Worksheet –
Setting goals
When you set goals you decide what you want to achieve and
have a plan to get the result you want.
You do not need to have funding to have goals. Most people
have things that they hope will happen in their life that they try to
achieve.
If you have individualised funding (funding for you that you
control) you will take part in planning to help you work out how
the funding will be used. During this planning you will have the
chance to talk about your goals
and how you plan to make them
happen.
You may find this easy or hard. You
may have clear ideas about what
you want. You may have no ideas.
This worksheet will help you think about what you want to happen
in your life. It will help you have steps to do the things you want. It
will give you practice thinking about your goals.
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1. Think big
If you could do anything in the world, what would you do?
What dreams do you have?
Do not worry if the dream seems too hard to achieve. Do not
think about the support you may need.
Write or draw your ideas in the space below.
For example, Shu wants to start a dog walking business.
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What things about your dream do you like? Have you done
anything to get your dream?
Write or draw your ideas in the space below.
1.
What things about your dream do you like?
2.
Have you done anything to get your dream?
In Shu’s example, she wants to start a dog walking business
because she likes dogs. She has not done anything to get her
dream yet.
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Are there other more ordinary dreams that you want to
happen in your life?
These could be things that make your life easier or better.
Write or draw your ideas in the space below.
For example, Shu wants an iPad so she can look things up at
home. This will help her plan.
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2. Think about your dreams to work out goals
You can use your dreams to work out your goals. Sometimes
thinking about dreams can help you work out what really matters.
Some dreams may be clear and specific. Like a dream to get a
job as a gardener at the local nursery. Others may not be. Like
a dream to be a great athlete. That is ok.
But goals are different to dreams. Some dreams will stay
dreams that we do not act on.
Goals are things we act on and aim to achieve.
So a goal needs to be:
 clear and specific
 able to be measured – you can tell if you have done it
 able to be done
 something you need or want
 able to be done by a date that you say.
Some of your goals may be the same as people you know. Some
may be different.
Things that may guide your goals are your age, where you live,
what you have done and what you know about.
Your goals are likely to change and grow as you do.
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Here are some ideas to help you take steps to achieve your goals.
There are no right answers.
a.
Employment
If your goal is getting a job or changing your job, steps you take to
achieve that goal could be:
 doing training
 getting work experience
 volunteering
 asking to do different work roles (if you already have a job)
 doing tasks at home so you get skills
 doing things in your community so you meet people and
add to your skills.
Here is an example. Joan’s goal is to get a job helping a
vet.
 Joan could find out what courses she could do. She
could go to a local vet and ask. She could ask
someone who gives advice about training. She
could do the course that would help her learn about working
with a vet.
 She could try working with a vet for a short time (like 1 week
or 2 weeks) to see what it is like. This would be work
experience.
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 She could volunteer somewhere she could get skills. Like at
an animal shelter.
 She could look after the family pet.
 She could find out other places she could get skills with
animals. This could be animal shows or other events.
Each of these things would include some research to work out the
best thing to do.
Each could be done by a date that Joan says.
Do you have a goal about employment?
If you do, write or draw your ideas in the space below.
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What steps could you do to reach your goal?
Write or draw your ideas in the space below.
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b.
Education
You may have a goal about learning more things. This could be
because:
 it may help you get the job you want
 you want to know more about something
 you want to have more things to talk about
 you want to get a hobby or get better at a hobby
 you want to be able to do more things
 you are interested for some other reason.
Here is an example. Jake loves bikes and would like to learn more
about bikes. He would like a job working with bikes but is not sure
what he wants to do yet. He would also
like to join a bike club.
Depending on his age, Jake could do
training in lots of places, like:
 at school
 at Tafe
 at community college
 at work.
He could talk to people to find out the
best course for him.
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If Jake had a goal of learning about bikes he could name a
course he will do and when the course will be finished. Finishing
the course and getting a letter or certificate would show he had
done it.
