New Year's Goals for PCVs: Reflection and Vision

Some people don’t like New Year’s Resolutions (goals). So why do I think Peace Corps volunteers would be any different? Setting realistic shorter-term goals can be a big boon to a volunteer’s self-care, attitude, and motivation. So, instead of thinking so long-term like a year, it can be more helpful to make goals for the near future. And to do that effectively, you also need to reflect on the recent past too. So, let’s see how we can do that!

In the big scheme of things, a volunteer’s 2 years of service is pretty short. (Although I know it doesn’t seem that way sometimes.) So, if we want to be effective, setting up some achievable goals is a good idea. This is best not only for our communities but for ourselves too.

Just to give you some context, my swearing-in was in late May, so I’ve been at site for 7 months. I’m in Education so my school has shut down for the New Year’s holiday. And with the Mid-Service Conference another 6 months away, I thought this was a perfect time to reflect and have some sort of vision for the future.

Reflecting on Your Service

Most volunteers don’t take the time to appreciate all they’ve accomplished. It doesn’t matter if you’ve been at site for a year or just several months, most PCVs look at what they “haven’t” got done instead of seeing what strides they’ve taken with everything else. We can’t realistically make goals for the future if we don’t acknowledge our past.

Some questions to reflect on your experience so far

What were your accomplishments, both big and small? Take time to identify even your smallest achievements just in the last few months (or your service so far).
What memories make you smile when you think of your activities within your community? Think about the positive impact you have made through relationships built and the things you’ve done.
How has your language and cultural integration gone? Look at the ways you’ve been able to use the language more so far. Count the wins you had when language became fun (or humorous). List out those cultural “aha” moments and maybe even a few of your slip-ups. Understand how far you’ve gone both in language skills and cultural integration in such a short time.
In what ways have you grown in skills, confidence, leadership? Volunteers are pretty adaptable. Think of how you’ve coped with a new job, new counter-parts, and a new organization. Look at all the ways, no matter how small, that helped you do your job better (and probably that of your counterpart too).
What relationships and connections have you built? Appreciate the local friendships formed and partner organizations you now work with.
And last, Did you make some goals in the past? If so, look them over again. That too might help you realize how far you’ve come, and will continue to go. And if not, be sure to save your new goals for next time.

A Peace Corps volunteer teaches a class — **You have accomplished much more than you realize!**

Setting Goals for the New Year

The main idea here is to make goals that are doable. So, I tend to just make a few instead of a long list. I also make them short term, like 3 months, instead of a year. And I break up big goals into much smaller ones. Completing a goal is a great mental boost, while a tough goal to finish tends to make us depressed. But the other thing is to “adapt” if anything changes. Your goals are not set in stone.

As volunteers, I can see 5 areas where we might make goals. But feel free to add (or remove) anything to the list. You’ll notice that I put personal goals first. I feel that as volunteers, we focus so much on the other areas, that our own personal self-care is often too far down the list of priorities. Definitely look at that one a bit more. You’ll be glad you did.

What areas should I set goals in?

Personal Goals

Set some goals for your own health, wellbeing, and growth. Examples are regular exercise, eating healthy, journaling, reading, maintaining connections with friends and family back home, or engaging in a new hobby. Consider what will help you manage the challenges of service and stay motivated. My goals will be:

loose weight – which means watching my diet, exercising more, and getting enough sleep
reduce stress – meditate regularly, saying “no” more often, and getting outside in nature
learn the ukulele as another way to reduce stress.

Language Learning Goals

Set specific goals for improving your host language, such as committing to study 45 mins per day, learning 20 new words per week, or having a 5 minute conversation every day. Look for language partners or ask your host family for help. My goals will be:

be more pro-active with what I’m learning with my tutor
trading conversation time with some of my English language students
try to be more consistent with my daily language learning.

Cultural Integration Goals

Find ways to get more involved in your community’s activities and traditions. Attend local events, learn traditional skills like cooking or crafts from your neighbors, or offer to help with community projects. Set a goal to join a local group or club. When I served in Thailand (2014-17), one of the best decisions I ever made was to join a local bike club. It opened up a whole new world outside of my village. I got to meet so many new people and see more of Thailand going on club trips. But for now, my goals will be:

to try and visit at least one neighbor/teacher every month. This is to integrate into the community, but also to help with my language
and check to see what local activities the students are doing to see if I can join.

Professional Goals

Set some goals related to your work as a volunteer. This is very program specific. But for everyone, you can look at this two ways: “what can you do now?” and “what skills do I need to do more?” And the more you collaborate with your counterpart, the longer term your accomplishments will benefit your community. My goals will be:

develop more in-class materials that my counterparts can use like grammar posters, worksheets, song lists, etc
and work with them on how to use them more effectively.

