Strategies for Achieving Academic Success

Education is a lifelong process that begins at birth and continues until death. It is the foundation upon which one builds their future, and it is crucial to have a clear understanding of one’s educational goals to achieve success in life. This essay, written by a custom essay writing company , can show you different goals of education, and then, maybe, you can find your own. Also, there you can find what your educational goals essay examples are.

An Essay on Educational Goals and the Strategies for Achieving them

Education plays a critical role in shaping one’s future, providing the foundation for personal and professional growth. Having a clear understanding of one’s educational goals for college is essential for achieving success in life. Educational goals are the aspirations that individuals seek to achieve during their academic journey, guiding them towards personal and professional fulfillment.

Short-term Educational Goals

As an individual, I have set specific educational goals that will enable me to achieve success and contribute positively to society. These goals are divided into short-term and long-term goals, which will help me navigate through the various stages of my academic journey.

Long-term Educational Goals

My short-term educational goals include attending all my classes, actively participating in class discussions, and completing all my assignments on time. Additionally, I aim to build strong relationships with my professors and peers, as they play a crucial role in my academic success. By achieving these goals, I will develop a strong academic foundation and the skills and knowledge necessary to excel in my chosen field.

Resources for Achieving Educational Goals

My long-term educational goals are to obtain a graduate degree in my area of interest, gain practical experience through internships and research opportunities, and develop strong leadership skills. These goals will enable me to build a solid foundation for my career and make significant contributions to society.

To achieve these goals, I have developed specific strategies and plans. Firstly, I will take advantage of all available resources, including academic advisors, career services, and professional organizations. Additionally, I will attend workshops, conferences, and seminars to enhance my skills and knowledge and network with professionals in my field.

Time Management and Prioritization

Secondly, I will prioritize my studies and manage my time effectively, ensuring that I meet all my academic obligations. This involves setting realistic goals and developing a study plan to achieve them.

Practical Experience

Thirdly, I will seek out practical experience through internships and research opportunities, which will provide me with hands-on experience and exposure to real-world problems.

Leadership Development

Lastly, I will develop my leadership skills through participation in extracurricular activities such as clubs and organizations. This will enable me to develop strong communication skills, build relationships, and develop a strong work ethic.

Educational goals are essential for personal and professional growth, providing individuals with a clear path towards academic success and personal fulfillment. Strategies such as time management, prioritization, practical experience, and leadership development can help individuals reach their goals.

By following these strategies and utilizing available resources, individuals can achieve their educational goals and make meaningful contributions to society. The process of setting and achieving educational goals is a lifelong journey that requires patience, perseverance, and a commitment to personal growth.

Tips for Writing a What are Your Educational Goals Essay

There are a lot of What are Your Educational Goals Essay Examples, because it is a popular type of essay that requires the writer to reflect on their academic aspirations and articulate their goals for pursuing higher education. In the same time writing this essay can be a daunting task, especially if you are unsure about your future plans. If you need a boost, look at examples of personal statements before you start writing your own essay. However, with the right approach, you can write a compelling essay that effectively communicates your educational goals. Here are some tips for writing a successful what are your educational goals essay:

Start with a Clear Introduction

Begin your essay about educational goals with a clear introduction that defines the purpose of the essay and provides an overview of what you will be discussing. Clearly state your educational goals and explain why they are important to you.

Be Specific

When discussing your educational goals, be as specific as possible. Avoid vague statements and generalizations. Provide concrete examples of the goals you hope to achieve, such as pursuing a particular degree, gaining specific skills or knowledge, or obtaining a specific job.

Highlight your Strengths

When discussing your educational goals, highlight your strengths and achievements. Discuss any relevant experiences, such as academic awards, extracurricular activities, or volunteer work. This will help demonstrate to the reader that you are committed to your goals and have the necessary skills to achieve them.

Explain your Plan

In order to achieve your educational goals, you need a plan. Explain your plan for achieving your goals, including any steps you have already taken towards achieving them. Discuss any resources you plan to use, such as academic advisors, career services, or professional organizations.

Be Realistic

While it is important to be ambitious, it is also important to be realistic. Don’t set goals that are unattainable or unrealistic. Make sure your goals are achievable and that you have a plan in place to achieve them.

Edit and Revise

Once you have written your educational goal essay, take the time to edit and revise it. Make sure your essay is well-organized, easy to read, and free from grammatical errors. Ask someone else to read it and provide feedback. By following these tips, you can write a compelling essay that effectively communicates your educational goals and demonstrates your commitment to academic success. Remember to be specific, highlight your strengths, explain your plan, be realistic, and edit and revise your essay to ensure it is the best it can be.

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Importance of Goals in Life Essay

Everyone should have goals in life. Goals make life beautiful. When you have a goal, you live for that goal and put effort each day to achieve it. And when you achieve that goal, it brings you unlimited happiness. 

