Goals are often very personalized and reflect how one thinks of themself. The effects of a goal that gets accomplished are extremely positive and can help one’s mental health, and the accomplishment of a goal can show self improvement. Goals can be hard to balance amid the everyday tasks of life, especially in high school, but many manage to do it.  

Junior William Jansen has some goals for himself, not only as a student, but also as a person. 

“I would like to see myself take strides in wrestling here at Seven Lakes,” Jansen said. “It’s a hobby that I’ve gotten into in the past year and I would really like to see myself get better. It’s a goal I had last year as well and thought I handled it well and met it so I would like to hold myself to an even higher standard now that I know what I can do.”

Jansen also sees a good opportunity for a goal as a student.

“I like to think I get good grades already, but I see it as always good to push yourself for better,” Jansen said. “I know it’s a bit of a generic goal to have, but being generic doesn’t mean it’s not important. Pushing yourself is a great thing to strive for especially in academics. So that’s what I’m going for right now, this year. Is it going to be tough with wrestling and other things I’m having to deal with? Yes, but that’s part of the challenge to better myself.”

Junior Matteus Araujo is in a similar situation with goals, since he wants to see himself grow as both a person and a student.

“I’d like to see some personal growth,” Araujo said. “I set a goal at the beginning of the year to attend more sports games here. I hear a lot of people have a good time there so I figured it could be a good habit. I’d certainly meet some new people so that’s really what I’m going for.”

So if that’s a goal that would take up time from free time after school, how can one balance the goal from other things in their life?

“That’s a very important thing I try to be mindful of,” Araujo said. “I obviously want to keep getting to do what I usually do outside of the goal, but goals like that are meant to get you working on yourself. If that means I have to get out of my comfort zone, that’s OK. But I want to make sure I have all my school work done before I leave for a game. But I don’t want this goal to become something I see as a chore. I’m excited for this goal but I have to be mindful of other things going on and learn to balance them.” 

What could some tips be to help one set a goal and follow through on it?

“Everyone works at a different pace and has different mindsets so find a goal that is suitable to what you see fit,” Araujo said. “Your goal might be over the course of a year or two while others are maybe over a month. That’s OK. Make sure your goal doesn’t become a chore. Make it a fun goal and push yourself enough to want to keep going but not too much to where it’s hurting you mentally or physically.”