Travel Goals

This is an important one, no matter your host country. How can your share everything about your host country with Americans back home (PC Goal 2) if you don’t go out and see more of it yourself. My goals will be:

I want to go to capital at least once a month and see all I can see like museums and churches. Anything that will give some more insight into this country I live in;
but another longer term goal will be to make more travel plans to visit more of the country during my school summer break.

One of My Goals as an Example

When I went to staging, I had just bought a baritone ukulele. My whole life I wanted to play an instrument and had tried many times before. But this time I am a bit more focused and actually have a plan.

My goal: to learn the ukulele as a way to reduce stress
Sub goals: practice 10-20 minutes 4 days/week.
My plan: using an online website, progress as I am able

Although I really want to be able to play the ukulele, instead of adding more stress, I want it to be a stress reliever. So, I have purposely not set any big lofty goals. I just want to make sounds that don’t suck too bad. For the next few months, I want to build up a habit of playing, and toughing up my fingers. Maybe next time I set up some goals, I’ll expand it to include playing some songs. But for now, this seems perfect for me.

And my plan actually turned out better than I had expected. I found an online website that I can use to learn all the ins-and-outs of playing a stringed instrument. It has an extensive free curriculum that is broken down into bite size pieces. All of this is presented in a fun and easily attainable way. Really excited to see how far this takes me.

Kids laughing and playing a ukulele - that's my goal

Tips to help you meet your goals and then some

Involve Your Community

Involve everyone if you can – Involving others has proven to help people meet their goals. So, if possible, include people that might be able to help. This could be your host family, neighbors, counterparts, PC staff, and even other volunteers. For example, a bunch of us are going to run a 5K in the capital this spring (part of my health goals).

Build Momentum

Build on strengths and progress made already – New goals can feel overwhelming. So, mix in some other ongoing goals to help keep you motivated. And focus on the progress made rather than what’s not yet accomplished.

Create an action plan for achieving each goal – Remember to break down goals into small, easily done sub-goals. That way, with each sub-goal met, the more your confidence will grown. Outline specific tasks, resources needed, and sequence to accomplish goals. If due dates help, then make them. Otherwise, don’t put too much pressure on yourself. Life as a PCV is tough enough without putting even more pressure on yourself.

“People with goals succeed because they know where they’re going.” – Earl Nightingale

Adapt and Adjust

Obstacles happen so be prepared to adapt – Again, the life of a volunteer can be pretty unpredictable. So, when things are not going right, sit back and see if there is a way to adapt to reach a goal, or at least a similar one.

Don’t forget your motivation and your “why” – Overall, your “why” should be to make you a more effective volunteer, both personally and professionally. But they should also help you finish your service healthy, happy, and grateful. You just have to remind yourself of this from time to time.

Track and Celebrate Progress

Share your progress with others – Back in the US, many people share their goals with family and friends for support and accountability. But as PCVs, I think it’s more important to share the journey than the goal itself. That can be with those in your cohort, but it could also be through social media or blog posts for those back home.

Schedule regular check-ins about progress – The more you sit down and look at where you are and where you want to be, the more you can stay on track. One way to do this is to document your progress. I use a Bullet Journal to track a lot of my activities but use what works for you.

Celebrate small milestones – Acknowledge even the smallest achievements along the way. Definitely use social media for this!

Mindset

Stay positive through challenges and setbacks – Remember the journey is more important than the destination. Some goals, you’ll finish. And some you won’t. Life happens. So, it’s not the end of the world. But those who can stay positive will end each day with a smile no matter the progress.

A group of girls standing in the shape of a heart — **Setting goals will help you accomplish what you want and your community will love you for it.**

Ongoing Reflection and Adaptation

Life can change pretty fast for volunteers. That is why I try to look at goals more in the short term. That way I can adapt and keep my sanity for a bit longer. So, pick a good ‘break’ point in your service to sit down and reassess where you are and where you are going with these goals. I’m picking every 3 months but that works good for me because of my school schedule. For other programs, you might have some different ‘break’ points that work out better. Basically:

Consider what worked well, what you’d improve, and any changes in priorities
Adapt or start new goals and action plans based on evolving needs and interests

Takeaways

My first six months at site has been awesome but tough too. So, now that I have a break, I feel more positive about the future because now I have a plan. Or at least a vision of where I want to be in three months. Again, I’m focusing on self-care first, and then other areas like language, teaching, and travel. But instead of making year-long plans, I’m keeping the goals small with a short term plan so there is a better chance of success.

Setting personal and professional goals effectively for the best success is an awesome skill that you can use throughout your life. And do so during your service will help you ring that bell (at COS) happy, healthy, and full of pride at what you’ve been able to accomplish as a Peace Corps volunteer.