A long term goal can be learning an instrument, a career goal like becoming a doctor, teacher, engineer, learning how to drive, buying a house or a car of your own, etc. 

The goals vary from individual to individual but there are some goals that should be common to all. For example, serving society by helping others, working for the growth of your nation, fulfilling parent’s expectations and respecting them and to become a good human being. Such day to day goals helps people to perform better in life.   

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• How to write an essay introduction | 4 steps & examples

How to Write an Essay Introduction | 4 Steps & Examples

Published on February 4, 2019 by Shona McCombes . Revised on July 23, 2023.

A good introduction paragraph is an essential part of any academic essay . It sets up your argument and tells the reader what to expect.

The main goals of an introduction are to:

• Catch your reader’s attention.
• Give background on your topic.
• Present your thesis statement —the central point of your essay.

This introduction example is taken from our interactive essay example on the history of Braille.

The invention of Braille was a major turning point in the history of disability. The writing system of raised dots used by visually impaired people was developed by Louis Braille in nineteenth-century France. In a society that did not value disabled people in general, blindness was particularly stigmatized, and lack of access to reading and writing was a significant barrier to social participation. The idea of tactile reading was not entirely new, but existing methods based on sighted systems were difficult to learn and use. As the first writing system designed for blind people’s needs, Braille was a groundbreaking new accessibility tool. It not only provided practical benefits, but also helped change the cultural status of blindness. This essay begins by discussing the situation of blind people in nineteenth-century Europe. It then describes the invention of Braille and the gradual process of its acceptance within blind education. Subsequently, it explores the wide-ranging effects of this invention on blind people’s social and cultural lives.

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Table of contents

Step 1: hook your reader, step 2: give background information, step 3: present your thesis statement, step 4: map your essay’s structure, step 5: check and revise, more examples of essay introductions, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about the essay introduction.

Your first sentence sets the tone for the whole essay, so spend some time on writing an effective hook.

Avoid long, dense sentences—start with something clear, concise and catchy that will spark your reader’s curiosity.

The hook should lead the reader into your essay, giving a sense of the topic you’re writing about and why it’s interesting. Avoid overly broad claims or plain statements of fact.

Examples: Writing a good hook

Take a look at these examples of weak hooks and learn how to improve them.

• Braille was an extremely important invention.
• The invention of Braille was a major turning point in the history of disability.

The first sentence is a dry fact; the second sentence is more interesting, making a bold claim about exactly  why the topic is important.

• The internet is defined as “a global computer network providing a variety of information and communication facilities.”
• The spread of the internet has had a world-changing effect, not least on the world of education.

Avoid using a dictionary definition as your hook, especially if it’s an obvious term that everyone knows. The improved example here is still broad, but it gives us a much clearer sense of what the essay will be about.

• Mary Shelley’s  Frankenstein is a famous book from the nineteenth century.
• Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is often read as a crude cautionary tale about the dangers of scientific advancement.

Instead of just stating a fact that the reader already knows, the improved hook here tells us about the mainstream interpretation of the book, implying that this essay will offer a different interpretation.

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Next, give your reader the context they need to understand your topic and argument. Depending on the subject of your essay, this might include:

• Historical, geographical, or social context
• An outline of the debate you’re addressing
• A summary of relevant theories or research about the topic
• Definitions of key terms

The information here should be broad but clearly focused and relevant to your argument. Don’t give too much detail—you can mention points that you will return to later, but save your evidence and interpretation for the main body of the essay.

How much space you need for background depends on your topic and the scope of your essay. In our Braille example, we take a few sentences to introduce the topic and sketch the social context that the essay will address:

Now it’s time to narrow your focus and show exactly what you want to say about the topic. This is your thesis statement —a sentence or two that sums up your overall argument.

This is the most important part of your introduction. A  good thesis isn’t just a statement of fact, but a claim that requires evidence and explanation.

The goal is to clearly convey your own position in a debate or your central point about a topic.

Particularly in longer essays, it’s helpful to end the introduction by signposting what will be covered in each part. Keep it concise and give your reader a clear sense of the direction your argument will take.

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As you research and write, your argument might change focus or direction as you learn more.

For this reason, it’s often a good idea to wait until later in the writing process before you write the introduction paragraph—it can even be the very last thing you write.

When you’ve finished writing the essay body and conclusion , you should return to the introduction and check that it matches the content of the essay.

It’s especially important to make sure your thesis statement accurately represents what you do in the essay. If your argument has gone in a different direction than planned, tweak your thesis statement to match what you actually say.

To polish your writing, you can use something like a paraphrasing tool .

You can use the checklist below to make sure your introduction does everything it’s supposed to.

Checklist: Essay introduction

My first sentence is engaging and relevant.

I have introduced the topic with necessary background information.

I have defined any important terms.

My thesis statement clearly presents my main point or argument.

Everything in the introduction is relevant to the main body of the essay.

You have a strong introduction - now make sure the rest of your essay is just as good.

