Goal-setting is one of the most effective ways to continually improve and have success. The process of setting goals, working towards them, and achieving them has benefited me ever since I started creating goals for myself. I never thought goal-setting was a big deal until I tried setting some for myself. Now I wish I had been setting goals years ago.

During college, I set goals for the first time at the beginning of my senior year and used them for that year and as a fifth-year senior. In previous semesters, I would have an idea of what I wanted to accomplish, but I had never written anything down. This time, I printed out my goals and taped the sheet of paper on my wall above my computer desk.

The first semester, I set goals for the minimum GPA I wanted to have that semester, the number of GMAT study hours I wanted to get in, the number of reading hours I wanted to reach for the semester, and the books I wanted to read. These goals were in addition to my five classes. I wanted to challenge myself so I set my goals pretty high, but attainable.

• GPA: 3.80
• GMAT study time: 50 hours
• Reading time: 85 hours
• Read four books

• I ended the semester with a 3.66 GPA
• I didn’t reach my GMAT study hours
• I exceeded my reading time
• I read the four books I wanted to read

I think the most important part when it came to working towards those goals was during the application process, when I had to do the daily work to reach my big picture semester goals. I broke down my tasks and made smaller goals out of them.

Within each step towards your goal is tens and hundreds and thousands of smaller steps. These smaller steps are the daily and hourly tasks that go towards one of your many steps to reach your goals. The success of your larger-picture goal hinges on whether you're successful with these smaller goals and the way in which you go about them. What I mean is, are you completing these smaller steps with integrity? If you are, the small steps compound and bring you closer to reaching your goal. If you aren’t, then more small steps are added to the ladder. Let me give you an example.

I had a goal to gain 15 pounds of muscle. I used to play hockey and baseball and was in pretty good shape. Then along came college. I ate a lot of fast food and a lot of junk food. I wanted to lose some bad weight and turn it into good weight. I had to develop an effective strategy because I knew it would be difficult. My strategy was to workout a different part of my body everyday: arms, back, chest, abs, etc. These daily workouts were my small steps. Along the way, I realized that I’d have to stop eating pizza and fast food everyday if I was serious about my goal. I had to change what I ate. This became another small step for me. So over time, as I followed through with my daily routine of working out a different part of my body and eating less junk, these small steps got me to my goal. It took a while, but I gained those 15 pounds. I’m not exactly sure if it was all good weight due to the combination of me being poor and the McDonald’s Dollar Menu, but I felt good about reaching my goal.

My daily workouts, along with watching what I was eating were a couple of my small steps. On days I followed through, it brought me closer to my goal. On days I skipped workouts or decided to go to Taco Bell at 1:00 AM, small steps were added to reaching my goal. The more days I skipped the more small steps that would be added to reaching my goal. By looking at it this way, it motivates me to get to my goal sooner because I don’t want to make more work for myself by dragging it out, and I certainly didn’t want to quit before reaching my goal. These small steps are a grind. They are the decisions you make on an hour-by-hour and day-by-day basis that can lead to the achievement of reaching your goals or the breakdown of your goals. If you can identify your small steps and grind them out, you will be on your way to your big-picture goals.