Performance Goals vs. Process Goals
Helping Your Homeschool Teens Set and Achieve Their Goals!
In our last article on goal setting, we discussed the five characteristics of effective goals: specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound. These five characteristics, easily memorizable by the acronym SMART, distinguish successful goal setters from those who always dream about their goals but never achieve them. By educating teens about the SMART method of goal setting, you can set them on the road to success when it comes to accomplishing their objectives in life!
Today, we are going to discuss two different types of goals: performance goals and process goals. Helping your child understand the difference between these two types of goals will be very valuable in teaching them effective goal setting. Let’s dive into the meaning and value of each type of goal!
Performance Goals
Performance goals are about achieving a specific outcome. They are what most people envision when they think about goal setting: attaining a particular objective resulting from performing some kind of work. Performance goals include “I will be able to fit into this dress by July” or “We will buy a new car before the end of the year.”
It is extremely common for teenagers to set performance goals centered on grades. “I will get an A in algebra,” “I will have zero missing assignments this semester,” or “I will swim 50 yards in under 30 seconds” are all examples of the types of performance goals young people set.
Performance goals are helpful for young people because they provide clear, measurable targets that boost motivation and focus. Reaching a performance goal is an excellent confidence booster for a young person. It confers a sense of achievement and excites them about achieving their personal and academic goals.
Process Goals
As good as performance goals are, they must be mixed with process goals.
A process goal is a target that is focused on the specific actions, habits, or behaviors needed to achieve a desired outcome, rather than the outcome itself. Process goals are best understood in contrast to performance goals. Above, we gave an example of a performance goal: “I will get an A in algebra.” A process goal would focus on the process instead of the outcome. For example, “I will study algebra for 30 minutes daily.” Process goals are about the time committed to obtaining an objective. Further examples of process goals would be a high school student setting a goal to run for 30 minutes daily or practice a musical instrument regularly.
Process goals emphasize consistency, effort, and improvement in the steps taken toward a larger objective. They are particularly important for teens because they focus on the disciplined habits that build the foundation for long-term success. By emphasizing effort over immediate results, process goals reduce pressure. They also encourage teens to stay committed to their goals, even when outcomes are uncertain. Process goals are also great for nurturing a mindset of continuous growth and improvement. This is because they focus on the qualities required to attain a goal rather than the goal itself. (For more on cultivating an attitude of growth in your children, see our article Homeschooling Teens: Excellence, Not Perfection.)
Healthy Goal Setting
A healthy goal-setting approach for teens should incorporate both performance and process goals. A good rule of thumb is that performance goals are better suited for subjects a student already does well in. Conversely, process goals are more suitable for subjects that a student struggles with. For example, a student who is already one of the top performers in the drama troupe at his co-op might set a performance goal of landing the leading role in the semester production of Hamlet. In contrast, a girl struggling through piano lessons might set a process goal to practice for 20 extra minutes daily.
Both performance and process goals have their own distinct value and are equal rungs on the ladder of success. By blending performance and process goals, teens can walk a balanced path to achievement, unlocking their potential one purposeful step at a time.
What are your thoughts on this topic? I invite you to join me and other homeschoolers in the Homeschool Connections Facebook Group to continue this discussion. I would love to hear from you!