• Argumentative
• Literary analysis

This introduction to an argumentative essay sets up the debate about the internet and education, and then clearly states the position the essay will argue for.

The spread of the internet has had a world-changing effect, not least on the world of education. The use of the internet in academic contexts is on the rise, and its role in learning is hotly debated. For many teachers who did not grow up with this technology, its effects seem alarming and potentially harmful. This concern, while understandable, is misguided. The negatives of internet use are outweighed by its critical benefits for students and educators—as a uniquely comprehensive and accessible information source; a means of exposure to and engagement with different perspectives; and a highly flexible learning environment.

This introduction to a short expository essay leads into the topic (the invention of the printing press) and states the main point the essay will explain (the effect of this invention on European society).

In many ways, the invention of the printing press marked the end of the Middle Ages. The medieval period in Europe is often remembered as a time of intellectual and political stagnation. Prior to the Renaissance, the average person had very limited access to books and was unlikely to be literate. The invention of the printing press in the 15th century allowed for much less restricted circulation of information in Europe, paving the way for the Reformation.

This introduction to a literary analysis essay , about Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein , starts by describing a simplistic popular view of the story, and then states how the author will give a more complex analysis of the text’s literary devices.

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is often read as a crude cautionary tale. Arguably the first science fiction novel, its plot can be read as a warning about the dangers of scientific advancement unrestrained by ethical considerations. In this reading, and in popular culture representations of the character as a “mad scientist”, Victor Frankenstein represents the callous, arrogant ambition of modern science. However, far from providing a stable image of the character, Shelley uses shifting narrative perspectives to gradually transform our impression of Frankenstein, portraying him in an increasingly negative light as the novel goes on. While he initially appears to be a naive but sympathetic idealist, after the creature’s narrative Frankenstein begins to resemble—even in his own telling—the thoughtlessly cruel figure the creature represents him as.

If you want to know more about AI tools , college essays , or fallacies make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples or go directly to our tools!

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Your essay introduction should include three main things, in this order:

• An opening hook to catch the reader’s attention.
• Relevant background information that the reader needs to know.
• A thesis statement that presents your main point or argument.

The length of each part depends on the length and complexity of your essay .

The “hook” is the first sentence of your essay introduction . It should lead the reader into your essay, giving a sense of why it’s interesting.

To write a good hook, avoid overly broad statements or long, dense sentences. Try to start with something clear, concise and catchy that will spark your reader’s curiosity.

A thesis statement is a sentence that sums up the central point of your paper or essay . Everything else you write should relate to this key idea.

The thesis statement is essential in any academic essay or research paper for two main reasons:

• It gives your writing direction and focus.
• It gives the reader a concise summary of your main point.

Without a clear thesis statement, an essay can end up rambling and unfocused, leaving your reader unsure of exactly what you want to say.

The structure of an essay is divided into an introduction that presents your topic and thesis statement , a body containing your in-depth analysis and arguments, and a conclusion wrapping up your ideas.

The structure of the body is flexible, but you should always spend some time thinking about how you can organize your essay to best serve your ideas.

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How "Impossible" Goals Can Change Your Life

Why pursuing impractical goals might be the most practical thing you could do..

Posted August 7, 2024 | Reviewed by Davia Sills

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• For much of history, people have thought of time as moving sequentially forward.
• A more fluid, holistic understanding of time shows an evolving relationship between past, present, and future.
• People can use this new approach to reframe the past and make healthier decisions in the present.

In this blog post, I'm going to draw on multiple references to make the case that:

• Psychologically , time isn't what we commonly think of it—as a linear and separate entity from our lived experience.
• From a more contextual or holistic view of time, we can appreciate the "past" and "future" as connected and crucial aspects of our lived experience in the present . In other words, our experiences and decisions in the present cannot be disconnected from our views of both our past and future.
• Importantly, the direction of "causality" may be non-linear psychologically. Rather than the common assumption of the past determining the present and the present determining the future (i.e., a linear and sequential model of time), another possibility is that the present shapes the meaning of the past and the future shapes the meaning of the present (see Slife, 1993, and Frankl, 1985).
• Utilizing the notion that one's framing of one's own past and future formulates central aspects of one's present perspectives and decisions, research on 1) one's view of one's own future self and 2) impossible goals is explored.

Non-Linear and Holistic Psychological Time

In the book Homo Prospectus , Dr. Martin Seligman and co-authors state, "Much of the history of psychology has been dominated by a framework in which people and animals are driven by the past." This viewpoint, that the past drives the present, is questioned in Homo Prospectus , using modern research in positive psychology and neuroscience . Rather than being driven by the past, the authors argue we are "navigating" into the future.

In the book Time and Psychological Explanation , Dr. Brent Slife makes the case against the absolutist, sequential, and linear model of time proposed by Isaac Newton, who described time as "of itself, and from its own nature, flows equitably without relation to anything external." Slife makes the case that, at least psychologically, time is more holistic than sequential, meaning the past, present, and future are not separate and disconnected entities.

