· Specific
· Measurable
· Achievable
· Relevant
· Timely
Taking these in context of Loewenstern, there are a
number of areas within which I can set SMART goals for myself. Perhaps the most
obvious would be with respect to my service with CURA. While my specific
project details have yet to be released to me, I hope to have the chance to be
responsible for a project that I can implement within 6 weeks and will continue
to benefit either CURA or the village residents after my service ends.
Nevertheless, I also understand that trying to complete a project of my own may
not be in the best interests either party—and will adjust this goal accordingly
as I learn more about the project I am to complete. An interesting word of
advice I received from the Rice faculty I met with last week certainly applies
to this. She told me to go over the project description once I received it and
to make a detailed schedule of what would be done each week and have it
reviewed by my contact in CURA to make sure it was reasonable. The professor
warned me of the tendency for projects to have vague objectives, which would
ultimately result in less being accomplished if not further defined. This
helped to reinforce the importance of creating SMART goals.
From class on Tuesday, I was able to flesh out
additional goals; another related to the project is to be self-sufficient by
the end of my first week with CURA, both in terms of housing/transportation,
but also with respect to my service project so as to maximize my effective
service time with CURA. In terms of language goals—I have had an ongoing goal
to be reading 1-2 pages of Chinese every day prior to my service trip to
continue developing my proficiency and facilitate the transition process. Once
I receive more technical documents relating to my project, I plan to have read
them in Chinese prior to my trip in order to gain a working vocabulary of
technical terms. Given how well SMART goals lend themselves to quantifiable
outcomes, I set a few more personal SMART goals—I would like to learn how to
cook three Sichuan/regional dishes during my stay in order to share back home.
I also anticipate writing in my personal journal at least once a week.
As for the less quantitative goals, such as
developing close personal relationships with the CURA staff and perhaps even
the residents of the village, I thought these goals might best be measured by
the intentions approach that was discussed. I value learning from others’
experiences as well as challenging myself, thus pushing myself to break out of
my ‘comfort zone’ and growing relationships with those around me would be
well-aligned with this intention. I also value practicality and application,
which I hope will translate into me taking an active hands-on approach with respect
to my service with CURA, such as learning the technical skills relevant to
water quality testing, as well as those associated with generating awareness
among the target audience. I anticipate being able to use these skills back
home, not only with a local organization focused on water quality and
conservation, but also in other future endeavors as well. Despite ‘intention
goals’ being ‘in the moment’, I believe these goals can also be future-minded,
in the sense that the goals I have set relate to post-trip service/application.
After all, my values are an inherent part of me—continually influenced by my
actions and influencing my actions. By shaping my values, this trip will have a
lasting impact on me, and by extension my post-trip service plans.
