HOW TO ACHIEVE YOUR GOALS
By GSNNJ Media Girl Nicole
If you’re anything like me, you would rather play video games than do your math homework. I mean, who doesn't? Usually, I like to wait until the last minute to do things, but when I chose to complete my Girl Scout Silver Award, I was challenged with one of my biggest fears, “planning ahead.” During the entire duration of my Girl Scout Silver Award process, I would have to stay ahead of my own calendar and get things done as soon as possible. With hard work accompanied by my trusty calendar, I was able to plan and achieve my goal. There are plenty of other people like me out there, and one of them could even be you, so I’ve decided to let you in on some of my secrets on achieving goals… from one Girl Scout to another.
This advice doesn’t just have to be for Take Action Projects or Highest Awards and Girl Scout badge work. It can be applied to almost anything! From something as simple as cleaning your room, taking out the garbage, or doing homework, to something more difficult like studying for a big test, or even building up a resume for a college you really want to attend. Either way, these few steps can make that big project seem at least a little bit easier.
My Girl Scout Silver Award included collecting books from numerous people and donating them to an organization that was in desperate need of books. Luckily, I was able to find many donors. However, at the last minute, the organization that I had planned to donate the books to reached out and said that due to COVID, my efforts were no longer needed. I was so upset! I felt knocked down and so I want to make sure that all Girl Scouts could be prepared for such a struggle in their life, particularly when working on Journeys and Take Action projects. Knowing what you want to do and when you want to do it, while also being prepared to change course at any time when necessary, are important steps to becoming a strong, independent woman. Here are three things you should keep in mind:
1. Set Smaller Goals
Sometimes, the key to achieving one big thing that seems
overwhelming is to start off by taking baby steps—doing parts of your
project in small amounts. If your goal is to host a book drive, begin
with reaching out to possible donors. Just look up names for possible
book donors and give them a call later. You see, whenever you achieve
even the smallest goal, it makes you feel good about yourself.
Completing something as simple as that math homework will give you
that ‘accomplishment feeling.’ This feeling then motivates you to take
the next tiny steps to your goal, and that will give you the momentum
to finish a whole project! For my Girl Scout Silver Award, I started
out by making a list and jotting down the things I wanted to get done
first, such as designing flyers and meeting important people, and then
I set due dates for specific things that I wanted to get done.
2. Get Help from Others
Things that require a lot of effort may also require a lot of
people, whether you need emotional support from a friend, or some
calls made by your mom. Just a little bit of help can go a long way
when it comes to earning your Girl Scout Bronze and Silver Awards.
Asking others for assistance will help you get things done quicker and
might help you understand more about your goal. My mother drove me to
places where I was able to pick up books, such as my local library,
which was generous in giving me some children’s books that were no
longer in use by the library. She also let me use our garage as the
holding space for the books while they were in quarantine. I would
have had a lot more difficulty with earning my Girl Scout Silver Award
if it wasn’t for my mom, who was there for me even when I thought my
project was ruined… which brings me to my next topic...
3. Never Give Up!!!
Read that sentence again, and again, and again, because I mean
it when I tell you not to give up! I know that sometimes things may
seem impossible, but when you have come so far with something, it’s
not worth throwing all of your progress away. Life isn’t easy and it's
not always fair, but you should always try to move forward when
something is blocking you from what you want. Even if you feel like
you’ve tried everything, I can almost guarantee that there is always
another way.
Last year, I thought I had everything done and that my project was complete. My books were ready to be shipped and I was going to be done with my Take Action project. All I needed was an email back for the go-ahead. Weeks went by, even months, before I received a devastating email saying that my donations could no longer be accepted due to the pandemic. I was heartbroken, because I had lost a substantial amount of time, and only had a few more months until my project paperwork was due. Even after coming so close to just walking away from the project altogether, I decided to push forward, because I wasn’t going to just stop short. When you find yourself in a position like that, use your emotions as a momentum to motivate you to keep going. It’s so important to pursue and persevere even when you’re at a low point. They say when you’ve hit rock bottom, the only way to go now is up—so pick your head up and go!
I hope this advice helps you. I won’t keep you reading any longer, because you probably have something to do, and I've got math homework. Good luck!