As Slife states (1995) :

"Heidegger completely rejected the linear notion of time... meaning for him was radically holistic... That is, any element of meaning, such as a data piece, can never be understood independently of its holistic context. The organization of the data, as its elements occur together (simultaneously), is crucial to the understanding of each element's meaning and qualities. The whole endows each part with meaning and quality."

Slife explains that one cannot understand any piece of information, whether a single word in a sentence or a note of music, without connecting that information or data to its context, such as the rest of the sentence or even surrounding paragraphs. Any single data point without surrounding context loses meaning. Slife makes the same case for our understanding of time: One cannot understand the present independent of its relation to the past as well as the future. As he states:

"All three dimensions of time—past, present, and future—co-occur in the now for Heidegger... No one dimension of time can truly be a meaningful dimension without the context provided by the other two dimensions. The lived present, for example, cannot be understood in any meaningful sense without the contemporaneity of the past and future."

Pulling this together and simplifying it, I understand all of this to mean that one's views of one's own past and future largely shape one's mental and emotional framing in the present. Moreover, our views of our past and future are flexible, such that we can reframe various meanings of our past experiences. By so doing, we can liberate ourselves in the present from the consequences of former meanings. Additionally, we can re-envision different futures (i.e., prospects), which can simultaneously alter the meaning and direction of our present.

With this backdrop of a holistic model of time, let us first establish psychological insight on the relationship we have with our own future selves. From there, we will review research on how impossible goals can shatter assumptions and re-direct attention toward novel and creative pathways forward.

An Imagined and Different Future Self

Dr. Daniel Gilbert of Harvard gave a TED talk entitled " The Psychology of Your Future Self ." In that talk, he described the phenomenal of the end of history illusion, which explains that even after appreciating the differences between our present and former selves, we tend to assume our current self is the "finished" and complete version of ourselves. Said another way, we assume our future selves will be highly similar to our current selves—even our distant future selves (10+ years). This, it turns out, is true for people young and old, whether teenagers or elderly. As Gilbert states:

"Most of us can remember who we were 10 years ago, but we find it hard to imagine who we're going to be, and then we mistakenly think that because it's hard to imagine, it's not likely to happen. Sorry, when people say, 'I can't imagine that,' they're usually talking about their own lack of imagination , and not about the unlikelihood of the event that they're describing."

Importantly, viewing your own future self as a different person— with different values, priorities, and preferences—has been shown to be helpful for present decision-making . Viktor Frankl highlighted the impact of someone's view of their own future on present experiences and decisions in his memoir, Man's Search for Meaning. As he wrote:

"The prisoner who had lost faith in the future—his future—was doomed. With his loss of belief in the future, he also lost his spiritual hold; he let himself decline and became subject to mental and physical decay.”

Given a holistic model of time, it seems less fruitful using the present as the basis of one's own future. Instead, it may be more useful to imagine highly different futures, even seemingly impossible ones.

The Psychological and Strategic Impact of Committing to Seemingly Impossible Goals

According to one research article , "Pragmatic prospection is the ability to think deeply about the future in order to identify and to work productively toward goals." Part of the pragmatic nature of imagining future outcomes and then strategizing the attainment of those outcomes is pathways thinking , which involves flexibly finding or creating various workable pathways to one's desired goal.

Yet, when it comes to seemingly impossible goals (i.e., "stretch goals"), there typically aren't known pathways to attainment. This turns out to be one of the strengths of such goals, as it forces you to innovate and search in ways you otherwise wouldn't have.

In a research article entitled "The Paradox of Stretch Goals: Organizations in Pursuit of the Seemingly Impossible ," the researchers explain the psychological impact of committing to seemingly impossible goals (see Sitkin et al., 2011). Quoting the article:

"We define a stretch goal as an organizational goal with an objective probability of attainment that may be unknown but is seemingly impossible given current capabilities (i.e., current practices, skills, and knowledge). Because they are extreme, stretch goals have been argued to serve as jolting events that disrupt complacency and promote new ways of thinking and acting... Pursuing goals that are seemingly impossible might stimulate exploratory learning specifically because radically new approaches are required... Reflecting on both performance and exploration, Rousseau put it this way: '[Stretch goals] motivate high performance by mandating creativity and assumption-breaking thinking.'"

Considering again a holistic model of time, wherein someone's views of the future directly impact their attention and decisions (or pathways) in the present, committing to a meaningful yet seemingly impossible goal could be useful for 1) redefining one's own future self in exciting and imaginative ways, 2) weeding out ineffective pathways because most won't work for such objectives, and 3) facilitating the exploration of new and alternative pathways of learning and innovation.

Bronk, K. C., & Mitchell, C. (2022). Considering purpose through the lens of prospection. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 17 (2), 281-287.

