We are all guilty of it. We have big ideas and make mental lists of all we want to achieve and accomplish. But then what happens?  The good intentions remain as “good thoughts” in our heads and go nowhere.

Pathway provides a way for you, as a student, to not only document your short- and long-term goals, including clearly-defined deadlines, but allows you to add  strategies that will support accomplishing your goals.  Goals need to be challenging, but realistic. They are intended to help make your dreams of a bright future come true. As you work through your goals, you may decide to change direction as your interests evolve, and you experience new things.   As a student this is the time for this kind of exploration, so that you will ultimately find a future that excites you and provides you satisfaction.

Setting goals is one of the most important things we can do in life. We like to dream of great success, but without a clear path, the dream may never be realized.

• Here are some questions to ask yourself about the goals you are contemplating: Are they attainable?  Does the goal deeply matter to you? Is it something you feel you truly want to achieve?  Are you committed to putting in the effort to make the goal a reality?

Once you’ve added your goals to Pathway, it’s time to stay on track.  Set up deadlines with reminders. Set reminders on your calendar to review your goals weekly. Keep a journal of the steps along the way. This will motivate you to achieve your goal.  Another strategy to keep yourself  on track is to invite a friend to do the same thing, and use the buddy system to help both of you to stay focused.

Setting career goals is an evolution, once you decide on a path, it is important to incorporate how you will obtain those critical skills that will help you achieve that goal.  The career landscape changes quickly and the key to succeeding is to be flexible, adaptable and ensure we keep enhancing our knowledge base and skills to stay relevant.

Goal setting is an  important life skill, and combined with time-management,  setting deadlines, and establishing a clearly defined action plan, it should excite you and motivate you to keep on your path  toward achievement of the goal. Setting smaller, incremental goals that will lead to a long-term goal can provide a more rewarding and fulfilling experience and provide increased satisfaction along the way. And don’t forget to reward yourself along the way!

Pamela Brennan, Executive Director of Client Success at FolderWave whose role is to be the voice of the customer, stated “I work very closely with educators and students that are using Pathway. Observing their excitement as they navigate through the platform confirms that our approach is working! We listen to the end users, which has resulted in a superior product.  I’ve walked away from many training sessions, focus groups, and Pathway roll-out events with affirmation that Pathway is tool of the future for college and career planning.”