At the start of June, I was near to exploding with the 1001 ideas jumping around in my head as to what I would do with my 13 week break and me being me, I was going to attempt to do each and every one.
Determined to make me think more sensibly about this, my mentor Georgie challenged me to create a SMART goal (specific, measureable, achievable, relevant, time-bound) for what I wanted to achieve during my summer, knowing there was not enough time for everything, especially with one of my bigger ideas being “sort the world out.” My original goal, I was told, was a “little” unrealistic, with it trying to encompass all 1001 ideas. This still didn’t stop me from trying. Alongside working on my SMART goal, I was also in the midst of making a decision to potentially change university and degree after a year of studying.
It was whilst trying to make this decision that Georgie advised me to give myself some criteria and set it against my values when trying to make decisions, however big or small. This advice started to make me think about the outcome of the decisions I had to make such as “If I choose this, what criteria are matched, and if I choose the opposite, will I feel any different?”
By being SMART’er in the goals I set myself, and using criteria for each decision, I was able to gain more from my summer, choosing to do things that I could gain the most from (namely volunteering and work experience) whilst also making the last minute decision to change university.
Although I haven’t quite sorted the world out yet, I am starting to make SMARTer goals and decisions for myself, using criteria and values I feel strongly about. One small step at a time.
Emi Husband