Eubanks, A. D., Reece, A., Liebscher, A., Meron Ruscio, A., Baumeister, R. F., & Seligman, M. (2024). Pragmatic prospection is linked with positive life and workplace outcomes. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 19 (3), 419-429.

Frankl, V. E. (1985). Man's Search for Meaning. Simon and Schuster.

Gilbert, D. (2014). The psychology of your future self. Ted Talks.

Hershfield, H. E. (2011). Future self‐continuity: How conceptions of the future self transform intertemporal choice. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1235 (1), 30-43.

Hershfield, H. (2013). You Make Better Decisions If You ‘See’Your Senior Self. Harvard Business Review, 7.

Hershfield, H. E., Cohen, T. R., & Thompson, L. (2012). Short horizons and tempting situations: Lack of continuity to our future selves leads to unethical decision making and behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 117 (2), 298-310.

Hershfield, H. E., Goldstein, D. G., Sharpe, W. F., Fox, J., Yeykelis, L., Carstensen, L. L., & Bailenson, J. N. (2011). Increasing saving behavior through age-progressed renderings of the future self. Journal of Marketing Research, 48 (SPL), S23-S37.

Newton, I. (1990). M athematical Principles of Natural Philosophy , trans. A Motte (revised by Florian Cajori). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. (Original work published 1687)

Newton, I (1990). Optics. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. (Original work published 1704).

Quoidbach, J., Gilbert, D. T., & Wilson, T. D. (2013). The end of history illusion. Science, 339 (6115), 96-98.

Seligman, M. E., Railton, P., Baumeister, R. F., & Sripada, C. (2013). Navigating into the future or driven by the past. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 8 (2), 119-141.

Seligman, M. E., Railton, P., Baumeister, R. F., & Sripada, C. (2016). Homo Prospectus. Oxford University Press.

Sitkin, S. B., See, K. E., Miller, C. C., Lawless, M. W., & Carton, A. M. (2011). The paradox of stretch goals: Organizations in pursuit of the seemingly impossible. Academy of Management Review, 36 (3), 544-566.

Slife, B. D. (1993). Time and Psychological Explanation: The Spectacle of Spain's Tourist Boom and the Reinvention of Difference. SUNY press.

Slife, B. D. (1995). Information and time. Theory and Psychology, 5 (4), 533-550.

Slife, B. D. (1995). Newtonian time and psychological explanation. The Journal of Mind and Behavior, 45-62.

Snyder, C. R., Cheavens, J. S., & Michael, S. T. (2005). Hope theory: History and elaborated model. Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Hope , 101-118.

Tong, E. M., Fredrickson, B. L., Chang, W., & Lim, Z. X. (2010). Re-examining hope: The roles of agency thinking and pathways thinking. Cognition and Emotion, 24 (7), 1207-1215.

Van Gelder, J. L., Hershfield, H. E., & Nordgren, L. F. (2013). Vividness of the future self predicts delinquency. Psychological Science, 24 (6),

Benjamin Hardy, Ph.D. , is an organizational psychologist and author of the forthcoming book Personality Isn't Permanent .

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Sticking up for yourself is no easy task. But there are concrete skills you can use to hone your assertiveness and advocate for yourself.

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Project 2025: A wish list for a Trump presidency, explained

A proposed Republican party platform has been approved at the party’s national convention, but a much more detailed proposal from a conservative think tank has also been drawing attention.

Project 2025 was created by the Heritage Foundation and runs for more than 900 pages.

Trump has disavowed Project 2025, though critics have pointed out it was led by former officials in his administration.

The document calls for the sacking of thousands of civil servants, expanding the power of the president, dismantling the Department of Education, sweeping tax cuts, a ban on pornography, halting sales of the abortion pill, and more.

There is agreement between many parts of the official Republican platform and Project 2025, although the think-tank document is much more detailed and in some policy areas goes much further than the party line.

There is a sharper contrast between the two when it comes to the issue of abortion, with Heritage urging much more aggressive anti-abortion policies.

Who wrote Project 2025?

It is common for Washington think tanks of all political stripes to propose policy wish lists for potential governments-in-waiting.

The conservative Heritage Foundation first produced policy plans for future Republican administrations in 1981, when Ronald Reagan was about to take office.

It has produced similar documents in connection with subsequent presidential elections, including in 2016, when Trump won the presidency.

A year into his term, the think tank boasted that the Trump White House had adopted nearly two-thirds of its proposals.

The Project 2025 report was unveiled in April 2023, but liberal opposition to the document has ramped up now that Trump has extended his polling lead.

The Republican nominee himself has distanced himself from the proposal.

"I know nothing about Project 2025," he posted on his social media website, Truth Social. "I have no idea who is behind it.

"I disagree with some of the things they're saying and some of the things they’re saying are absolutely ridiculous and abysmal."

But the team that created the project is chock-full of former Trump advisers, including director Paul Dans, who was chief of staff at the Office of Personnel Management while Trump was president.

