The Psychology of Passing Exams (Part-3)

GOAL SETTING
If you fail to plan, plan to fail.

Once you have made up your mind to become a Pathologist, you must chart a course toward this ultimate goal. This means intelligent goal-setting. Goal –setting is not easy. To be effective it reqires constant review and change. Goal –setting involves writing out the steps it will take to accomplish your mission. It may take 5 months, it may take 10 years, but the mission must be broken down into smaller units so that you know what you are to achieve in each area every day, week, month.

Goal-setting will allow you to plan your time for study most effectively. Service commitments, domestic demands and social obligations are the main factors affecting study time. Organize your working time to your greatest advantage by sensibly reviewing your commitments. Ensure that realistic time periods are alloted. Decide an order of priority in their execution and then do it! A small amount of time used at the start of the day reviewing what tasks need to be done pays off in time saved for studying. Remember always to differentiate between important tasks and urgent tasks.

Here are some guidelines for setting goals.

1. Set specific goals. Specific goals are much more productive than general goals which merely stress ‘doing your best’.

2. State goals positively. for example, set aside 2 hours every evening to study Robin’s textbook. Effective goals need a positive mental image of yourself achieving what you want or being what you want to become. You cannot picture a negative goal.

3. Set challenging goals. Psychologist Edwin Locke found that ‘the higher the level of intended achievement [that is, the higher the goal], the higher the level of performance.

4. Set measurable goals. Goals need to be measurable in terms of what is achieved and when it is achieved. A goal of ‘increasing performance in the long case’ is not measurable. Rather a goal of ‘completing 20 long cases within 3 months is measurable.

5. Set realistic and achievable goals. A goal must not to be too difficult otherwise you will not want to try. But it must not be too easy—there is no challenge. State what results can be realistically achieved, given your resources. For a medical student to say ‘My goal is to be Professor of Pathology in 20 years' that will be a more realistic goal, especially if he sets down the intermediate goals.

6. Set tangible goals. Some of your goals will be intangible. You can accomplish these intangible goals by achieving related tangible ones. The goals you set should always be tangible. For example, if you lack self-confidence, the intangible goal of ‘achieving greater confidence’ is not measurable. How will you know when you have enough confidence? Setting specific, tangible goals fostering development of confidence will be effective, e.g., ‘I speak up at grand rounds’.

7. Make sure goals include behavioural changes. You must set goals of be coming, of developing whatever characteristic you lack before you achieve your tangible goal. You cannot except to become proficient in short cases if you continue to avoid doing them. You need to alter behaviour.

8. Write out your goals in present tense. Written goals ensure that you clearly describe what you want and you commit yourself to its accomplishment. Written goals need to be in the positive, present tense so that your mind accepts it. Written goals force you to establish priorities, for often two very desirable goals will come into conflict. Prioritize your values to determine which is the most important.

9. Vividly imagine your goals. Develop the habit of several times a day vividly imaging yourself having achieved your goal.

10. Write down the benefits of reaching your goals. Writing down the benefits of reaching your goals improves motivation and desire.

11. Write out a plan to reach your goal.

12. Write out a list of obstacles that hinder you in reaching your goals. Listing the obstacles that hinder goal achievement allows you to focus on what needs to be done: ‘A problem stated is a problem half-solved’.

13. Set short –term and long-term goals. Set time priority goals. A 5-year plan. A 1-year plan. A daily ‘to do’ list. Every day, write down the 6 most important things that need to be done. Rank the 6 items with the hardest first down to the easiest last. Start on number 1. If interrupted, take care of the interruption and return to finishing number 1. Check off each item as it is completed and carry over into the following day those that were not accomplished. Every night make out a new list for the next day.

14. Set goals to maintain a balanced life. True happiness can be reached only by living a balanced life. To ensure a balanced life, set goals in the following areas: physical, mental/career, spiritual, financial, family and social. The secret of success lies in establishing a clearly defined goal, writing it down, and then hammer it into your subconscious mind with unrelenting practice-----daily rehearsal with words, images and emotions as if you had already accomplished it.