Goals & "One Step at a Time"

Today, we talked about goals. We talked about long-term goals, semester goals, and daily goals.

Jordin Sparks' song "One Step at a Time" is about goals, too. The song tells us that if you have a very big goal, you can reach it by dividing your goal into small, easy pieces. You can watch the video again here.

Maybe you have a big goal, like being fluent in a foreign language. That's great! But sometimes, it can feel like your goal is too big, and you want to give up. Instead, take it one step at a time. Make smaller goals, like "By the end of the semester, I want to be able to understand American pop songs without Korean subtitles. So today, I'll listen to the #1 song and look up any new words in the dictionary."

What piece is missing between you and your goal? What can you do today?

The best goals are specific and have a deadline.

For example: "I want to speak English well" is not specific (구체적인), nor does it have a deadline (마감).

"I want to know the meaning of 30 new words by the end of the week" is much better!

Some people remember the rules about being specific and having a deadline in a special way. They try to have "SMART" goals: Specific, Measurable, Attainable (meaning "possible"), Relevant, Time-Bound.