Mr Dans left the project in late July, clearing the way for Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts to take over. He said he was leaving during the presidential election season in order to "direct all my efforts to winning, bigly".

Russell Vought, another former Trump administration official, wrote a key chapter in the document and also serves as the Republican National Committee’s 2024 platform policy director.

More than 100 conservative organisations contributed to the document, Heritage says, including many that would be hugely influential in Washington if Republicans took back the White House.

The Project 2025 document sets out four main policy aims: restore the family as the centrepiece of American life; dismantle the administrative state; defend the nation's sovereignty and borders; and secure God-given individual rights to live freely.

Here's an outline of several of its key proposals.

Project 2025 proposes that the entire federal bureaucracy, including independent agencies such as the Department of Justice, be placed under direct presidential control - a controversial idea known as "unitary executive theory".

In practice, that would streamline decision-making, allowing the president to directly implement policies in a number of areas.

The proposals also call for eliminating job protections for thousands of government employees, who could then be replaced by political appointees.

The document labels the FBI a "bloated, arrogant, increasingly lawless organization". It calls for drastic overhauls of this and several other federal agencies, as well as the complete elimination of the Department of Education.

What does the Republican party platform say?

The party platform includes a proposal to "declassify government records, root out wrongdoers, and fire corrupt employees", pledges to slash regulation and government spending. But it stops short of proposing a sweeping overhaul of federal agencies as outlined in Project 2025.

Immigration

Increased funding for a wall on the US-Mexico border - one of Trump's signature proposals in 2016 - is proposed in the document.

Project 2025 also proposes dismantling the Department of Homeland Security and combining it with other immigration enforcement units in other agencies, creating a much larger and more powerful border policing operation.

Other proposals include eliminating visa categories for crime and human trafficking victims, increasing fees on immigrants and allowing fast-tracked applications for migrants who pay a premium.

Not all of those details are repeated in the party platform, but the overall headlines are similar - the party is promising to implement the "largest deportation programme in American history".

What a Trump second term would look like

Climate and economy.

The document proposes slashing federal money for research and investment in renewable energy, and calls for the next president to "stop the war on oil and natural gas".

Carbon-reduction goals would be replaced by efforts to increase energy production and energy security.

The paper sets out two competing visions on tariffs, and is divided on whether the next president should try to boost free trade or raise barriers to imports.

But the economic advisers suggest that a second Trump administration should slash corporate and income taxes, abolish the Federal Reserve and even consider a return to gold-backed currency.

The party platform does not go as far as Project 2025 in these policy areas. The platform instead talks of bringing down inflation and drilling for oil to reduce energy costs, but is thin on specific policy proposals.

Abortion and family

Project 2025 does not call outright for a nationwide abortion ban.

However, it proposes withdrawing the abortion pill mifepristone from the market, and using existing but little-enforced laws to stop the drug being sent through the post.

The document suggests that the department of Health and Human Services should "maintain a biblically based, social science-reinforced definition of marriage and family".

On this issue at least, the document differs fairly substantially from the Republican platform, which only mentions the word "abortion" once. The platform says abortion laws should be left to individual states and that late-term abortions (which it does not define) should be banned.

It adds that that access to prenatal care, birth control and in-vitro fertilisation should be protected. The party platform makes no mention of cracking down on the distribution of mifepristone.

Tech and education

Under the proposals, pornography would be banned, and tech and telecoms companies that allow access would be shut down.

The document calls for school choice and parental control over schools, and takes aim at what it calls "woke propaganda".

It proposes to eliminate a long list of terms from all laws and federal regulations, including "sexual orientation", "gender equality", "abortion" and "reproductive rights".

Project 2025 aims to end diversity, equity and inclusion programs in schools and government departments as part of what it describes as a wider crackdown on "woke" ideology.

Project 2025's proposals in this policy area are broadly reflected in the Republican platform, which in addition to calling for the abolishing the Department of Education, aims to boost school choice and parental control over education and criticises what the party calls the "inappropriate political indoctrination of our children".

Social Security

Although Heritage has long supported reforming the country's public pension plan, Project 2025 barely touches this third rail of American politics.

The platform says Social Security is a "lifeline" for millions of retired Americans and Republicans will "restore Economic Stability to ensure the long-term sustainability" of the programme.

The plan's future

Project 2025 is backed by a $22m (£17m) budget and includes strategies for implementing policies immediately after the presidential inauguration in January 2025.

Heritage is also creating a database of conservative loyalists to fill government positions, and a programme to train those new workers.

Democrats led by Jared Huffman, a congressman from California, have launched a Stop Project 2025 Task Force.

And many of the proposals would likely face immediate legal challenges from Trump's opponents if implemented.

Four surprises that could upend the 2024 US election

Where biden and trump stand on key issues, four things that could decide who wins us election.

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Guest Essay

What the Olympics Can Teach Us About Excellence

By Brad Stulberg

Mr. Stulberg is the author of “The Practice of Groundedness: A Transformative Path to Success That Feeds — Not Crushes — Your Soul” and a co-founder of the newsletter The Growth Equation .

