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Resource Library : Goal Setting : 100 Goals

100 Goals

Hal Urban taught American history and psychology in a suburb of San Francisco for more than 30 years.  One of his favorite assignments was something called "100 Goals."  The directions read like this:

  1. Write at least 100 goals, more if you wish.
  2. Divide them into categories.  You can choose your own categories based upon your interests.  Here are some you might want to consider:
  • Education
  • U.S. travel
  • Career
  • Foreign travel
  • Family
  • Reading
  • Things you'd like to own
  • Learning
  • Fun/adventure
  • Spiritual growth
  • Things you want to do
  • Creating/making/
  • Self-improvement
  • Building
  • Service to others
  • Major accomplishments
  1. After you write the 100 goals, select the 10 that are the most important to you.  Write them in any order.  Then write a paragraph on your #1 goal.  Explain why it is so important to you. Be SMART (specific, measureable, attainable, relevant, time bound.)
  2. Treat the assignment as if you're writing a preliminary blueprint for the rest of your life.  
  3. Once complete, post the 100 goals (with the 10 best highlighted for emphasis) in a place that you will look at every day.
  4. Periodically, evaluate where you are at with your goals and make adjustments accordingly. 
 
Testimonials:
 
Says Janelle Hernandez, one of Mr. Urban's former students and now a pre-med student at U.C. Santa Barbara: “I still have my goals posted, and I look at them every day, just like he encouraged us to do.  One of my goals was to run the 100-meter hurdles in 18 seconds. I really didn't think I could do it, but every day Mr. Urban encouraged me and asked about my progress.  And I finally did make my goal.” 
 
Hal Urban Comments: "I've had students write to me 10 or 15 years after graduation, sending me their list of 100 goals with the ones checked off that they've already achieved.  They say, 'If you didn't make us do this assignment, I never would have even dreamed of most of these goals, let alone achieved them.'"
 
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