Do you have a goal about doing training?
If you do, write or draw your ideas in the space below.
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What steps could you do to reach your goal?
Write or draw your ideas in the space below.
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c.
Meeting more people and getting
more involved in your community
If your goal is meeting more people and getting more involved in
your community there are lots of things you can do.
You could:
 join a club
 volunteer somewhere that interests you
 do things to get to know people who live near you.
There are lots more ideas you could come up with.
Here is an example. Zoe has lived with her mum and dad for her
whole life. She does things with them. The thing she likes
to do most is sew.
Zoe could meet other people in her area who like to
sew by:
 joining a craft group in her area
 doing a course at a community college about
sewing or craft
 volunteering at the local community centre to help people
learn to sew
 starting a small business where she makes things and sells
them at the local market.
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If Zoe did one of these things she could
be clear about what she was doing and when she was doing it.
She could show she had done what she aimed to.
Do you want to meet more people or get more involved in
your community? What are your ideas for achieving that
goal?
If you do, write or draw your ideas in the space below.
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d.
Where you live
Are you happy about where you live or would you like to change
something about it?
Would you like your home to be different?
Would you like to live somewhere else?
If you have a goal about changing the place you live there could
be lots of steps involved. Like if you want to move to a different
home you may need to do lots of things to get ready.
Steps could be:
 learning to cook
 changing a home so you can move
around by yourself
 staying in different types of home
 learning to have a budget
 learning to travel by yourself.
There are lots more ideas you could think
about.
Here is an example. Trent is 34 and lives with his mum and dad on
farm. He has wanted to move to a place where he can walk to
shops and work for a long time.
Trent knows he wants to live in flat. He has tried staying with his
brother in the city in his flat and loved it.
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He knows he has let his mum do lots of things he could do himself.
Steps Trent could take include:
 do more things at home. Like cook dinner each Monday
night, make his bed every day, lock up at night every night,
do the washing
 learn to travel on the bus so he can go places by himself
after he moves
 get experience looking after his brother’s flat when he is
away.
If Trent did some of these things he could be clear about the steps
he was taking and when he was taking them.
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Do you have a goal or goals
about changing what your home is like or where you live?
If you do, write or draw your ideas in the space below.
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What steps could you do to reach your
goal?
Write or draw your ideas in the space below.
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e.
Being fit and healthy
A lot of people would like to be more fit and healthy. If this is one
of your goals you could:
 do a course so you know more about food
 join a gym and go every week
 go walking each day
 join a swimming group and go each week
 join a bush walking group and walk each weekend
 start to do gardening or house work.
There are lots of other things you could do.
Here is an example. Kate has a job in an office. She does not do
any exercise but she used to love tennis. She buys a burger and
chips for lunch each day.
Steps Kate could take are:
 walk to work 2 times a week
 go to the gym after work 2 times a
week
 learn to make a healthy lunch
that she takes to work
 learn about food so she can buy
more healthy food for lunch
 join a tennis club and play each weekend.
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Do you have a goal or goals about being more fit and
healthy?
If you do, write or draw your ideas in the space below.
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What steps could you do to reach your goal?
Write or draw your ideas in the space below.
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What about support?
After you have thought about your goals and some steps to reach
your goals you can then think about the support you may need.
Start by thinking about support from family and friends.
Think about support you could get from
someone in a paid role.
You can also think about equipment you
could need.
Remember, you may need less paid
support over time as you meet more people.
You could use a table like this to write the kind of support you think
you will need.
Goal
Steps
When
What support
What if I do not have any goals?
If you do not have any goals you could start by thinking about
what would be part of a good life for anyone your age.
There are lots of tips and workbooks in our Good Life section.
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My Choice Matters
Level 2, 418 A Elizabeth Street, Surry Hills NSW 2010
www.mychoicematters.org.au
info@mychoicematters.org.a
u
1800 144 653 or (02) 9211 2605
/mychoicematters
@mcmnsw
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