We are drawn to stories of individuals who not only embody the pursuit of excellence, but also have humility.

Think of the American gymnast Simone Biles, who worked through mental health issues that kept her mostly sidelined at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics and went on to win three gold medals at the Paris Games. Perhaps the most iconic image from these Games occurred after one of the few gymnastics events she didn’t completely dominate, the individual floor competition. At the awards ceremony, Biles, who earned silver, and her teammate Jordan Chiles, who took bronze, bowed to show respect to the gold medal winner, Rebeca Andrade of Brazil.

Or perhaps your attention during the Games was captured by the pole-vaulter Mondo Duplantis, representing Sweden, who broke his own world record while being cheered on by his fellow medalists, Emmanouil Karalis of Greece (who administered tape to a cut on Duplantis’s hand during the competition) and the American Sam Kendricks, who helped quiet the crowd before each of Duplantis’s world record attempts. In the stands, supporting and helping to coach him, was Renaud Lavillenie, the Frenchman whose world record Duplantis first broke in 2020.

Then there was the American sprinter Noah Lyles, who earned the title of world’s fastest man by winning gold in the 100-meter dash. Shortly after, he wrote in a social media message to fans: “I have asthma, allergies, dyslexia, A.D.D., anxiety, and depression. But I will tell you that what you have does not define what you can become. Why not you!”

Excellence is not perfection or winning at all costs. It is a deeply satisfying process of becoming the best performer — and person — you can be. You pursue goals that challenge you, put forth an honest effort, endure highs, lows and everything in between, and gain respect for yourself and others. This sort of excellence isn’t just for world-class athletes; it is for all of us. We can certainly find it in sports, but also in the creative arts, medicine, teaching, coaching, science and more.

Understanding that excellence lies in the pursuit of a lofty goal as much as in the achievement of that goal allows us to expand our definition of success. Excellence is a process. That process can, and must, be renewed every day. The real reward for excellence is not the medal or the promotion, but the person you become and the relationships you forge along the way. In 2007, the psychologist Tal Ben-Shahar coined the term “arrival fallacy” to describe the trap of thinking that reaching a goal will bring lasting contentment or fulfillment. Anyone who has ever thought, “ If I achieve such-and-such goal, then I’ll be happy,” understands this.

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Perseverance Pays Off for Student Challenge Winners

As radioisotopes power the Perseverance rover to explore Mars, perseverance “powered” three winners to write essays each year till they achieved their mission goal of winning NASA’s Power to Explore Challenge. These students explored behind the scenes at NASA's Glenn Research Center and Great Lakes Science Center (GLSC) in Cleveland after writing the top essays in the national contest.

The competition for kindergarten through 12th grade students focuses on the enabling power of radioisotopes. Students were challenged to learn how NASA has powered some of its most famous science missions and to dream up how their personal “superpower” would energize their own radioisotope-powered science mission.

Judges narrowed down over a seventeen hundred creative essays to 45 semi-finalists, who received prize packs, nine finalists, who participated in a videoconference with NASA experts, and three winners, who were awarded with a visit to NASA Glenn.

“I’m so impressed by the work of these talented young students,” said Dr. Wanda Peters, acting deputy center director at NASA Glenn. “It’s wonderful to see their interest, innovation, and creativity at this stage in their lives. Our future is bright!”

Rainie Lin, the kindergarten through fourth grade winner; Aadya Karthik, the fifth through eighth grade winner, and Thomas Liu, the nineth through 12th grade winner, toured several research facilities including the Electric Propulsion and Power Laboratory, Telescience Support Center, Graphics and Visualization Lab, and Simulated Lunar Operations Lab. Along the way, they met with engineers and researchers to learn about NASA’s missions and the technologies that are innovating exploration.

“I’m so impressed by the work of these talented young students. It’s wonderful to see their interest, innovation, and creativity at this stage in their lives. Our future is bright!

Dr. Wanda Peters

Acting Deputy Director, NASA Glenn Research Center

The next day students and their families traveled to GLSC, which houses NASA Glenn’s Visitor Center. Accompanied by members of NASA’s Radioisotope Power Systems (RPS) team, the group toured the visitor center and explored the many interactive displays.

“It was our pleasure to host the three student winners of The Power to Explore Challenge, and I hope that this visit will further inspire and motivate them to pursue their interests in science and exploration,” said Carl Sandifer, manager for NASA’s RPS Program. "We are so impressed by the ideas and quality of the essays submitted this year and we can’t wait to what new ideas student come up with for next year’s challenge!”

The Power to Explore Challenge asked students to learn about the RPS, one of NASA’s “nuclear batteries” it uses to explore some of the most extreme destinations in our solar system and beyond. Students then wrote about their own power to achieve goals in 250 words or less.

