Why I’m Setting Goals and Why You Should Too

Why+Im+Setting+Goals+and+Why+You+Should+Too

Ryan Phillips, Editor-in-chief

Spring is officially here…but are you still a victim to your winter slump? As a senior with less than one month left of high school, my motivation has not been at the same high that I saw earlier in the school year during college application season. However, after comparing healthy habits with my own, I’ve decided to carry myself out of this apparent lack of motivation in favor of productivity and prosperity.

Setting goals is substantially more important than you may believe. According to Taylor Bretzke, a writer for SDI Consulting, “most people’s brains are wired to find huge amounts of satisfaction in setting and achieving goals. On a neurological level, our brain rewards us with the release of dopamine, otherwise known as “The Molecule of Happiness,” when we take proactive steps towards accomplishing our goals” (Bretzke). In my opinion, taking time to vegetate rather than work or engage in something more important feels good in the moment, but later, the regret I feel for having wasted such valuable time always seems to outweigh the temporary satisfaction of idleness. Still, I’m never able to bring myself out of my lazy mindset. So, I’m challenging myself and you to set specific goals and dedicate adequate time to accomplishing them.

Recently, a friend introduced me to the app Google Keep. This note-taking service developed by Google, which is excellent for creating aesthetically pleasing lists of goals and is accessible on smartphones and computers, is perfect if you’d like a digital alternative to, say, a daily planner to organize your goals and check them off upon completion. I’ve already made use of Google Keep to organize both daily and long-term goals. My long-term goals for this summer, some of which are longer-term than others, are to read three different books that sound interesting to me, make video edits because I’ve had a lot of fun making these in the past, create a Youtube channel, and get another job for the summer. If all of these things sound enjoyable, why shouldn’t I do them? Now is my time to overcome the apathy I’ve felt for too much of 2018. I will set goals and I will accomplish them, and eventually I will be able to say I ended 2018 better than I started it. Only one question remains: Will join you me?