ABOUT THE CHALLENGE:

Power to Explore is a national essay challenge that asks students in grades K-12 to learn about Radioisotope Power Systems (RPS), a type of “nuclear battery” that NASA uses to explore some of the most extreme destinations in our solar system and beyond, and then write about, in 250 words or less, an RPS-powered space mission that would energize their space exploration dreams. The next Power to Explore challenge is expected to launch in Fall 2024.

ABOUT FUTURE ENGINEERS:

Future Engineers hosts online contests and challenges for K-12 students. Previous challenges have helped produce historic achievements – from naming NASA’s Perseverance rover to manufacturing the first student-designed 3D print in space. All challenges are offered free for student and classroom participation. For more information, visit futureengineers.org . Follow Future Engineers on Twitter , Facebook , and Instagram .

Media Contact: Kristin Jansen Public Affairs Specialist Office of Communications NASA RPS Program Phone: 216-296-2203 Email: [email protected]

Emerging challenges and opportunities in shaping a sustainable future. Global Challenges, opportunities and Solutions to Sustainability future in Bangladesh and across the Globe. Navigating the Path to a Sustainable Future from Local Action to Global Impact, a sustainable tomorrow, unveiling opportunities for a sustainable future. Seizing Opportunities for a Sustainable Bangladesh in the Changing World

24 Pages Posted:

Azizul Haque

University of Chittagong, Bangladesh

Date Written: July 27, 2024

The SDGs were born at the UN Conference and objective was to produce a set of universal goals that meet the urgent environmental, political and economic challenges facing the world. By September 2015, UN member states adopted Transforming the World-the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and 17 SDGs. SDG targets can only be met through deliberative steps for systemic change that rebalance power and address underlying inequalities. Fundamental transformation in leadership, institutions and nations is needed for a flourishing, healthy and safe future for all, not just the privileged few [1]. The central aim of the SDG 2030 process was to guide joint global efforts toward a more sustainable and equitable future by focusing on the '5 Ps': people, planet, prosperity, peace and partnership. The bar was set high and would cover all nations and the entire sustainability agenda and would be supported by countries at the highest levels, including UN organizations, financial institutions, civil society and the private sector. Bangladesh is pretty much positive and enthusiastic regarding the SDGs. Prime Minister has already demonstrated our commitments towards the SDGs and established an Inter-Ministerial Committee for Implementation. Our emerging challenges are very clear-Climate change, Pollution (Plastics) and Resource depletion etc. On the other hand opportunities are: Renewable energy, Sustainable Agriculture and Innovative ideas etc. So, there's no time to lose. To prevent the worst of climate change, we must fight to keep global warming below 1.5°C. Despite this, many countries have not set new targets to reduce emissions, and global temperatures are expected to rise more than 2.7°C. The 1.5°C goal is a lifeline for our planet and future generations. The upcoming 2025 round of NDCs is our opportunity to make good on that promise, and set a course for a 1.5°C-aligned future. We need early movers that step up & lead by example by submitting bold, updated NDCs to save the 1.5° goal, backed by robust plans to phase out fossil fuels, slash emissions, build climate resilience, and scale up green technology [2]. The abstract emphasizes the scopes and opportunities in shaping a sustainable future indeed.

Keywords: Fossil Fuel, Greenhouse gas emissions, Biodiversity loss, deforestation, Renewable and sustainable clean energy, Circular economy, Global warming, Life cycle analysis (LCA), Global Plastics Treaty, Climate change, CO2 emission, Carbon-neutral, Carbon capture and storage (CCS), Oxyfuel combustion, SDG (Sustainable Development Goal), Plastic pollution, Environmental and human health, Decarbonize, Carbon-negative

Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation

Azizul Haque (Contact Author)

University of chittagong, bangladesh ( email ).

Chittagong University, Chittagong-4331 Chattogram, 4331 Bangladesh +8801730008521 (Phone)

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Debt for Development Swaps: An Approach Framework

Publication Date:

August 5, 2024

Electronic Access:

Free Download . Use the free Adobe Acrobat Reader to view this PDF file

The aim of this note is to help stakeholders optimize their decision-making on when, where, and how to use debt-for-development swaps (“debt swaps”), ensuring they bring the intended benefits to all parties involved. It also proposes new approaches to structure these mechanisms, making them less transaction-heavy and more sustainable while maintaining accountability for fulfilling policy and spending commitments. Debt swaps are agreements between a government and one or more of its creditors to replace existing sovereign debt with one or more liabilities1 that include a spending commitment towards a specific development goal. These goals may include nature conservation, climate action, education, nutrition, support for refugees, among others. The spending commitment is often associated with the country's decision to pursue an important development policy.

Policy Paper No. 2024/038

Asset and liability management Debt conversion Debt management Debt reduction Debt restructuring Debt service Debt strategy Debt sustainability Expenditure External debt Government debt management Public financial management (PFM)

9798400284625/2663-3493

PPEA2024038

Please address any questions about this title to [email protected]